Chargers trounce Wildcats, 49-25
Hillsdale now up 4-3 in the GLIAC with Saturday's win
Liz Klimas
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Sports
| |
|
"We like our chances and feel really good going into our game against Wayne State," senior co-captain and linebacker Tom Korte said. "They are beatable. If anyone is going to beat them, it's gonna be us."
Parents flooded the stands for the Parent Weekend game Saturday, and though the final score of the Oct. 18 game was lopsided in favor of the Chargers, the Wildcats had their moments and kept the Chargers on their toes.
"We had a stretch there, but I think we responded really well," head coach Keith Otterbein said.
Two Charger turnovers in the second quarter allowed the Wildcats a 17-7 lead over the Chargers. With less than 2:15 on the clock, sophomore Andre Holmes and junior A.J. Kegg scored two touchdowns, and within the first minute of the second half senior Vinnie Panizzi put another in the endzone off of a 71-yard run. The Chargers then found themselves ahead 28-17.
This was not the first or last touchdown for Panizzi: one in the first half and two in the second. His three touchdowns tied his career high set in 2007. Panizzi ran 22 times for 175 yards.
"Vinnie is really improved from last year to this season in terms of patience," Otterbein said. "He's doing a much better job as a more mature football player: assignment-wise, pass protection-wise."
Holmes also had career high catching five passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Holmes' last touchdown was a phenomenal leap to snatch sophomore quarterback Troy Weatherhead's 4-yard pass over a Wildcat defender, which pushed the Chargers' lead back up after the Wildcats had brought it to a 10-point game early in the fourth. Brad Otterbein scored the last touchdown of the day off an option run.
Weatherhead went 20-29 with 301 yards. Senior Alex Wojcik had nine tackles and Korte had eight. Korte leads the GLIAC with 14.5 tackles for loss.
A major theme after the weekend and heading into Saturday is protecting the ball, Otterbein said. The number of Charger turnovers proved key for Wildcat scoring. Korte said this will be unacceptable against Wayne State, who is No. 1 in the GLIAC in turnover margin.
"Taking care of the ball is critical," Otterbein said. "You can't give them a short field. If they're gonna score, make them earn it, make them work."
Panizzi said for the last three games the Chargers have increased their number of turnovers.
"We started at the top of the conference for turnover margin," he said. "Then in our last three games we've had 12 to 13. You can't win football games like that."
Charger defense has been able to successfully return the ball to the offense after a turnover during the last few games which, Korte said, is the defense's job.
"Getting the ball back is our No. 1 priority," he said. "We do this by getting a lot of people to the ball and playing physical defense. That's something we pride ourselves on."
Korte and Panizzi referenced Wayne State's +13 turnover margin as an asset to their opponent - Hillsdale falls about even.
"Their defense is taking the ball 13 times more than they lose it," Panizzi said. "They are getting three to four interceptions per game."
Wayne State is coming off of a shut out win against Ferris State University, who the Chargers will play Nov. 1. Kegg said Charger technique will give them an advantage.
At this point, the Chargers only have to win one more game to have a winning season. To even have a chance of qualifying for playoffs, players said, they must "win out" the rest of their games. In addition to winning out, other teams in the GLIAC would have to lose. But the Chargers are only focusing on the task at hand.
"Our approach is let's play Wayne State and play well," Otterbein said. "Then we'll go to the next one and play well and the next. After that, so much of it is out of our control."
Be the first to comment on this story