Knott ties for division lead with 28-6 win over St. Ed's
By RACHEL BIBER
Sports Writer
Knott Hall took advantage of every opportunity Sunday, blowing away St. Ed's 28-6.
Along the way, Knott secured a position atop the division along with Sorin by improving its record to 3-1.
The scoring fiasco began with the Juggernaught's first possession when runningback Pat Virtue scored on a 55-yard touchdown run. After the Juggernaughts recovered the ball, Virtue again delivered a touchdown, but this time he took off from the 35-yard line.
Knott's offensive line had a stellar performance, allowing for Virtue's multiple touchdowns. The line, composed of Pat Peters, Joe Stark, Lou Perry, Steve Curasco and Lee Vyoral received praise for igniting the Juggernaught's offensive spark.
"They played awesome," Virtue said. "They all had a lot of blocks that led to key runs."
When asked to evaluate the performance of his team, captain Mario Suarez could only say one thing — "linemen."
Suarez's recognition also goes to the Juggernaughts' defensive line, consisting of Joey Gonzalez, C.J. Murray, Paul Ryan and Kyle Trotter.
With the Juggernaughts leading 14-0, the Steds showed signs of life when quarterback Tim Greene delivered to Nick Sciola for a touchdown pass, but they were denied the extra two points when a pass from Greene was intercepted in the end zone.
Although St. Ed's offense has struggled to score, its efforts have not gone unnoticed, as this season is the first time that St. Ed's has put points on the board in years.
"We've had St. Ed's alums from the early '90s calling and congratulating us," Sciola said.
Knott scored again in the first half when Ed Foy intercepted a pass from Greene, setting up a last-second touchdown run.
Jonathan Smith then hauled in a "Hail Mary" pass from quarterback Suarez as time expired, making the halftime score 21-6 in favor of the Juggernaughts.
Virtue completed his three-touchdown day by running the ball in for the score on fourth and goal in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 28-6.
Kicker Kevin Heffernan added an extra point of the day.
Siegfried 7, Zahm 7
The brutal battle between Zahm and Siegfried featured an intense rivalry, but the play was not pretty, leaving the two team knotted in a tie.
Zahm captain Mike Garko knew Sunday's game would be fused with competition, and that neither team would display affectionate feelings towards the other.
"It's going to be a tough game," Garko said. "Because we pretty much hate them and they pretty much hate us."
The Zahmbies, ending the season at 0-3-1, struck first when they clawed their way inside the ten yard line, allowing quarterback Dan Burke to run in for the score from the 5-yard line. The Ramblers could have avoided the Zahmbie touchdown when Mike Vossen of the Ramblers intercepted a pass from Burke in the middle of the scoring drive, but a penalty for roughing the passer put the ball back into the hands of the Zahmbies.
"I thought that was a critical play, because we could have got the ball back," Siegfried coach Jaime Bordas said. "I though it was a bad call by the refs."
Siegfried, which fell to 2-0-2, evened the score at seven as the seconds ticked away in the first half when runningback Travis Smith ran the ball in inches away from the goal line on fourth down. The score capped a drive highlighted by Peter Aguiar's play, who caught a 30-yard pass from quarterback Rob Plumby.
During the second half, the two teams both threatened to score, but the ball kept switching between the Zahmbie and Siegfried offenses.
Siegfried came the closest to scoring in the final minutes when Larry Zimont caused a Zahm fumble, one of three fumbles he caused during the game. The ball was picked up by defensive lineman Chris Gahagan, who rumbled down the sideline to the 17-yard line.
On second down, the Ramblers called on the dependent leg of kicker Peter Aguiar to secure the win with a 30-yard field goal, but a botched snap prevented the kick.
The Ramblers tried to recover and get off another field goal attempt, but time expired before they were allowed to do so.
Quarterback Rob Plumby expressed his team's frustration with the loss.
"We thought we played well," Plumby said. "Zahm got some calls that helped them out a little bit, and we were kind of frustrated with that."
Sorin 20, Fisher 15
Freshman Greg Carney played a part in nearly all the game's highlights, and caused every Sorin score, leading the Otters to a hard-fought victory over the Green Wave of Fisher.
Carney finished the day with three touchdowns, and kicked two extra points.
In the second quarter, Otters quarterback Luke Beuerlein connected with Carney for a touchdown with a pass from the 34-yard line.
A five-yard touchdown pass from Beuerlein to Carney in the final seconds of the first half increased Sorin's lead to 14-0.
Fisher, which fell to 2-1-1, mounted a comeback in the second half when runningback Zack Allen took the ball in for a score, cutting the Otter lead in half.
A fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Fisher quarterback Rick Ysasi to Gabe Cassel brought the Green Wave within one point of the Otters.
The Green Wave then moved ahead of the Otters 15-14 when Ysasi connected with Steve Doherty for a successful two-point conversion.
Sorin remained composed after Fisher took the lead and put together a successful drive on its ensuing possession. Beuerlein hooked up with wide receiver Antoine Tobias to move to the Fisher 44-yard line, and then hit Carney with a bomb for another touchdown pass, allowing Sorin to overtake the lead at 20-15. An attempt at at a two-point conversion was denied when runningback Fred Faber fumbled the ball, but the insurance points were not needed.
Faber, the Otters captain, recognized the important role Carney played in assuring an Otters win.
"He did pretty well," Faber said. "We were trying to throw to Tobias, but by doing that we opened [Carney] up, and he ended up catching the balls as usual.
"Fisher failed to pull together a successful offensive drive on the next position, going out on four downs. The Otters took over the ball, and the Green Wave could only watch as they let the seconds tick away.
"We felt like we played really well," Ysasi said. "But we made a few mistakes that probably cost us the game."
By winning, Sorin improved its record to 3-1, and is positioned on top of its division, along with Knott Hall.
Defeating Fisher was crucial in securing one of the top seeds for the playoffs.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 12, 1999
