Bingle leads Siegfried over Alumni, 14-7
By PAT LEONARD
Sports Writer
Siegfried would go where Bill Bingle took them. He took them all the way.
Bill Bingle dismantled the well-respected Dawgs defense and the Ramblers finished the season undefeated with a 14-7 victory over Alumni to win the 2002 mens interhall championship.
The Siegfried Ramblers threw the ball for over 150 yards and scored 14 points on an Alumni defense that had given up only 13 points all season.
Bingle, who played wide receiver and back-up quarterback last season for the Ramblers, captained the offense this year and took control of his team's destiny.
He threw for 161 yards on 13-18 passing in the deciding game with Alumni, and his seven rushes for 50 yards were also crucial, and two scrambles of 21 and 22 yards jump-started separate Siegfried drives.
"Bill had some nice offensive play calls," said Siegfried coach John Torgenson.
Bingle, Torgenson notes, has a keen knowledge of the game and calls all of the plays from the line of scrimmage.
Alumni scored first on its second drive of the game. Running back Alex Roodhouse broke a 50-yard run on first down from the Dawgs 9-yard line. Roodhouse, who had 86 yards rushing and 14 yards receiving on the day, ended the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, putting Alumni up 7-0.
The Alumni defense that had hardly given opponents a whiff of the end zone all season stood strong in the first half, letting Bingle and the Ramblers drive downfield, but stopping Siegfried short of the end zone twice on fourth down.
The Dawgs had trouble in the second half when Siegfried elected to spread the field and throw.
"I was kind of surprised how easily we could pass," said Bingle. "They've been shutting everyone out, and we haven't been throwing quite so much the past couple games. Our receivers made some real good plays. Jack Kaup, Nate Ratchke, and Mike Wall, they're all over the place."
Kaup, Bingle's go-to-guy all season, caught a 17-yard strike from Bingle in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 7-7 in the third quarter. On the drive, Bingle completed five of five passes, including three to Kaup.
On the following touchdown drive, Bingle connected with Ratchke for 26 yards on a great diving catch to set up a 15-yard Tim Breitbach touchdown run.
"Bill makes us look good as receivers," said Ratchke. "He's a great quarterback."
Alumni coach Steve Keppel saw an opportunistic Siegfried team that would not quit.
"I think it was just them making big plays," Keppel said. "They were driving the ball on us [in the first half] but our defense was able to stop them. They just made some amazing catches towards the end. And their defense stepped up in the second half."
Like its defense, the Alumni offense struggled as the game went on.
The Alumni offensive output of the day more or less ended with the first-half touchdown. Bingle and Siegfried's offensive took over and kept the Dawgs offense off the field. When Chris Cottingham and the Alumni offense returned to the field, the Ramblers defense entered the game well-rested and shut the Dawgs down.
A Pat Muzin sack on third down late in the fourth quarter all but ended the hopes of the Alumni faithful.
"Our first drive, we were moving the ball pretty well," said Keppel. "There were penalties and some mental mistakes that kind of hurt us in the second half. But games like this go by pretty fast. You need to take advantage of your drives, and we really didn't do that in the second half."
A holding call on Alumni's first drive and a clipping penalty on the punt return to set up the Dawgs' final drive proved crucial to the game's outcome. The Siegfried defense buckled down after the first touchdown and did not let up.
"We should have won by a lot more," said Bingle. "We pretty much dominated the game. We punch those first couple in and I don't think they'd have been around at all."
For now, the Siegfried Ramblers finally hold the trophy after losing in the finals to Dillon last year.
"It's just great to be out here. It's a great experience," said Ratchke. "To come in here and win after last year, getting smoked by Dillon. We got down 7-0, but all year we didn't give up, we kept our heads up. We just got the job done. It's a good feeling."
"This is a dream for everyone, to come out here and be victorious in Notre Dame Stadium," said Torgenson. "You get the shivers, you know?"
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 25, 2002
