Hochmuth Happy: Elba drops Oakfield in defensive battle for the ages

| BataviasBest.org
Sunday, September 28. 2014

The Lancers were able to squeak out a victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Hornets by the low score of 7-6. An interception by Elba’s John Hochmuth sealed the deal for the winning side late in the fourth quarter and put an end to what was one of best games so far this season.

To begin the game Elba was given possession of the ball and were quickly forced to punt by the OA defense. Taking over with 9:01 remaining in the first quarter at their own 15 yard line, Oakfield almost gave the ball right back on the second play of their drive on an interception, but it was erased due to a defensive holding call on the Lancers. Thankfully for the Hornets, they had another chance and even more important didn’t give Elba the ball with such great field position.

After the penalty, however, Oakfield was unable to capitalize on the big break and were forced to punt the ball away. On the ensuing drive, John Hochmuth turned into an unstoppable force.

Facing a three and out immediately after gaining possession, the Lancers went to the air on third down and converted for a first. Hochmuth was the one on the other end of the Garrett Chapell pass, his first reception of the day, and Elba seemed to be in business at the 4:47 mark of the first quarter. Despite their momentum, though, and a few more receptions from Hochmuth on the drive, the Lancers could not convert the good fortune into points and gave the ball back to Oakfield yet again.

As the first quarter came to a close, it remained a 0-0 ballgame as both teams had opportunities to score but were unable to push the ball over the goal line. During the second quarter it was much of the same as neither side could mount a scoring drive and ended up going into the halftime break still tied.

Opening the second half with the ball was Oakfield, who began their drive start at their own 20 yard line looking for a long drive to seize control of the game. Following a few minimal gains on first and second down, on 3rd and 3 the Hornets got exactly what they had been looking for all game: the big play.

A long pass play of about 60 yards from Allen Chatt to Sal Schwable opened the game up and gave the Hornets a quality opportunity. Following the big gain, though, Oakfield went three straight plays without gaining a single yard and were faced with a 4th and 10 inside the red zone. Faced with such a difficult situation, OA again called Schwable’s number.

Due in large part to an unknown injury to Oakfield’s Ryan Emery, Schwable found himself as a huge part of the offense early in the second half and made the most of his role. On the fourth down play, Schwable was able to get open easily and make the short catch for the first down. Following the first, Elba called a timeout with 9:17 remaining in the half as they were hoping to make a stand and keep the Hornets out of the end zone.

Stopping OA all the way up until 4th down, Elba gave in once again and allowed the Hornets to convert and this time score a touchdown. Allen Chatt hit Trent Stack over the middle of the end zone for what had to be one of the nicest touchdown catches of the season. Using one hand to extend, tip the ball to himself, and secure the ball while falling to the ground, Stack gave everything he had into making the catch and it paid off with a touchdown.

After a failed two-point attempt on part of the Hornets, Elba would await the kickoff down 6-0 with 9:03 left in the third quarter. On the ensuing drive, John Hochmuth again showed why he was one of the best players on the field Saturday afternoon.

Going to the big tight end early and often during the drive, Hochmuth made several huge 3rd and 4th down catches for the Lancers in order to extend the possession towards the end zone. After getting all the way down near the goal line, Garrett Chapell was able to run a QB keeper and score Elba’s first touchdown. Following a successful PAT, the score was now 7-6 Elba with the extra point being the difference.

For the remainder of the contest up to the last 3 minutes of play, both sides were unable to produce any sort of extended drive and simply could not find the end zone.

However, on the game’s final possession, Oakfield was able to cross midfield with time ticking down under 2 minutes. After crossing midfield, the Hornets would go deep down the left sideline on the very first play in Lancer territory but were unable to connect for the big gain. Despite the incompletion, though, one of the referees who was trailing the play from about 30 yards away must thought he saw contact on the play and threw the flag for defensive pass interference.

In my opinion, the call was reactionary based on the Oakfield receiver tripping over what seemed like his own feet, and the Hornets sideline calling for a flag. Nonetheless, the Lancers were forced to come up with another big stop within their own territory to preserve the victory – and they got it.

On the first down play following the big penalty, Hochmuth once again left his mark.

As OA’s quarterback dropped back to pass, Hochmuth dropped into coverage, and as an OA receiver attempted to come across the middle to find open space for another first down, Hochmuth cut off the passing lane, stepped in front of an incoming throw and picked the ball off for his team to seal the deal.

The interception was the play of the game for Elba, who had seemingly won the game on the turnover. Following which they had sent out their victory formation onto the field, and after a kneel down and two short runs for no gain, the buzzer sounded and the Lancers won the game 7-6.

With very little meaningful statistics to report due to the low-scoring affair, it leaves plenty of time to talk about the play of John Hochmuth.

Not only did he win the game for the Lancers on the big-time interception, he was also able to catch about 10 balls offensively, many of which coming during the later downs. The Hornets were unable to find an answer for him all day, as Elba continued to throw the ball up to the big body in single coverage only for Hochmuth to come down with great catch after great catch. Specifically during Elba’s game-winning scoring drive during the second half, the big tight end made several key catches on 3rd and 4th down to keep the drive alive.

To sum it up, the TE gave his team a chance to win on Saturday afternoon, and the Lancers did just that. Therefore, there is only one realistic choice for my Player of the Game – and that is John Hochmuth.

“It feels great (to play so well),” said Hochmuth after the game. “But it was only made possible by Garrett giving me great passes and from the game plan that the coaches had set up.”

When I asked him how it felt making the catch on the interception, he replied:

“It was electric. It was a nice feeling to help my team win after a hard-fought game. My teammates and coaches told me I played well, but we all agreed it was a team-effort to come out with the win today.”

Using the strong team-effort, Elba will now move to 3-1 on the season and look forward to facing League #1 Attica next week. Oakfield (2-2) falls one game back of second place with the loss and will face Alexander next Friday night.

FINAL ELBA STATS:

Offense

Chapell – 13/24; 154 yards passing

Hochmuth – 10 receptions; 142 yards receiving

Steele Truax – 14 carries; 61 yards rushing — 2 receptions; 12 yards

Defense

Truax – 16 tackles (4 solo, 12 assisted); 1 fumble recovery

Andrew Gottler – 9 tackles, 1/2 sack

Hunter Taylor – 7 tackles; 1/2 sack

Hochmuth – 7 tackles; Game-saving interception

FINAL OAKFIELD STATS:

Offense