Sunday, August 27, 2000

Elmwood proves a Royal pain

By Matt Steiner
Sports writer

FOSTORIA &endash; The St. Wendelin-Elmwood game was delayed 55 minutes because an electrical storm invaded Fostoria Saturday. However, once the game was under way, Elmwood took advantage of the electricity in the air, beating the Mohawks 26-6 behind several big plays.

The Royals' scored on runs of 72, 42 and 36 yards and on a 79-yard kickoff return.

Senior fullback Brian King got the excitement going with a 72-yard charge between the tackles on Elmwood's first play from scrimmage.

"That was a good momentum starter," first year Royal coach Dean Ziegler said. "We knew the trap would work well for us. It was nice to bust one right off the bat."

At the 9:33 mark of the second quarter, classmate Jesse Wise decided to get into the act, taking a handoff from quarterback Mike Lawson, slashing up the middle and dashing down the sidelines for a 42-yard touchdown. He broke a couple of tackles along the way and gave Elmwood a 12-0 advantage.

"He's our ironman stud," Ziegler said of his 5-7 running back. "He's the strongest guy and the fastest guy on the team."

The Royals took that lead into halftime. Neither team scored in the third quarter.

Then, on the first play of the final quarter, Ziegler's "iron man" struck again. Lawson pitched the ball to the tailback who went around the left end. Wise, a sprinter on the Mohawks track team, turned on the speed, streaking 36 yards after cutting back across the field. He scored, high-stepping past the last would-be St. Wendelin tackler.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Mohawks got their own taste of the big play. Shannon Dixie took the kick at his own 21-yard line. He saw a block and turned it upfield down the right side, taking it 79 yards for SW's only score.

However, Elmwood's Doug Tucker offered an exact replica of Dixie's return on the very next play. He also took the kickoff on the 21 and ran down the right side for a touchdown. A two-point conversion made it 26-6.

However, the effect of the Elmwood big play could have been worse Saturday. Clipping penalties against the Royals put the reins on two more offensive bursts that would have went for touchdowns. Elmwood had a total five clipping penalties.

The Mohawk offense sputtered all night. They went 4-and-out on their first five possessions and punted 10 times in all. After trying countless times to run the ball, they finally got their first first down on a Ryan Johnson pass.

"The problem was our offensive line," St. Wendelin coach Coby Coburn said. "I told them that they owed an apology to our quarterbacks and backs. I can't tell you how disappointed I am in our line. We've got to control the football. We couldn't even get outside. I had to go to a fullback screen to get a first down. That tells you how much pressure they were putting on us. We were allowing way, way, way too much penetration."

SW ran the ball 27 times on the night and mustered just 19 yards.

By the second half, the physical strength and speed of Elmwood eliminated any chance of a comeback.

"They were physically strong and we knew that," Coburn said. "We knew they were quicker. There were no surprises. We just ran out of gas."

Wise led the winners with 122 yards rushing on nine carries, while King ended the night with eight rushes for 93 yards.