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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Carroll shocks Siegfried

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.In a stunning upset, Carroll Hall knocked off Siegfried 7-0 Sunday. The two-time defending champion and league powerhouse Ramblers were outplayed by the previously last-seeded Vermin of Carroll.The game began and ended with two key interceptions. Vermin strong safety Michael Johnson picked off a deep pass from Siegfried quarterback Brian Vithe on the first play of the game and then ended a late fourth quarter Siegfried drive with another pick."I knew from the moment that the ball was thrown that I had it," Johnson said.Johnson's first interception led to the only scoring possession of the game.Following a drive up the field, Carroll quarterback Kory Wilmot threw a 20-yard touchdown reception to Paul Tassinari on a play action to put the Vermin up 7-0.The score would remain such, as Siegfried could never establish itself offensively until the final drive of the game, which began with under seven minutes remaining deep in its own territory. The drive followed a blocked field goal by the Ramblers. Siegfried running back Matt Woperer got the momentum going with 30 yards on four carries to push the ball near midfield. Vithe then connected with wide receiver John Kaup several times to push the Ramblers into Vermin territory.But with a little under two minutes remaining in the game, Johnson got his second pick of the game and guaranteed a Vermin victory."I can't put into words how great this feels," Wilmot said. "We've put in a lot of practice over these past few weeks and all our hard work is paying off. A win over the best team in the league will set the tone for the rest of our season. We beat a tough Siegfried defense that fly to the ball and always hit hard." The Vermin had a good number of its players playing with injuries, including quarterback Wilmot. The night before the game he could not even hold a ball, let alone throw one for a 20-yard touchdown.Siegfried played a sloppy game offensively, fumbling several times and throwing two key interceptions that were the defining moments of the game."We had a lot of problems out there, but they will be fixed," defensive end Eric Cherney said.Vithe expressed the same sentiment."We'll use this bye week to fine tune some things and get ready to take it to [St. Edward's]," Vithe said. "Carroll's defensive schemes gave us problems all game. We really didn't get anything going until the very last drive."Carroll will face off next week against St. Edwards. Following a bye week, the Ramblers next game is also against St. Edward's.Fisher 14, Zahm 0Fisher came out with the victory over Zahm last Sunday, but it came at the expense of one of its captains.Green Wave captain Lee Gettler suffered a severe concussion on the team's first offensive drive and was unable to return to the game. Gettler was running the ball off a sweep and cut up the field before the Zahm defense tackled him."As he cut up the field he had no momentum," Fisher captain Jerremy Moreno said. "A Zahm defensive player then went full speed and knocked him to the ground. But it got us to go out there and win it."The Green Wave was able to rely upon several players to make up for the loss of Gettler early in the match. Daniel Mannes scored two field goals to put Fisher up 6-0 at the half. Receiver Tom Gorman also helped Fisher, as he scored a touchdown off a completion by Tom Gotebeski. Andy Pfister scored the two-point conversion to make the final score 14-0.In the second half, Zahm had difficulties finding the end zone again. Fisher outside linebacker Tom Bufalino sacked Zahm quarterback Sean Wieland four times throughout the game. "As a team we didn't come out ready to play," Wieland said. "But we'll be back for next week."Knott 28, St. Edward's 0John Lyons introduced himself to the world of interhall football Sunday, and the pleasure was all his.Lyons, a sophomore Knott running back, carried the ball 21 times for 116 yards and a touchdown in the Juggs dominant win over St. Edward's. He also caught a 25-yard pass from quarterback Justin Gillett, who compiled 33 rush yards of his own in addition to 70 yards passing, showing the versatility of the Knott offense. The Juggs scored a touchdown on each of their first three possessions, pounding their way through the defense. At the 5-yard line on the opening drive, Gillett rolled out and found Joe McCarthy in the corner of the end zone for the game's first score.A bad snap negated the extra point attempt, but after a short three-and-out drive by St. Ed's, the Juggs used Lyons to get them down to the 1-yard line. Gillett carried the ball in himself. After the two-point conversion, Knott led 14-0. Lyons finally got his own, well-deserved touchdown on Knott's third drive of the game, taking it in from the 11.Knott's defense also did not budge. Rushing attempts were stuffed for no gain or, in many cases, a significant loss. St. Ed's quarterback John Bruis was pressured on nearly every pass attempt, and he never once looked comfortable in the pocket. Justin Cheers was the Juggs' defensive stalwart on the day with four tackles for a loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. Cheers was a force to be reckoned with and nearly always managed to disrupt the St. Ed's offense. As a group, the Knott defense accumulated four sacks, two interceptions and Cheers' forced fumble, recovered by Mike Talerico. With their backup quarterback and running back in the game, Knott added a fourth touchdown early in the fourth quarter, with Trey Patrick taking it in from the 15.