Fisher's game plan works again
By JOE HETTLER and MATT LOZAR
Sports Writers
Fisher's interhall football team employed the same game plan against St. Edward's that they had in their first two victories.
And for the third straight week, it worked.
A solid running game and a stifling defense led the way for the Wave, as it continued its undefeated season Sunday with a 20-0 win over St. Ed's.
"We tried to pass a little more this week, but basically our strength is our running game so we didn't change [that part of our offense] that much," said quarterback Jimmy Constanzo.
As usual, running back Kameron Chappell was the workhorse, carrying the ball 13 times and scoring a touchdown.
The Wave's defense also played stellar, holding its opponent to a touchdown or less for the third straight week.
"[Our defense] was 11 helmets to the ball every time," said tight end Tom Gorman. "They were all over the field and St. Ed's couldn't pass anywhere."
St. Ed's knows its offensive line must improve if they hope to win their remaining two games.
"We're going to look into some more intricate blocking schemes," said coach Dan Zeller. "We just went with base blocking up until now, but we're probably going to put in some X-blocking and maybe some pulling guards for next week."
The scoring began when St. Ed's quarterback Dan Tarsha threw an interception to Rich Rendina, who returned it 18 yards for a touchdown, giving the Wave a 6-0 lead.
On the following drive, Fisher recovered a fumble, and scored two plays later when Gorman caught a 29-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-0.
Chappell also added a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a three-yard run.
St. Ed's offense sputtered all day, turning the ball over three times and giving up seven sacks.
"Our offense is better than what we showed today;" said Zeller. "We just didn't execute like we have in practice. I think that after another week of practice we will be that much better."
After starting the season 3-0, Fisher feels confident they can continue their solid play.
"Everybody's really optimistic right now," said Gorman. "We think we have a pretty good shot at playing in the Stadium.
Sorin 27, Knott 6
Last year, Knott's defense gave up only one touchdown all year. Against Sorin, it gave up four.
Otter quarterback Greg Carney was 7-10, with two touchdowns passes to Tom Doar, as Sorin picked up its first win of the season, against the Juggs.
"If we keep playing like we did today, there aren't many defenses out there that can stop us," said Sorin's Luke Burke. "If that team shows up, instead of the one that showed up against Zahm, that offense is going to put points on the ball."
Sorin mixed a strong passing game with an adequate running game and moved the ball all day.
"Doar and Carney are just on all the time," said Burke. "If you give [Carney] four seconds to throw the ball, he's going to complete it at any time."
Knott, on the other hand, was hampered by injuries and inexperience.
"We were missing a lot of guys on both offense and defense," said Knott center and defensive lineman Lou Perry. "We had guys going both ways, and a lot of new guys in there as well."
The scoring began when Carney connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Doar, despite double coverage. On its following drive Sorin faced a fourth and 17 near midfield. Rather than punt, the Otters went for it and Carney hit Doar again for 45-yard completion to Knott's 2-yard line. On the next play Dave Fiorini punched it in for the touchdown, making the score 14-0.
On Sorin's next drive, Carney completed three straight passes before running it in himself from eight-yards out to give Sorin a 21-0 lead.
Knott finally answered when quarterback Ben Gilfillan completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Pawloski.
The scoring ended when Doar caught a 15-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
With the win, Sorin is looking toward the playoffs.
"I think we're in a good position to make the playoffs," said Burke. "If we just show up and play our game, we should be fine to make the playoffs."
Despite being winless, Knott is looking to end the season on a positive note.
"We're definitely going to try to play the role of spoiler next week against Zahm," said Perry.
Siegfried 13, O'Neill 0
The Siegfried-O'Neill trophy will stay in Siegfried for at least another year, as the Ramblers beat the Angry Mob from O'Neill.
"The trophy is pretty cool," said Siegfried senior captain Rob Plumby. "Mrs. Siegfried talked to us before the game and told us how much the trophy meant to her."
The Rambler defense dominated the Angry Mob, yielding just three first downs.
Numerous big hits, constant pressure on O'Neill sophomore quarterback Troy Montgomery and the swarming Rambler tackling led to the Siegfried shutout.
"It was an entire team effort," said Plumby. "Pete Aguiar's interception was big. The line stepped up as well."
After a scoreless first quarter, Siegfried put together a seven-play drive in the final minute of the first half to take a 3-0 lead on Aguiar's 20-yard field goal.
"That [field goal] swung momentum and showed we could drive down the field on [O'Neill]," said Plumby.
Their opening drive in the second half saw the Ramblers use their first half momentum and drive down the field with a solid running game. The Angry Mob defense held its ground inside the 20 and limited the Ramblers to a 30 yard field goal.
"They made some adjustments in the second half," said O'Neill sophomore captain John Enterline. "Momentum helped, but they brought out some new stuff."
In the fourth quarter, Siegfried went 85 yards on a 10-play drive to score the game's only touchdown. Plumby's 25-yard touchdown pass to John Kup gave Siegfried their final score.
"It feels excellent [to be 3-0]," said Plumby. "It is great feeling to have beaten who we have beaten."
The final week of the interhall season has the Angry Mob (1-2) playing Sorin, while the Ramblers will play St. Edward's. Both teams have areas of concern to address.
"I thought our defense made some big hits and god a couple of sacks early," said Enterline. "However, we've gone scoreless the past two weeks and need to mix things up on offense better. We have to play hard and get ourselves into the playoffs."
"You can never be too good at fundamentals," said Plumby. "We have to fix some small mistakes here and there before the playoffs."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 9, 2001
