SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2001

Defensive play helps Mohawk 'sync' Carey

By Andy Cole
Sports Writer

SYCAMORE &emdash; A good look at the home side of the huge crowd present at Friday's Carey-Mohawk game would have shown a series of red lights. Mohawk parents and supporters wore blinking necklaces that oddly at times seemed to be in sync.

Oddly appropriate, since when it needed to come up with a play, Mohawk's defense seemed to be equally in sync.

A halfback pass led to one score, an impressive opening drive in the second half led to another and the Warrior defense held up when it counted in a 12-7 win over Carey. Defense dominated the contests in spots, and Warrior coach Erik Baker was quick to give credit where credit was due.

"Our defense came up huge tonight, and my defensive coordinator, Bo Trusty, is such an invaluable resource to this team," said Baker, whose team will take a 5-0 record in to a game at North Baltimore next week. "He had these guys pumped up and ready to play.

"We worked at practice all week at getting ourselves out of bad situations. We were using anything we could think of, like putting the ball at our 20-yard line and just telling our defense 'get yourself out of it.' They all came through, and I couldn't be prouder of my kids."

Pride in the players was something that Baker and Carey coach Jim Draper could be in complete agreement with.

"I'm proud of our guys," said Draper, whose team fell to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Midland Athletic League. "It was a heck of an effort, we played a good game, and I'm proud as heck of our kids."

The game came with everything associated with the Carey-Mohawk rivalry: Full parking lots, a huge and loud crowd, a tight game and a big 50-50 pot.

And, of course, big plays, one of the biggest of which came in the with about six minutes left in the second quarter.

Mohawk's Kyle Roush intercepted a pass and set up a drive, but the Warriors hadn't made any ground offensively before a halfback pass. Nick Shoemaker took the pitch and then beat double coverage with a 44-yard rocket to sophomore Wes Sharp, setting up Mohawk on Carey's 15-yard line.

Shoemaker slapped an exclamation point on that with a 14-yard run on the next play. Roush punched it in, but Carey's Jon Hackworth blocked the extra point to keep the score 6-0.

Mohawk, which ran for 472 yards in a 49-19 win over Fremont St. Joseph, was limited to 36 yards rushing and 83 yards overall in the first half by the Carey defense. Shoemaker had a part in 63 of those yards.

"Carey's a quality team, and I'm glad we got this one because it was a heck of a fight," Baker said. "It took our kids a while to get dialed in, but I have to give a lot of credit to our offensive line. Once we got the lead, we tried to run the ball exclusively and control the clock, and those guys took a lot of beating but got up every time and did a great job."

Despite the strength of the Blue Devil defense, which has given up the fewest points in the MAL, the same Mohawk offense that came in to the game averaging 35 points per game made an appearance in the first drive of the second half.

T.J. Marcotte scrambled 14 yards for a first down, and the Warriors, who did not throw a pass in the second half, continued to pound the ball down the field. Marcotte got loose for a 10-yard run for a first down in Carey territory, and a 4-yard run by the senior quarterback put the ball inside the 10-yard line.

Chad Sowers powered the ball the final 7 yards to make it 12-0, culminating the four-minute, 11-play, 70-yard drive.

Carey's quarterback showed he could do some running of his own in the fourth quarter. Drew Walter started a Blue Devil drive with a 42-yard scramble to the Mohawk 33-yard line.

Sophomore Derek Stoll, taking over for injured running back Tyler Phoenix, handled the ball on the next two plays, and a third-down scramble by Walter, this one going for nine yards, put the Blue Devils at the 4-yard line. Joe Clinger bulled it in, and Josh Traxler PAT made it 12-7 with 4:03 to go in the game.

Sowers broke a 12-yard run for a first down, but Carey stopped Mohawk after that, forcing a punt and one last chance for the Blue Devils with 1:50 to go. A 6-yard pass from Walter to J.T. Benoit on fourth-and-4 gave the Blue Devils a first down.

Two plays later, Walter ran to his right for 5 yards before being popped by a Mohawk defender. The ball squirted toward the sky, and when it finally came down it nestled in the arms of Marcotte.

"T.J. had an excellent defensive game," Baker said. "I know that this is one the kids really wanted. When we got together in June, this is one that they told me we had to have, and we got it, and I couldn't be prouder."

Marcotte carried the ball 13 times for 56 yards and Sowers gained 51 yards on 10 carries.

Clinger picked up 87 yards on 23 carries for Carey, which ran 57 times for 217 yards as a team. Walter, who chalked up an interception in the first half on defense, gained 81 yards on 16 carries.