Scotties Hunt Down Devils

It was a chilly and windy day at Scottie Field on Saturday. Hopes and expectations were high among both teams hoping to continue their playoff run. The Huntley Project Red Devils traveled to town to take on the Glasgow Scotties. With the bleachers nearly full, the two teams took the field.

In the first quarter the Scotties got on the scoreboard when QB Jason Thibault followed his strong offensive line to surge across the goal line for a 1 yard TD. The PAT kick by Valentin Robert was good, which brought the score to 7-0. Glasgow's defense continued to play dominant throughout the first quarter and kept Huntley down, as the quarter ended with the Scotties up 7-0.

A big play by none other than Johnathon Koessl, early in the second quarter started Glasgow on the way to another victory, as he wove through traffic to score on a 70-yard punt return. The PAT kick by Robert failed, so the score remained at 13-0.

After Glasgow kicked the ball off, their defense once again played a major role, as Keil Krumwiede scored on an 8-yard fumble return. Krumwiede scooped up the ball and dove across the goal line to get the TD. With a successful PAT kick, the Scotties widened their lead to 20-0.

Following an interception thrown by Glasgow quarterback Jason Thibault, the Red Devils were able to capitalize and scored on an 18-yard TD pass to Tanner Oblender from Dallas Mack. Huntley's PAT kick was good, which narrowed Glasgow's lead to 20-7, as the second quarter came to an end.

In the third quarter, neither the Scotties nor the Red Devils scored. Then, early into the fourth quarter, Chase Fossum caught a short crossing pass from Thibault and turned up the middle of the field to outrace the defenders for a 44-yard TD. Robert's PAT kick was good, which extended the Scotties lead to 27-7.

The Scotties cannon blast for Fossum's touchdown was a little late this time and ended up going off just as the extra point was occurring. The Red Devils proceeded to jump offside and the officials threw a flag on the cannon for un-sportsman like conduct, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty. In all the years the cannon has ever been used, this was probably the first time the cannon had ever been flagged! As the ball was moved back, the extra point became a 36-yard attempt in which Robert crushed the ball through the uprights, bringing the score to 30-7.

"The win was terrific in keeping our goal alive of winning a state championship," coach Greg Liebelt said. "Also, what should be taken away from this game for us is that although we had five turnovers and left a lot of points on the field, we were still able to play strong with our defense and do enough good things with offense and special teams for an impressive victory over a tough team."

Speaking of Glasgow's defense, it came up with three turnovers themselves on interceptions by Koessl and linebacker Tanner Roness and the fumble recovery and score by Krumwiede. The game was very physical and there was a lot of hard hitting and bodies flying around on both sides.

This coming Saturday, the Fairfield Eagles will be coming to town to take on the Scotties. The Eagles will be seeking revenge because the Scotties upset the defending state champs last year in the first round of playoffs on their home field. Saturday's temperature is predicted to be in the low 40s and calm, which will be terrific football weather. So dress warm, cheer loud, and come support our Scottie boys. 

GAME STATS

Here are some statistics from this past weekend's game: Glasgow's offense gained 313 yards, while the Red Devils were held to 158 yards by the Scotties' dominant defense, which was led by junior Tanner Roness with 5 tackles and 2 assists).

Glasgow Defense: Roness 5 tackles, 4 assists and 1 interception; Jared Smith 5 tackles and 2 assists; Koessl 2 tackles, 2 assists and 1 interception; other leaders in defense were Krumwiede with 6 assisted tackles, Dallas Capdeville with 2 tackles and 3 assists, and Luke Gunderson with 2 tackles and 2 assists.

Glasgow Rushing: Koessel 22-65, Roness 3-(7), Thibault 5-5 (TD).

Glasgow Receiving: Krumwiede 7-108, Fossum 4-94 (TD), Koessl 2-30, Vaira 1-32.

Glasgow Passing: Thibault 13-25-(3)-250 yards, Schindler 0-3-(1)-0 yds.