| BataviasBest.org
Sunday, September 21, 2014
For the third consecutive week, the Notre Dame defense put together a memorable performance. The only difference this time around was that it paid off with a victory.
Not only did the Irish once again hold their opponent to under 20 points as they did against Oakfield and Alexander in Weeks 1 and 2, they somehow elevated their play defensively and limited the Lancers to less than 10 points on Saturday. In a total team effort, several ND players had huge days on defense which made it rather difficult to highlight any individual who shined above the rest. In order for them to win, Notre Dame has to play team-based football, and they did just that versus Elba.
The game began with an extremely quick first quarter, during which neither team could mount any sort of momentum on the offensive side of the ball. With both teams trying to run almost exclusively throughout the first 12 minutes, yards were extremely hard to come by. Before either offense could get their pants on, the first quarter had come to a close and the score remained tied at 0-0.
Midway through the second quarter, a long drive by the Elba offense broke the seal.
Behind Steele Truax, who turned into the primary runner for the Lancers by the time the second half began, Elba was able to drive the length of the field and score the game’s first touchdown to open the period. On the scoring play, Truax took an inside handoff for 35 yards up the gut which put his team ahead. Following a successful 2-point conversion, Elba was up 8-0 with 7:50 remaining in the first half and had to have been confident in their chances.
Up until the long TD run from Truax, Notre Dame’s defensive front had dominated the point of attack all day and were holding the Lancers to very short gains each time they tried to run the ball. After the touchdown, the Irish got back to controlling the game in the trenches.
On the very first play of ND’s next drive, an inside handoff to running back Peter Daversa went for a huge gain off tackle and set the Irish up with great field position and a chance to answer. Following a few plays that went for minimal gain, Daversa was able to complete the scoring drive with a 10-yard touchdown from the left hash which gave his team the tying score. Following a successful 2-point conversion it was now 8-8 with 6:01 remaining in the half.
Elba, unable to advance the ball on their next drive, quickly were forced to punt the ball back to the Irish with plenty of time remaining in the first half. Despite the favorable chance, however, ND was also forced to punt it away and gave the ball back to Elba with about 2:00 remaining.
Working the 2-minute drill to perfection, the Lancers were able to drive all the way down inside the red zone with help from a few boneheaded penalties called on the Irish. As a result, Elba found themselves with a chance with 21 seconds left in the second quarter. The Lancers could not convert, though, and the quarter expired with the game still tied at 8.
At the break, it was clear that the final two quarters were sure to be a dogfight. Both teams were playing great defense and doing a great job in stopping the opposing attack for much of the first half. As the players headed back onto the field, the second half began just as the first half had ended-sort of.
Opening with a few more boneheaded penalties, this time on part of the Lancers, Elba was set back to begin their opening drive. Failing to convert on the difficult down and distance, Elba was forced to punt with 10:00 left in the third quarter, and after a short return, Notre Dame put together what would be the drive of the game.
Beginning with a deep completion for 20 yards down the right sideline from Joe Zickl to Casey Midwick, the Irish had seemed to find a chemistry on offense that they had lacked for much of the first half. Immediately after the long throw and catch, another huge gain by Notre Dame on the ground set up a 1st down and 10 inside the red zone.
Able to hold the Irish to a 4th and 2 situation after the consecutive big plays, the Elba defense stepped up and had the opportunity to get the ball back on their own 7 yard line. However, the Irish converted the 4th down, and turned it into a 1st and goal from the 4 yard line. Two straight runs followed the conversion, which produced no gain for ND, but on a 3rd down and goal from inside the five with about 4:00 remaining in the third quarter, the Irish were able to find the end zone once again; this time through the air.
A great pitch and catch from Zickl to wide receiver Josh Johnson completed the Notre Dame drive and gave them a 15-8 lead following a successful PAT. Despite the touchdown, however, the mood on the Elba sideline remained positive. From the guys on the sidelines, to the fans in the stands, the belief that they were still going to come out on top was apparent.
Little did they know, though, they were about to be let down.
Following a few punts which brought the clock all the way down under 10:00 to go in regulation, the Irish took over having a good chance to seal the deal with a score. Shortly into their drive, however, Notre Dame fumbled the ball back to the Lancers, giving away any chance they had of clinching the game. Unfortunately for Elba, their offensive struggles would continue on the ensuing possession.
Moving the ball all the way across midfield after the turnover, the Lancers offense ended up sputtering once again as they found themselves faced with a 4th down situation at about the 40 yard line. As they had done all night long, the Notre Dame defense rose to the challenge, got the stop, and gave their offense back the ball with yet another chance to put the game away.
