Dawgs bite Knights with early touchdown, defense
By MATT DeNICOLA and MATT FURRIE
Sports Writers
The last week of the regular season is not a time to relax or hold back, it is an opportunity to get very important game experience.
Both Keenan (2-2) and Alumni (3-1) took full advantage of their last regular season game, but it was Alumni who pulled out the 9-6 victory.
"We wanted a big battle going into the playoffs, not another easy win," said Alumni captain Nick Linstroth.
After an early score, the Dawgs went into an offensive shell. Although they threatened to score, they could not push the ball past the Keenan defense.
"Our linemen played pretty well after that first score," said Keenan captain Brent Morlok. Key performances by Andry Groebner and Patrick Robinson were important to the defensive effort for Keenan.
While their defense played well, the Knights struggled on offense.
"We just didn't get the offense off the ground," said Morlok.
Other than a touchdown reception by Steve Byrnes, the Keenan offense did not look sharp.
In a key series in the final minutes of the game, the Knights made a huge goal-line stop on fourth-and-one.
But their offense couldn't push the ball downfield, and had to punt after three downs.
Motivated by their defensive stops, Alumni's offense seemed galvanized for one last drive.
"Our defense had stopped them at the goal line before," said Morlok. "But they came up with the big play at the end."
With 28 seconds to go, the Dawgs kicked a field goal that gave them a 9-6 lead and the win.
"We are hyped about the close game and big win going into the playoffs," said Linstroth. After opening the season with a loss to Dillon, Alumni impressively glided through their next two games. The matchup with Keenan was a perfect preparation for the playoffs.
The Knights got similar game experience.
"It was a really hard fought game ... a tough one to lose," said Morlok. "But now we know what we need to work on."
"We can't keep spotting teams points," said Morlok. "We have done that too much." Although they enter the playoffs at .500, the Knights have given up 45 points on the season, while scoring only 33. "Our offense has to pick up and score early."
Alumni sees room for improvement as well. It enters as the second seed and is outscoring their opponents 40-19.
"We feel there are things we need to improve on going into playoffs," said Linstroth. "But I am proud of the team, and am confident about where we are."
Keough 14, Stanford 0
With playoff implications on the line, the Keough Kangaroos rose to the challenge, as they defeated Stanford.
For Keough, now 2-2, a victory was necessary in order to stay alive in this year's tight playoff race.
Keough's defense started off the game with a bang, intercepting a Nick Befera pass on the very first drive of the game.
"We ran the ball well," said Stanford captain Dilworth. "But it is hard to be effective with turnovers."
Two drives later, the Kangaroo's offense took over and drove to the Stanford 30-yard line. Then, on third down, Keough quarterback Andy Hess rolled left and connected with John Trischler in the corner of the end zone for the only score of the half.
"We were down a couple of guys and playing both ways," said Dilworth. "So it was real tough."
The Griffins' lack of personel became more and more apparent as the game went on and fatigue set in.
Led by Hess, the Kangaroo's offense played at an uptempo pace. They completed six of their eight passes in the first half and even ran a no-huddle offense at times.
"We were having a lot of fun," said Hess. "They had an answer to our running game early, but we took what they gave us — our passing game was just really clicking."
With the start of the second half, it was Keough's ball on its own 35.
Eight plays later, the Kangeroos had their second touchdown on a 14-yard run by Clay Nuelle up the middle.
Later in the half, the Kangaroos would again drive deep into Griffin territory, but would be stopped after a Mark McNamee interception in the endzone.
For the day, Hess was 8 for 13 with one touchdown and one interception.
Stanford's offense was not as productive, going only 2 for 8 in the face of intense defensive pressure.
"Anytime you get a couple of touchdowns and play good on defense, it has to be a confidence booster," said Hess. "I just hope it continues after fall break and into the playoffs."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 16, 2001
