CWS Sports Desk
September 28, 2012
Neenah– On paper, this game looked to be a blow out. After all, the Neenah Rockets had failed to win a game in five tries this year, while SPASH was undefeated at 5-0. Well, as the saying goes, there’s a reason they play the games.
SPASH scored on their first offensive play, a 63-yard run by senior tailback Zach Pozorski to take a 7-0 lead, then struggled mightily against the Neenah’s defense, statistically the worst in the VFA-South. However, a late Pozorski touchdown lifted SPASH to a 13-0 win.
SPASH improves to 5-0 in the VFA and 6-0 overall. Neenah remains winless on the season.
For SPASH, this one was anything but easy.
There were two highlights for SPASH’s offense in the first half. The first was Pozorski’s touchdown. Pozorski piled up over 100 yards of rushing in the first quarter alone and accounted for the only score for either team in the first half of play.
The second offensive highlight for SPASH in the first half was when quarterback Eric Zelhofer connected with Scott Walden for a 69-yard reception to set up what would result in a SPASH missed field goal.
Besides those two plays, Neenah’s defense effectively bottled up SPASH’s offense.
Meanwhile, Neenah’s offense, relying heavily on running back Nathan Vandermause, committed crucial turnovers in the early going, including an interception by SPASH’s Jake Yenter, followed by a fumble by the Rockets’ Ryan Shaw that the Panthers gobbled up.
SPASH’s offensive struggles continued in the second half with the Rockets keying in on Pozorski and shutting down the Panthers’ running game. However, with 7:19 to go in the final quarter, SPASH mounted a drive, led by the arm of Zelhofer, who hooked up on big passes with Joey Flowrette and Walden, respectively, to help get the Panthers down to the Rockets’ 15 yard line.
After a bevy of penalties doled out to both teams, including a crucial roughing the passer call on Neenah, Pozorski scored on a 15 yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 13-0 lead with 2:56 to go.
Zelhofer finished the game with 187 passing yards on 8-14 passing for SPASH, while Pozorski, the VFA-South’s leading rusher, ran for 169 yards on 25 carries. Walden had 104 receiving yards to lead SPASH.
SPASH will face conference rival Wisconsin Rapids in week 7 at Goerke Field. Rapids fell to Marshfield 30-28 Friday night.