On their next drive, the Irish were also able to move the ball close to midfield as the Lancers had done minutes before, and were faced with a 3rd down and 4 which if converted would have most likely ended the game.
Choosing to run the ball as they had for much of the night, ND called a toss play to the outside but mishandled the exchange and coughed the ball up again. Laying the lumber, the Lancers’ tacklers were able to drive the runner away from the loose ball and recover yet another huge fumble. The Irish offense had now given it away for a second time in a big spot and it was up to the defense to save their behind.
Advancing the ball all the way down to the 22 yard line following the turnover, it seemed as if the Lancers were destined for the end zone. However, the Irish defense was able to get three straight stops for no gain in order to force another 4th down for Elba with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
With the game on the line, and the Notre Dame defense smelling blood in the water, the Lancers decided on a pass play on 4th down. The pass fell incomplete on the right side of the formation, ending the threat, and gave the Irish the ball back with a short time standing between them and their first victory. They had held tough once again for what seemed like the 10th time in the game, and ended up walking away with the win – one that was as well-deserved as any you will see this year.
“I have a lot of confidence (in my team),” said WR Josh Johnson following the game. “Today’s win started a new chapter (for us) and I believe the outcome is going to be positive.”
Johnson caught the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter and finished the game with a total of 3 catches for 30 yards. Despite the limited production in terms of yardage and receptions, the TD was huge and directly led to the Notre Dame victory.
“It felt great,” Johnson said about the catch. “There is nothing better than controlling the game. Zickl had a perfect throw and my job is to go up and catch it.”
Aside from the winning score, Johnson heaped full-credit onto his team’s defensive effort Saturday versus the Lancers.
“We played solid defense as a team today,” he said, “The chemistry really came along during a great week of practice. Jack Sutherland played real well and so did CJ Suozzi, but its hard to single anyone out because it was a team effort. Everyone did their 1/11th.”
A large portion of their great team effort was ND’s ability to stop the run. Thus far, Elba has shown great strength in moving bodies around inside and have gone for big yardage on the ground twice before, but were unable to find space against ND and struggled as a result. The Lancers wound up finishing the game with under 100 yards rushing as a team for the first time all year, which was due in large part to the absence of Mike Shanley during the second half.
Coming into the game, Shanley was experiencing a few leg issues, but seemed to be a full-go for Elba after going through warmups without a hitch. However, after experiencing some cramps during the first half, Shanley was unable to continue into the second half and remained on the sideline with his helmet off for the last several minutes of the game. Scoring the lone touchdown for the Lancers, Truax filled in for Shanley rather well, but aside from the long run he really struggled to gain yards with consistency.
Much like the struggles experienced through the running game, Elba was also unable to find success throwing the ball downfield all day long. Completing a respectable 10 of 21 passes on the day, QB Garrett Chapel could only seem to find short screens or quick swing passes for much of the day, and the Lancers’ quarterback finished with just 51 yards, which directly led to their failure to finish off drives inside the red zone.
For Notre Dame, Joe Zickl had a solid first day under center in replacement of injured Connor Logsdon who reportedly has a collar bone injury. Zickl finished the contest 6/10 for 65 yards and the touchdown to Johnson which turned out to be the game-winner.
While Elba had the benefit of running 54 plays to Notre Dame’s 38, the Lancers could not capitalize and left several promising drives just short of the end zone. Looking forward, this offense will really need improve upon this performance and get back to running the football the way they are capable of next week against Oakfield.
As for Notre Dame, sitting at 1-2 with several games remaining on the schedule, anything could happen. If the Irish are able to string together a few victories they will find themselves right back in the thick of things come playoff time.
Being the Game of the Week, I have selected a Player of the Game. This week I believe Notre Dame’s Josh Johnson has earned my selection.
Throughout my thought process, although I acknowledged that the defense played a primary role in the ND victory on Saturday, it was too difficult for me to select an individual from that side of the ball for the Player of the Game. Also earning consideration was Johnson. The lengthy wide receiver’s catch for the go-ahead score in the second half was not easy and turned out to be the difference maker which made the decision that I reached an obvious one.
With the loss, Elba will move down a spot in the Standings and are now tied for second place with Oakfield. Notre Dame will move up a spot, out of a tie for last place and into a tie for third place with Alexander. Stay tuned this week for plenty more exciting coverage of Section V Football!!
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