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Monday, 10 September 2007 |
 Waynesfield-Goshen running back Blake Knowlton breaks free for a long touchdown run on Saturday against the Triad Cardinals at Waynesfield. (Staff photo/ William Laney)
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
WAYNESFIELD — An adjustment made by Waynesfield-Goshen varsity football coaches helped free the Tigers top rusher for a fourth-quarter touchdown Saturday to seal a win against the Triad Cardinals.
Tiger senior running back Blake Knowlton took the pitch behind the right side of his offense line and sprinted toward the sideline before slashing between the offensive tackle and offensive end and cutting it back across the field for a 37-yard touchdown with 5:33 left in the game.
The touchdown and extra point gave the Tigers a 28-14 lead en route to a 30-14 over their non-conference foe. The Tigers are now 2-1 on the season as they enter Northwest Central Conference play Friday.
The Cardinals drop to 0-3 on the season.
Tiger varsity coach Gary Spencer said the coaching staff discussed the play with Knowlton during the game.
“We were trying to develop a pitch that made it look like we were going on a sweep and then he would cut it up into the ‘6-hole’ (between the right tackle and right end),” Spencer said after the game. “The whole intention was to keep cutting it back against the grain because when they saw Blake Knowlton have the ball they overpursued.
“We tried to get him to cut it back,” he said. “We shared it with him on the field and it worked.”
Knowlton rushed for 235 yards on the game by gaining 121 yards on 18 carries Saturday and 114 yards on 17 carries Friday. For the season, the 5-foot-10, 165-pound tailback has rushed for 806 yards.
On Friday, Knowlton scored on a 46-yard scamper to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
The game was suspended at the half with Waynesfield-Goshen holding a 14-7 lead. A power outage in New Hampshire interrupted power to the village of Waynesfield.
Knowlton’s touchdown run Saturday answered a 9-yard run by the Cardinal’s Josh Keatley to bring Triad within a touchdown of knotting the game.
After a sluggish start Saturday, the Tigers scored on a 4-yard run by senior quarterback Jake Sandusky with 42 seconds left in the third quarter to stake the Blue and Gold to a 21-7 lead.
Sandusky, who was 2-of-5 for 26 yards through the air, rushed for 26 yards on 11 carries in the game. He scored on a near identical 4-yard run in the first half to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead.
“He is the quarterback for a reason and that is because he is the leader of our team,” Spencer said. “He is a senior leader, and we need a senior leading this team.”
The Tigers rushed for a total of 308 yards on 52 plays. Sophomore running back Keaton Fetter gained 21 yards on four carries, senior wideout Gray Horn rushed for 22 yards on an end around and sophomore Ryan Spencer gained 4 yards on three carries.
After Sandusky’s second touchdown run, the Cardinals needed only 2:25 seconds for a 5-play, 34-yard drive early in the fourth quarter to pull within one score on the Keatley romp.
After Knowlton’s run, the Cardinals went to the air. The Tigers surrendered 400 yard passing games in each of their first two contests.
Cardinal junior quarterback Ethan James, who finished the game with 126 yards passing on 9-of-26 passing, could only connect on 1-of-10 passing for 9 yards and two interceptions.
Sandusky intercepted a pass with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter, and Magnus Bitsch intercepted the other James’ pass to end the game.
James, who also serves as the punter kicked the ball out of his own end zone after a low snap. The Tigers’ junior linebacker Evan Crabtree was credited with the safety.
Spencer credited his defense for a strong effort in limiting the pass despite a 23-yard pass completion from James to senior split end Tyler Fisher during the Cardinal’s fourth-quarter score.
“Our pass defense is getting better, but again we are not healthy,” Spencer said. “Every time we turn around we have another defensive back go down to injury. I think at one time, we had four defensive backs out of the game.”
While injuries hit Spencer’s defensive backfield, Cardinal varsity coach Payton Printz said the flu bug sidelined some of his players or forced him to play some of his two-way starters on one side of the ball.
“We had some issues were we had a couple of boys who were hurt or not feeling well so they didn’t play or didn’t play much,” Printz said. “The second half of the game today we had two two-way players going one way because they were up all last night vomiting.
“We got a little momentum, lost it and then got it back again,” he said. “I told the kids we did alright they played hard. If we keep working hard, we should be alright the rest of the season.”
Printz said his offense and James are getting better. Printz said he changed the offense from a wing-T to the I-formation because of the young, strong backs he has.
Keatley led Triad with 34 yards on 14 carries. Nate Marks, who did not play Saturday, gained 26 yards on 5 carries and Gregg Reed rushed for 22 yards on 8 carries.
“Learning a new offense is a slow process but we are getting better,” Printz said. “When you graduate 18 starters, it is hard. We are going to have most of this team back next year.”
James should be back and is gaining experience each week.
“He is getting better,” Printz said. “He has a tendency to look long and then short and we are working on him look short first because those routes open first.
“He is reading the defenses better. The things we are really working with on he is getting better.”
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 September 2007 )
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