By Scott “Coach” Stankowski
September 7, 2012
Stevens Point–With the hint of fall in the air, the SPASH Panthers pulled out a victory over Menasha at Goerke Field on a beautiful cool and crisp night. The game looked like it was going to be a blowout for a while as the Panthers controlled the ball from both sides, but the Menasha Blue Jays proved to pesky, just like their feathered namesake.
The Panthers busted out on their first drive and methodically drove down the field. Zach Pozorski did plenty of the heavy lifting on the drive which was capped by a nineteen yard quarterback run by the swift-footed Eric Zelhofer. The ensuing P.A.T. was no good and the Panthers led 6-0 with 7:15 left in the quarter.
Menasha seemed to have the answer as they returned ensuing the kickoff to the house. However, that house was made of cards as a block in the back brought the play all the way back to the twenty five yard line of Menasha. The multi-faceted Jays started out with an option offense that did not fool anyone even with a constant dose of three wide-out sets. SPASH senior Scotty Cisewski cut the drive short with an interception giving the ball back to the Panthers.
Late in the first quarter the Jays would be pinned again deep in their own territory and with 4th down, a ten-yard punt set up the Panthers on the Menasha 19 yard line. On the second play from scrimmage, Zelhofer would drop back and take on a heavy blitz, only to throw over the rush and hit a wide-open Andrew Ruzek for the touchdown. The PAT this time was good and the Panthers lead would expand to 13-0.
Menasha answered quickly. The Blue Jays worked their way down field with quick plays and decent gains ending in the end zone bringing the score to 13-7.
Mitch Malek picked a second pass off of Tyler Korth to set up a 50-yard rumble with 4:28 remaining. Jake Yenter then took the PAT snap and ran it in to put the men in black up 21-7.
Menasha’s offense would again be challenged as SPASH’s Aaron Winch stripped the ball. The crafty hands of Jon Barnes pounced on the ball like a cat striking a mouse and the Panthers would once again be in business.
SPASH capped off a one-play drive off a Zelhofer keeper to put the score at 28-7. Eric stated that it would not have been possible to do what he did “without the great work of those around me who stepped up and made the plays.”
The Blue Jays tried to answer, driving all the way down field to set up a first and goal. On the next play, ball hawk Barnes would sniff out the pass and pick it off in the end zone, halting the threat. The score would go into half-time 28-7 with the Panthers’ offense and defense firing on all cylinders.
Menasha made some huge adjustments in the second half working on a few schemes that would really hurt the Panthers. Most notably was running the Panthers into the ground on broken plays and taking the Panthers’ defense out of rhythm.
On the Menasha’s scheme, Coach McAdams said, “Give Menasha credit, they are a very athletic team and they wore out our defense, we were gassed on both sides of the ball and the Blue Jays broke our contain on the ends.”
The Jays mounted a scoring drive that took half the quarter to bring the score to 28-14. The kickoff was a poocher that hit a hole in the SPASH return team, allowing Menasha to recover the ball. It didn’t look good as the speedy Jays ran in it down again to the goal line. History, however, would repeat itself and none other than Jon Barnes intercepted another pass.
“I am really on a roll, and I can count on my teammates to allow me to not have to worry about the receivers all the time so I can follow the quarterback,” Barnes said.
It looked as though the Panthers wanted to run out the clock with the running game, but without gaining much ground they gave the ball back to Menasha deep in their own territory off of a high snap, setting up the visitors on the nineteen yard line. With :35 on the third quarter clock the score was now 28-21 and we had a game.
The Blue Jays amped it up on defense in the fourth quarter, seemingly knowing just about every SPASH play was and controlling the SPASH offensive line. The SPASH defense came to play as well and Mitch Malek got into the interception folly with one of his own with 7:00 to play.
Menasha again showed how athletic they were on defense smothering, getting the ball back with 2:38 on their own 34-yard line. A questionable personal foul late hit out of bounds would keep their drive alive, but Barnes regrouped the boys in the huddle and the Panthers showed the ultimate bend don’t break performance.
Menasha would march the ball down to the 2 yard line with :13 on the clock when Barnes came up with a big hit on a quarterback scramble, setting up a quick one second last ditch play from the one yard line. The one and only Jake Yenter stepped up big and knocked down the pass in the end zone preserving the 28-21 victory.
Coach McAdams pointed out that he would like to think that the nature of this game was a learning lesson for his team and boost their confidence. The Panthers utilized a pretty balanced attack on offense and relied on their defense to step it up and play big and physical. The crowd was electric and well noted by both players and coaches including the man in charge.
“The fan base in this town is like no other, it was awesome, and the fans and players feed off of each other, we really have an awesome student section,” McAdams said.
SPASH Notes: SPASH, now 3-0, will face Fon du Lac in Stevens Point next week. Fon du Lac is 0-2 so far in conference play… As far as superstitions go, Coach McAdams had a ham and cheese flatbread sandwich as his pre-game meal and never goes out onto the field without a piece of gum… He is not particular about the flavor but prefers a spearmint or peppermint.
