St. Charles gridders hold on for 15-8 win over Ithaca
By KEITH SALISBURY
Sports Editor
ST. CHARLES -- School's not even back in session yet, but already the St. Charles varsity football players have passed their second big test. Long-time head coach Bob Welzein could have been forgiven a shudder of dread back when the fall football schedule came out. True his young players had acquited themselves well last season, going 6-3 in the regular season, finishing second in the reorganized Tri-Valley Conference West Division, and advancing to the Division 6 regional finals in a three-game play-off run. But they were to open the 2007 season with defending Division 8 champion New Lothrop, then face long-time rival Ithaca in Week Two, and take on Merrill in Week Three. The Yellow Jackets won the TVC West last year and were unbeaten until the 'Dawgs silenced them in the district finals. Merrill slugged it out with St. Charles, finishing third in the conference in 2006. "We knew all three of these first games would be huge," Welzein admitted. "Getting past New Lothrop last week was great, but we knew we'd have a battle ahead of us with Ithaca." And a battle it was. However the Bulldogs managed to come out on top, 15-8, despite a late rally by the 'Jackets. St. Charles got on the board first, scoring at 5:24 of the first quarter on a 17 yard pass play from quarterback Brian Halas to sophomore tight end Travis Crane. The duo then hooked up for the two-point conversion to make it 8-0. Ithaca stormed back, scoring at 2:10 of the first on a three yard run by Brandon Walker. He also ran in the conversion to knot the score at 8-8. The Bulldogs weren't done, roaring back on an 11 yard run by Marshall Davenport at 8:04 of the second quarter. Crane kicked the PAT this time for the 15-8 lead. That's the way it remained for the remainder of the game, but the Yellow Jackets did provide some scary moments late. As the fourth quarter was winding to a close, the Bulldogs had the ball and were driving. They had advanced to the Ithaca 15 yard line before fumbling away the ball. The Yellow Jackets then proceeded to march the length of the field, getting to a fourth-and-goal on the St. Charles seven yard line. In a bizarre twist, the Ithaca quarterback dropped back to pass, but Matt Schalow picked off the interception. However, the Bulldogs were flagged for roughing the passer, while the 'Jackets were slapped with an unsportsmanslike conduct penalty. With the resulting do-over, the 'Dawged defense was able to come up with a stop, allowing the offense to run out the clock with 40 seconds left to play. "It was a good win, but it was an ugly win," a relieved Welzein said. St. Charles finished the night generating 144 yards on 37 carries rushing, and 32 more yards on 3 of 11 passing for 176 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs tallied 11 first downs. M. Davenport racked up 46 yards in 10 carries to lead the Bulldogs. Halas had 44 yards in 10 carries. He also threw all the passes for St. Charles. Ithaca finished with 138 yards on the ground, and 91 more through the air on 12 of 25 passing, for 229 yards of total offense. The 'Jackets had 12 first downs. Much of that offense came in the final drive, however. Walker finished the night with 78 yards in 19 carries. Jared Klein had 60 yards in 13 trips. On defense, Schalow collected two official interceptions, including one with a 20 yard return, as well as the one waved off at the end of the game. "Matt had a pretty good night in the secondary," Welzein praised. Halas led the defense with 10 tackles. Crane had nine tackles and a fumble recovery. Spencer Davenport had eight tackles with a sack. Brad Saunders had seven tackles with a sack and a batted pass in a key situation. Ryan Katch, Justin Hedrich and Ryan Humpert each had six tackles. This week, the Bulldogs play host to Merrill. The Vandals are also 2-0 on the young season, having dispatched Michigan Lutheran Seminary 34-32 in their league opener.
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