Quick-strike capability boosts Indians

Krysa's special teams play, defense help Fort Osage rally past Park Hill South

By Jason Tarwater
The Examiner
Posted Aug 30, 2008 @ 02:47 AM

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Independence, MO — With his team trailing in the final three minutes against Park Hill South, Dalton Krysa came through.

The Fort Osage running back – who rushed for 162 yards – made his impact on special teams, busting a 96-yard kickoff return for the game-winning score, as the Indians opened the season with a wild 28-20 win.

“I don’t know why they kicked it to him,” Fort Osage coach Ryan Schartz said. “I’m glad they did, though.”
Park Hill South seemed to take control of the game with 3:12 left, as Daniel Siehndel hit Frank Panilla for a 36-yard score. E.J. Gaines blocked the extra point, but Fort trailed late 20-14.
Enter Krysa.
A penalty against the Indians allowed Park Hill South to kick off from the 50. The ball went right to Krysa who hit a seam and ran up the middle of the field for the score.

“I didn’t know where they were going to kick it,” Krysa said, referring to himself and Gaines who also returns kicks. “They’d been going with both of us.”
Krysa said he had two thoughts in his head when he saw the field open up in front of him.

“Run as fast as you can, and don’t get tackled,” he said, laughing. “It just opened up. It felt good.”

While Dalton’s score won the game, Ian Mathis’ redemption clinched it.
Mathis, the Indian defensive back who was beaten on the 36-yard touchdown pass, more than made up for his mistake.

On the first play from scrimmage after Krysa’s touchdown, Mathis jumped a route, picked off Daniel Siehndel’s pass and raced 34 yards for the score to put the game away.

“They had been running the slant all night, but never threw to my side,” Mathis said. They showed a slant (on the touchdown pass) and I bit and couldn’t get back. I wanted to redeem myself.

“That (interception) saved my night. I’d have gone home and pouted all night.”
The final three minutes helped salvage what Schartz called an ugly overall season opener.

In the first quarter, the Indians lost three fumbles. One set up the Panthers’ first touchdown drive – which was capped by a 2-yard run by Siehndel. The third turned into a 36-yard scoop and score by Carlas Mosby to put the Panthers up 14-0 after one quarter.

Then Edward Pearl led the Indians back.
The junior quarterback, making his first start of the season, tossed a 28-yard score to a wide open Bret Sutton, before throwing a 32-yard score to Parker Jones. Jones appeared stopped near the 15-yard line, but broke through a number of tackles before fighting his way into the end zone.

“Park Hill South put a lot of guys in the box,” said Pearl, who threw for 204 yards in the first half and finished the night 18-of-24 for 243 yards with the two touchdowns and two interceptions. “They were crowding the line and our receivers got open.

“This felt pretty good, especially beating Park Hill South because they beat us last year.”

With three lost fumbles and the two interceptions – in addition to some crippling penalties that allowed Park Hill South to keep scoring drives alive – Schartz said he was happy with the win, but not with the game. For the game, Fort had nine penalties for 76 yards – including three 15-yard penalties.

“This is a tough football team,” Schartz said. “To overcome those penalties and turnovers showed toughness. But I’m not happy. We have a lot of things to work on and get under control. We’re going to go to work (Saturday).”

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The Examiner 410 S. Liberty, Independence, MO 64050

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Gallon guzzles 'Crabs

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Editor Note -- See Apopka Highlights this WFTV Video. Apopka is discussed at the 4:04 mark.
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By MICHAEL LEWIS
Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- Preseason games mean next to nothing.

And the team Seabreeze was playing Friday night, Apopka, might be the best squad in the state.

So therefore there wasn't too much concern from Sandcrabs head coach Marc Beach after the Blue Darters and their sensational quarterback, Jeremy Gallon, ran all over his team at Municipal Stadium.

Behind Gallon's 304 rushing yards and three touchdowns, Apopka rolled to a 39-0 victory in three quarters of varsity action.

"I think to stop him you'd have to shoot him," Seabreeze coach Marc Beach said of Gallon. "We knew they were going to be very good, but I don't think I expected this."

Seabreeze is breaking in new starters at all the skill positions in 2008, so understandably things were a little rocky Friday night at Municipal Stadium.

One of the Sandcrabs' best defensive players, safety Jonathan Scott, was among five players who didn't play Friday due to what Beach called "team issues," and linebacker Olajuwon Postell suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter.

Even if they had an all-star team, though, Seabreeze would've had trouble handling Gallon. The Blue Darters' University of Michigan-bound quarterback was unstoppable in the first half. Gallon slithered through the tiniest holes in the Seabreeze defense, and once he was in open space he outraced everyone to the end zone.

Gallon scored on scampers of 14, 49, and 59 in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.

Great things are expected from Apopka this season; the Blue Darters advanced to the Class 6A semifinals in 2007, and they defeated Spruce Creek in the third round along the way. They're ranked No. 2 in the state preseason Class 6A poll.

Offensively, Seabreeze had trouble moving the ball. New starting quarterback, junior Matt Thompson, threw some nice passes for the 'Crabs, but Seabreeze never threatened to score. Thompson finished 3-of-9 for 27 yards.

"I think the big thing was we didn't hit any plays to give our offense some confidence, and then we left our defense on the field too long," Beach said. "We didn't get first downs and in this humidity, your defense is going to get tired."

Seabreeze will open its season Friday night against Spruce Creek at New Smyrna Beach Stadium at 7 p.m.

