After a day of turnovers, missed opportunities and strong defense by both teams, Sorin emerged victorious 3-0 over Fisher in a closely contested game.
With time running out and no end in sight to the scoreless stalemate between the teams, it all came down to one kick. For the Otters, their first and only scoring chance of the day would be a 35-yard field goal attempt.
While many adjectives could describe the Otters offense today, the kick can be explained in one - good. Off a perfect snap and hold, Sorin kicker Chris Petersen put the ball straight through the uprights for the game winner. Petersen was quick to give credit to his teammates for setting up the kick.
"The defense kept us in it all day and the offense put together a nice drive on the last possession to get us in range," Petersen said.
For most of the game, the Green Wave had the advantage on both sides of the field. While their defense completely shut down the Otters for the first three quarters, Fisher's offense was able to put together sustained offensive drives.
Untimely interceptions negated Fisher's advantage on offense.
"We played very well on offense," Fisher captain Tom Gorman said. "We gained about 250 yards but just couldn't get the ball in the end zone."
Statistically, Fisher dominated the game, but Sorin made the most of their last possession.
"We had some freshmen step it up on defense and our offense made some good plays near the end of the game to put us in position to win it," Sorin captain Collin O'Keefe said.
Until Sorin's final scoring drive, the possibility of a scoreless tie seemed very likely. It came down to which team could produce when the opportunity was there with Fisher going 0-for-2 in the red zone while Sorin was a perfect 1-for-1.
For both teams, the secondary was the strength of the defense. Solid coverage and aggressive play limited Sorin's passing attack to 4-of-11 on the day while Fisher's completion rating was slightly better at 7-of-18. In addition, key interceptions by both defenses stopped potential touchdowns.
Siegfried 16, Knott 0
The Siegfried Ramblers, led by quarterback/outside linebacker Bill Bingle, showed the interhall football world why they are the defending champions with a dominating 16-0 victory over archrival Knott Hall Sunday afternoon.
The game, which was also played for the Flanner Cup, got off to a great start for Siegfried. On the first play of the game, Bingle executed a superb play action fake and then threw a 38-yard strike to receiver Jon Kaup. The pass set up a field goal that put the Ramblers up 3-0 before most fans had settled in.
The Siegfried defense then took over, stopping the Knott drive in five plays and giving the ball to Bingle and company on the Rambler 40. Bingle and Kaup went back to work, connecting first on a 9-yard out, and then two plays later, on a roll out, for a 45-yard touchdown scoring play. After Knott blocked the extra point, Siegfried had scored on their first two possessions and was up 9-0.
Bingle described the confidence the Ramblers have in their passing attack.
"We feel like if we throw it on them four times, there isn't anybody that can stop us," Bingle said.
After another stop by the defense, Siegfried took over with time running down in the first half and mounted a wild drive that began with a holding penalty that negated a 40-yard punt return by Kaup. The unusual play continued with a drop of a sure touchdown by a receiver and yielded a controversial missed 45-yard field goal that was ruled good by the referee under the goal post and then overturned by the head referee.
Getting the ball to begin the second half, the Juggernauts looked to strike quickly by going to the air on the first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Ben Gilfillan faded back and threw an out pattern that was read perfectly by Bingle from his outside linebacker position. Bingle intercepted the pass and ran it back forty yards for a game-sealing touchdown.
"I just read the quarterback, jumped the out and ran it in," Bingle said.
The point after sailed through the uprights, and Siegfried was staked to a 16-0 lead near the end of the third quarter that proved to be more than enough. Knott and Gilfillan were forced to go almost exclusively to the air and abandon a running game that had enjoyed some success behind running back John Bisanz who ran for 27 yards on 7 carries.
Gilfillan was held to just 39 yards, most of it to wide receiver Alex Fergus, on 3-10 passing with 2 interceptions, and Siegfried ended the game on top by the score of 16-0.
"They got good defensive back play today." Gilfillan said.
Despite the loss, Gilfillan feels Knott isn't far away from being a good football team.
"Three mistakes cost us the game today, but we saw a lot of positives from both the offense and the defense," Gilfillan said. "We're confident that we'll win the next three games and see Siegfried again as a different team."
As for Bingle and the Ramblers, they have the kind of confidence one would expect from a defending champion who convincingly won its first game.
"We need to cut out the stupid penalties, but if we throw it on them, we'll have to write a letter of apology," Bingle said.
Carroll 10, Zahm 6
Carroll's strong start proved to be the key in its 10-6 defeat over Zahm.
Early in the first quarter, freshman Preston Carter kicked a 42-yard field goal on Carroll's first possession. Soon afterwards, junior Dom Gabbianelli of Carroll helped prevent Zahm's offensive from advancing with a sack.
Freshman quarterback Kory Wilmot and Mike Johnson led Carroll to its only touchdown. Johnson caught a 15-yard pass, then a 20-yard pass from Wilmont to score Carroll's first touchdown.
After Carroll's second and final scoring drive, Zahm picked up its energy level and got back into the game. Freshman tailback Kyree Blackwell really got his team fired up with his huge three consecutive runs, beginning at the end of the first half. Sophomore Patrick Gourley, junior Eric Tarnowski, junior quarterback Mitch Knapke and Blackwell had some impressive runs in the second half for Zahm.
Zahm came very close to scoring in the second half, but was stopped by some great defensive plays by Carroll. Tarnowski did find the end zone late in the game on a 2-yard run for a touchdown, but it was not enough for the Rabid Bats.
Blackwell's interception offered one last scoring opportunity for Zahm. Despite several strong runs by Gourley, Blackwell and Knapke, Carroll regained possession of the ball before Zahm could score and closed out the game.
Carroll's victory was especially exciting for Carroll's captain Jim Butz and his team because Zahm shut them out last fall.
"I could tell in practice that these guys were ready to kick some [butt]. We just walked in and beat up on Zahm who beat our butts last year," said Butz.
