August 28, 1999

Columbian wins opening fooltall game at National Field

By Dave Feltner
Sports Editor

Pregame talk surrounding the opening football game at National Field at Frost-Kalnow Stadium ranged from the field not being ready to the game moving to Fostoria with the athletic boosters splitting the concessions.

Postgame talk was all about a little 5-7 backup tailback, who played in his first varsity game.

Sophomore Brett Krupp, pressed into extended playing time due to an injury to starter Jeremiah Johnson, took Fostoria completely by surprise in rolling up 209 yards on 15 carries, and scoring three touchdowns in Columbian's 37-14 win over the Redmen.

"He just lit it up," Columbian coach Steve Gilbert said. "I mean the kid can flat out run; he's just a kid so he's still learning how to run, but I was impressed because he wasn't intimidated. We got him the football, and he did what we asked him to do. He's just so explosive."

Krupp had carries of 19, 25, 19, 12, 25, 34 and 73 yards, and always seemed one step or one tackler away from breaking free every time he touched the ball.

The 73-yarder was the back-breaker. That came in the fourth quarter, just after the sixth of seven Fostoria turnovers.

The Redmen trailed 30-14, but were at the Columbian 27, when quarterback Josh Dawson fired a pass into the hands of Columbian's David Price.

On the next play, Krupp bounced off one Fostoria tackler, avoided another, and raced the rest of the way untouched.

Fostoria also turned the ball over on the previous possession at the TC 22 when Matt Thompson pounced on a Dawson fumble. Thompson recovered a pair of fumbles, Nate Nahm had a recovery and an interception, and Chris Brooks and Todd Focht also had picks for TC.

"I don't think it was the turnovers; I think the better football team came out here and played tonight," Fostoria coach Tom Grine said. "They controlled us up front; they did what they wanted to do, and they broke big plays. The turnovers were a factor, but that was just as much a part of Columbian and their defense doing what they were coached to do.

"We're not using the turnover crutch anymore," he said. "That's part of football, and I'm doggone tired of talking about turnovers."

Turnovers and the Columbian defense hurt Fostoria, but it was TC's running game which provided the points.

Krupp was the headliner, but Johnson also carried 22 times for 154 yards, and got TC started with a 50-yard scoring run with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.

Fostoria's pass rush all but negated the Columbian passing game (quarterback Brent Wise was 6-12 for 55 yards) so TC was forced to stay on the ground.

On Columbian's second scoring drive, Johnson carried for gains of 19, 14 and 7 yards to set up Oester's 30-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.

After Drew Hanley blocked a Fostoria punt, setting TC up at the Redmen 26, Krupp broke free for a 25-yarder before blasting in from the 1 for a 16-0 lead.

"We were not doing a good job picking up their blitz," Gilbert said. "We zone-blocked to take care of that, and we gave the ball to J. J. And I thought he ran the ball well. J. J. is so physical, and Brett is so explosive that they really complement each other very well.

"I also thought Max Tomaszewski did a good job at fullback, and up front we blocked the run very well. We just did a poor job of protecting the passer."

Fostoria got on the board just before halftime when Micheaux Robinson plowed through from the 1 to cap a 65-yard drive. The conversion pass failed and the score was 16-6 with 1:45 left in the second.

Columbian scored on its first possession of the third quarter, pounding out all 63 yards on the ground. Greg Hoke provided the points on a 25-yard reverse after Wise's sweet fake to Krupp. Todd Focht kicked the PAT for a 23-6 lead.

Two plays later, Thompson recovered his first fumble, and on TC's first play Krupp went virtually untouched around the left side for a 34-yard score and a 30-6 lead.

Fostoria's final score came on a 4-yard blast by Robinson with 6:24 left in the third.

"I really thought the strength of our defense was going to be against the run," Grine said. "As good as the Wise kid is, I was concerned with them hitting us with the big play with the pass. As it turned out they killed us with the long run in the running game.

"Their offensive line really played well, and we didn't do a good job of getting to the football," he said. "The Johnson kid ran hard and the No. 24-kid, I don't even know his name ... although I will after tonight, did a great job."

Krupp, the stadium and a 1-0 Tornado team ... they're all the talk of the town.