Most interhall games are serious affairs. There may be some joking on the field at times but, for the most part, teams are determined to win and keep the focus on their play.
That was not the case Oct. 9 when Zahm took on St. Edward's, with the Gentlemen (2-1) taking a 10-0 victory. Zahm (0-3) set a lighthearted tone early, joking around on the field with each other and the St. Edward's players.
Senior linebacker Greg Bennett was the catalyst for the Zahmbies, using his spot in the middle of the defense as a microphone. He targeted Zahm senior running back Colin Casey for most of his taunts when he was not on the field. Near the end of the game, Bennett entered the game as a running back in the "Wildcat" formation. He explained the switch in characteristically humorous fashion.
"What we call that is a ‘Mutiny on the Zahm," Bennett said. "A ‘Mutiny on the Zahm' implies a coup d'etat against Colin Casey, senior captain and running back. We had to put in the sparkplug, and that is Greg Bennett."
St. Edward's found itself swept up in Zahm's playfulness. Sophomore quarterback Paul Martin Rodriguez, when asked about his team's running game, described a play his team calls "beaching the whale."
"It's basically a quarterback sneak," Rodriguez said. "It's called ‘beaching the whale' because I think I'm bigger than most of the offensive linemen on our team."
Though the Zahmbies lost the game and fell to 0-3 on the season, they were not too troubled. Their main concern was deciding where to go for their postgame meal.
"Right now there's a big debate between Famous Dave's and IHOP," Bennett said. "We're thinking about maybe pre-gaming the Double XL ribs with a full stack of pancakes."
