It had been a quiet game.
There had been a combined 39 yards of total offense midway through the second. But now St. Edward's was rolling on a 69-yard drive. A questionable spot made what looked to be a first down into fourth-and-one on the 22. The momentum, was stopped and St. Ed's offense was unable to recover for the rest of the game as they lost 20-0 to Siegfried.
No longer hampered by penalties (25 yards on the first possession), Siegfried's offense came alive. They capitalized on the turnover and marched 78 yards down the field in a drive that lasted just under five minutes. With 30 seconds Siegfried completed a 35-yard pass for 6 points.
St. Ed's looked to hit a deep one just before half, but Siegfried was not done. On the first play from scrimmage, the Ramblers forced and recovered a fumble. But with only seconds left, the Ramblers were not able to hit the more than a 40-yard field goal.
At half, St. Ed's coaching staff recognized that Siegfried would have to go the air as their ground game had been stagnant, saying, "They are going to keep it in the air."
This is exactly what Siegfried did scoring twice more through the air and racking up 192 passing yards on 11-15 passing for the game.
St. Ed's did have some bright spots, especially on defense. The team allowed Siegfried only to ramble for 8 yards on 12 carries after sacks. It was also able to pick off Siegfried's backup quarterback and block an extra point.
Siegfried's defense also had good showing. The Ramblers gave up only 77 yards (28 in the second half).
Carroll 17, Fisher 10
There was nothing stopping the offense of Carroll Hall in the final minutes of this contest as they charged 80 yards downfield with time running out to complete a comeback win.
A 15-yard touchdown pass completed by Carroll quarterback Kory Wilmot to wide receiver Kyle Kownacki completed the drive with a touchdown and almost guaranteed victory for the Vermin.
The drive that led to a Vermin victory began with under three minutes remaining in the game and Carroll backed up on its own 20-yard line. Wilmot went 6-for-7 on the drive, amassing 65 yards in the air, and 15 yards on the ground. He hit three different receivers to carry the Vermin down the field. Mike Versagli caught two passes for 25 yards and Kownacki caught the final pass to win the game. Also in on the drive was freshman wide receiver Mike Valuzzo, who caught three passes for a little over 30 yards.
Carroll was down by 10 near the end of the first half, but a 24-yard field goal by kicker Preston Carter put the score at 10-3 at the end of the half. Then late in the third quarter, Carroll drove down the field sparked by a 31-yard pass to Versagli. The drive ended with a 1-yard run by Wilmot for a touchdown.
The extra point that followed did not find the uprights however, and Fisher remained in the lead at 10-9. Several three-and-out drives followed for both teams, until the 80-yard drive that ended the game.
"I knew there was a long way to go, but it was just a matter of time and finding the open guys," Wilmot said.
Carroll tries to complete its season undefeated on Wednesday against Sorin, although it also is guaranteed an appearance in the postseason.
Knott 7, Sorin 6
Knott saves face this season, improving to 2-2; and Sorin missed another close one and slips to 0-3.
The outcome of the game was decided during the first half where both teams made their scores. Knott struck first with a 58-yard rush from John Lyons. Lyons finished as the game's leading rusher.
Sorin made countered with a drive of its own during the last minutes of the first half. Quarterback and captain Collin O'Keefe hooked up with Chris Paley for a 30-yard touchdown pass to close out the half. However, the Otters missed the extra point.
The second half was lackluster in scoring and the missed extra point came back to haunt Sorin.
Despite this, there appeared to be hope during the last drive of the game by the Otters. In the last minutes of play Sorin nailed two first downs and was in striking distance of the end zone. However, an interception by Knott's Trey Patrick ensured a Knott victory.
In what appeared to be a sloppy game, there were some bright spots. Sorin's quarterback, Collin O'Keefe passed for 148 yards, completing 10-of-21 pass attempts. However, the final interception may have cost the Otters the game.
"There were a couple balls I missed," O'Keefe said. "I probably made the wrong call there at the end."
Knott's defensive line played a great game. They racked up four sacks and caused Sorin to incur negative rushing for the game.
Sunday's victory makes the Juggs eligible for the playoffs. It depends on how other teams finish off their seasons. Even though this could have been the last game of the season for Knott, captain Joe McCarthy is looking ahead.
"Our offense struggled," he said. "We really need to get our offense back in sync. Our goal all season has been dorm champs, that hasn't changed."
Sorin has one last chance this season for a victory. The playoffs may be out of the picture, but the Otters want to enjoy it.
"We've lost three close games," O'Keefe said. "Now, we'll just go out and have fun. We have one game left, might as well make the most of it."
pcracchi@nd.edu