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The News-Journal - 901 Sixth Street - Daytona Beach, FL 32117

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Apopka High School - 555 W Martin St - Apopka, FL 32712

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SE offense sputters in loss / Bliss' Tigers Wing-it to a win

SE offense sputters in loss
Edwardsville starts season off wrong for Spartans again

By ROBERT BURNS
STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Aug 30, 2008 @ 01:11 AM
Last update Aug 30, 2008 @ 10:14 AM

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Before the season began, Southeast High School coach Jeff Thomas talked about adversity and how his team hadn’t encountered any in the preseason.

In the season opener on Friday at Spartan Field, Thomas and his squad got more than their fair share in losing to Edwardsville 29-7 in the non-conference contest.

The Spartans’ defense played relatively well, including holding the Southwestern Conference representative to one third-quarter score in the second half.

But the offense sputtered, missing two scoring opportunities in the second quarter, albeit one that most thought the Spartans had taken away from them.

“It was a momentum breaker right there, we had the momentum going down in the end zone, but it’s OK, those things happen,” Thomas said.

Down 21-0 at the 6-minute mark of the second quarter, Southeast (0-1) took possession of a lost fumble on its own 34-yard line, moving 65 yards in a little more than 4 minutes to set up a second-and-goal on the Edwardsville 1.

Most Southeast fans thought their team went 66 yards, as Anthony Harrison spun on a third-and-goal and appeared to break the plane of the goal line. A scrum ensued, with the ball recovered by the Edwardsville defense in the end zone and ruled a touchback by officials.

“I’m not going to dwell on it, but I seriously know that changes the game,” Thomas said. “(A touchdown) keeps us in our game plan the whole night.”

Edwardsville (1-0) which had outscored the Spartans 133-2 in winning the previous three games, displaying a modified single wing offense under new coach Mark Bliss.

The end results were the same, as the Tigers posted 384 total yards, highlighted by 287 yards rushing. That was topped by quarterback Ishmiah Roundtree’s game-high 140 rushing yards and TD run of 39 yards that put his team up 29-0 early in the third quarter.

Running back Max Andresen opened the scoring in the first quarter, capping a four-play, 59-yard drive with a run from the 17 with 2:09 remaining. Andresen finished with 103 yards on 10 carries.

Roundtree showed off his passing ability in the second quarter, hitting Joe Randazzo and Kraig Rehkemper with TD passes of 40 and 16 yards. Sam Fink’s extra point and Gabe Carpenter’s 2-point conversion put the Tigers up 21-0 at the half.

“In terms of getting a win, we got a win,” Bliss said. “But in terms of finishing on drives, there were three drives that we did not finish on. We’ve got some work to do.”

Thomas, while basically admitting the same thing, emphasized the positive, in particular the play of junior running back Jonathan Rouse. Rouse posted a team-high 118 yards on 11 carries, scoring the home team’s lone TD on a 61-yard scamper with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter.

Rouse gave the fans a boost in the second quarter with a 64-yard kickoff return after doing just enough to keep the ball from going into the end zone.

That was a prelude to one of the should-have-been scores, as the Spartans went six yards on the following four plays, losing the ball on a recovered fumble on fourth-and-4.

“The defense did a great job,” Bliss said. “We’ve got 11 guys who fly to the ball. We teach our kids we want to run to the brown ball.”


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The State Journal-Register
One Copley Plaza
Springfield, IL 62701
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Team preview: Rocky Bayou Christian

August 29, 2008 - 1:36AM


By ADAM PRUIETT
adamp@nwfdailynews.com

NICEVILLE - Athleticism is unquestionably a necessity to build a quality football team.

But Rocky Bayou football coach John Reaves believes not having an endless supply of it doesn't mean a team can't be competitive. Other factors are nearly as important, and that's why Reaves has quickly grown fond of the Knights' inaugural football team.

"In order to be successful in football, you have to be very disciplined if you don't have incredible athletes. We don't have incredible athletes," Reaves said. "We have good, solid athletes with great discipline."

Discipline and smarts.

"The asset of intelligence can't be overlooked," Reaves said. "You've got to have great athletes to win. But if you have great athletes who are intelligent, it gives you an edge. And, if you have adequate athletes who are intelligent, it makes up for some of the shortfalls of just being adequate."

Rocky Bayou won't be a unique team in the area solely because it's a new program. Reaves has instituted the Single Wing, an old-fashioned offense that is distinctive because there's no true quarterback. Instead, there's a bevy of ballcarriers who could potentially throw.

"We don't have a quarterback. A quarterback is just a name," Reaves said. "We have guys who throw the football, we have guys who run the football."

Seniors Noah Mosley and junior Justin Lewis are the team's tailbacks, junior Billy Thomas is the fullback, sophomore James Waldron is the blocking back, and senior James Kaim, junior Scott Listak and sophomore Dion Wright are the wingbacks.

"We've got sufficient speed, we've got sufficient size," Reaves said. "If we need a yard, I believe we can get it."

Rocky Bayou's offense will contain two tight ends, and they are seniors Taylor Peacock and James Speegle.

Seniors Ben Donahue and Brian Redmon, junior Aaron Cain, sophomore Matthew Ruff, freshman Eddie Owens and Shawn Josey are slated for the offensive line.

"They're not just moving somebody out of the way so a back can run," Reaves said. "They're putting somebody in the dirt so a back can run."

On the defensive line, Thomas and Josey are set to take care of the interior while Peacock and Redmon are the defensive ends.

Lewis, Speegle, Mosley, Shannon Mosley and Waldron comprise the team's linebacking unit.

Lewis also could be in the defensive backfield, along with Kaim, Listak and freshman Chris Behnken.

"Our system is very, very much an attacking system," Reaves said. "We're not going to sit back and take what the offense gives us. We're going to try to make something happen.

"We're not blessed with enormous size, so we need to meet them in the backfield or catch them in the backfield and try to get the ball on the ground."