September 15, 2000
HL hungry for success
By Dave Feltner
Sports Editor
One team is looking at the perfect opportunity to establish itself. The other just wants to get back on track.
When Hopewell-Loudon travels to Tiffin tonight to tangle with Calvert, the Chieftains are hoping they'll catch the Senecas at just the right time.
First-year coach Derek Kidwell carries a 2-1 record into Midland Athletic League play, and a win over the two-time defending league champs would throw him and his Chieftains right into the league fire.
"We're coming off a big victory against Danbury," Kidwell said. "I think our kids have steadily improved the last three games, and they've been real patient with what we as coaches are trying to teach.
"Yeah, this is our first league game, but it's also a big rivalry between these two schools," he said. "I think our kids see that Calvert is down, and they're hungry for a big win."
The Senecas have all the appearance of a team in turmoil. After winning 23 consecutive regular season games, Calvert has now lost two in a row and has scored just one offensive touchdown in eight quarters.
The Senecas also took a blow when senior captain Kyle Shearer and brother Keith (both starters) transferred to Clyde at the beginning of the week.
"We've just gone back to doing things we've been doing since day one," Calvert coach Toby Hammond said. "It all comes down to blocking and tackling and we haven't been doing much of either.
"We've talked all year about how we have lack of experience," he said. "But we had a scrimmage and two games and by the third game we should be executing."
Instead, a Calvert offense that dominated the MAL for two years now ranks sixth overall at just 155 yards per game. The defense, too, rates sixth and surrenders 273 yards per game.
"(Calvert's) a hard team to defend," Kidwell said. "They spread the field out from sideline to sideline, and that's rare in high school football. They really make you cover a lot of ground in a short period of time.
"The plus side for us is that we've played Lakota, and they run the same formations," he said. "When (Calvert) has had success, it's been with running the fullback. If we can stop their fullback and make them pass, that's a big plus for us."
Hopewell-Loudon's offense, led by running back Andy Brickner (212 yards, 42 carries) is fourth in the MAL at 230 yards per game.
Quarterback Bryan Siebenaller has completed 13-of-37 passes for 192 yards, throwing one touchdown and three interceptions.
"They've got a lot of kids back from last year, and the big thing with them is that they have three or four kids that can run the ball," Hammond said of the Chieftain offense. "The Brickners (Andy and Lee) and Siebenaller are all threats. (Andy) Brickner is probably one of the top two or three backs in the league.
"They run a lot of isolation, power and toss sweep," he said. "They throw the ball just to keep you off balance."
Offensively for Calvert, Keith Shearer was the team leader in receptions (five) and yardage (75), and Kyle Shearer was second in rushing (70 yards).
Dan Snyder (154 yards, 38 carries) will continue to carry the load on the ground and will be backed by Pat Boehler. But quarterback Marc Baugher will now have to search for different targets.
Nick Lucius has 42 yards on four catches, while Derek Wise has 75 yards on three grabs. Tony Mass has two catches for 11 yards.
"We have to come out and establish ourselves on offense early," Kidwell said. "Our line has to be physical. We can't go three-and-out, and at the same time we can't let them score early.
"I said in the summer that these kids were hungry for success," he said. "They've seen the girls programs around here, and now they want that success for themselves. This is a big game for us. If we can come out with a win it would be huge for our program."