November 9, 2006 at 9:12 a.m.
Chisago Lakes falls to top ranked Totino-Grace
Chisago Lakes falls to top ranked Totino-Grace
As the teams matched up in the third game of the season, the Eagles dominated the Wildcats early, and Wildcat turnovers prevented the Wildcats from getting back into the game. A Wildcat turnover and other miscues gave the Eagles a big first half lead, and they dominated a tired Wildcat defense in the second half.
The key play came with the Wildcats trailing 14-7. Totino Grace faced third-and-fifteen at the Wildcats 35 yard line with 23 seconds left in the first half. Eagle split end Micah Koehn got the ball on a reverse, heading around the left end. He got near the sideline, cut back, eluded several would-be Wildcat tacklers and ran all the way to the one yard line.
On first and goal from the one with nine seconds left, Eagle running back Jake King appeared to be stopped on what turned out to be his only carry of the game. His second effort propelled him across the goal line to put the Eagles up 20-7 going into the half.
The Wildcats and Eagles had traded punts on their first possessions of the game, and it looked like the game might settle into a defensive struggle. The Wildcats started their second drive from their own 32. On second and seven, the first of the three big plays occurred as a Wildcat player fumbled the ball and the Eagles recovered at the Wildcat 40-yard line.
The Eagles took advantage of the short field with a nine-play drive. On second and goal from the one, Eagle quarterback Jordan Marshall leaped over the pile and into the endzone to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead with four minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcats managed one first down in their next possession, but were forced to punt from their 41. The Eagles began a long, punishing march down the field from their 35. The game’s second big play came as the Eagles faced fourth and three at the Wildcat 28 and decided to go for it.
Running back Aaron Hildebrand took the handoff and was immediately hit by a Wildcat player who penetrated into the backfield. It looked like the Wildcats would take over on downs. But Hildebrand kept his legs churning and slipped out of the tackle. He plowed up the middle, where a host of Wildcats dragged him down after a gain of three yards.
The referees called for a measurement. The chain was stretched, and the Eagles had the first down by half the length of the football. Three plays later, the Eagles took a page out of the Wildcat playbook. Hildebrand hit wide-open tight end Garrett Gamach with a halfback option pass in the end zone to put the Eagles up 14-0 with 7:50 remaining in the first half.
The Wildcats and Eagles again traded punts. The Wildcats began their next drive in good field position at their own 42. Facing third and seven from the Wildcat 45, quarterback Brian Jennissen dropped back to pass. Under heavy pressure, Jennissen spotted a wide open receiver in the middle of the field. He let go of the ball just before he got hammered by two Eagles.
Tight end Hunter Heggerston never had to break stride as he ran under Jennissen’s tight spiral at the Eagle 35, hauled it in over his left shoulder and sped untouched into the end zone. With 1:40 remaining in the first half, Christian Swanberg’s extra point cut the Eagle lead to 14-7.
A 33 yard completion by the Eagles on the second play of the ensuing drive gave them a first down on the Wildcat 30. With 53 seconds remaining in the half, it looked like they might punch another one in. But, a holding penalty on the next play pushed them back to the Wildcat 45. Two plays later, they faced third and 15 from the 35 with 23 seconds remaining. But then came Koehn’s big run and King’s touchdown, giving the Eagles the 20-7 lead.
The Eagles added to their lead on their first drive of the third quarter. Starting at their own 31, they pounded the ball at the Wildcat defense, mixing in a couple of pass completions. On first and goal from the four, Koehn took the handoff, cut to the left, slipped through some tackles and scored. The Eagles added a two-point conversion to make the score 28-7.
The Wildcats hadn’t given up. On their first play, Jennissen threw a quick hitch pass in the right flat to halfback John Lien. Lien ran 27 yards to give the Wildcats a first down at the Eagle 39 yard line. The Wildcats got another first down at the 26. But the Eagles intercepted on third and nine from the 25.
The Eagles then went on another long drive, this one 14 plays. On fourth and goal from the one, the Eagles tried to cross up the Wildcats with a pass. But Chris Wille broke it up, keeping the score 28-7 with 11 minutes to go in the game.
The Wildcats, starting from the one, were unable to move the ball out of the shadow of their own endzone, were forced to punt. Christian Swanberg’s punt went all the way to the Wildcat 45 yard line, but the Eagles returned the ball to the 29. Five plays later, Pat Murlowski ran nine yards up the middle to put the Eagles up by 28 with 5:58 remaining. That’s the way it ended - Totino Grace 35, Chisago Lakes 7.
Fullback Mike Rosenthal led the Wildcats in rushing with 31 yards on five carries.
“We just didn't seem to be able to get into a rhythm,” said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss. “We couldn’t get anything started offensively. Defensively, we held them to three and out the first time. We forced them into some long drives later, but they still converted. We just didn’t step up where we needed to, offensively or defensively. We needed a few breaks, a few things to go our way, and that didn't happen. We know Totino is a good team, very well coached, and it showed again Friday night.
“It’s kind of Totino’s thing to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes – turnovers, missed tackles, missed assignments. That’s why they’re in the position they’re at -- they’ll make plays. We needed to make plays, but we couldn’t make enough of them,” Weiss continued.
“On our touchdown, it was a nice ball from Brian and a nice catch from Hunter before he made a good dash to the end zone. It put us within seven points. Besides that, we just couldn’t get it going. Totino’s dominant first team defense gave up just four touchdowns all year, and that’s not common. We had two of the four – Hunter’s touchdown and a touchdown on a sustained drive the first time we played them,” the coach said.
“We certainly had a talented core of seniors this year, but the cupboard is not bare. A number of juniors played significant roles on the varsity, and other juniors got some game experience with a JV schedule. Also, because of some big leads, we got to play a lot of second team players who’ll be first team next season. We should be okay next year. The nice thing is that we had a big senior class and a big junior class, with about 25 players in each one, and we got them to stay together.
“Andy Willhite is a pretty good player, and the only sophomore who got any playing time this year. When his brother, Dave, went down with a knee injury early in the season, it just worked out that Andy was the guy to step into that role. Our sophomore group was pretty decent as a whole. They went 5-3 this year. We’ve got over 25 sophomores, and, if we keep the numbers the same, it will give us some more talent and depth to refill the shoes being vacated by graduating seniors,” Weiss added.
“This was a fun team to coach. They prepared hard and played hard, and the results were well-deserved. They were good at the important intangibles, like commitment and leadership. That’s a challenge to each group each year. For both last year’s and this year’s team, we’ve seen nothing but positive and effective leadership from the senior class. Hopefully, we’ll get the same leadership next year and be competitive again,” Weiss concluded.
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