Hurst then ripped off 12 more yards on a
carry around right end, down to the 17.
Two plays later, Madden took the
handoff, broke left, stiff armed a
would-be tackler and then carried
another into the endzone for the game's
first score. Hurst added the extra
point to make it 7-0.
Back came the Panthers in a hurry.
After a returned short squib kick and a
face-mask penalty, Standish-Sterling
started off at the O-E 40. A few
moments later QB Austin Collier dropped
back and went deep, up the right
sideline to a streaking Cole Walderzak,
who caught the ball in pretty good
coverage, spun around and then ran the
rest of the way into the endzone, barely
keeping his footing. The extra
point was blocked however and the
Marauders held onto the slim 7-6 lead.
Standish-Sterling held O-E on downs
moved the ball down to the Marauder 40
but were forced to punt on 4th and 3.
A great punt pinned O-E inside of their
own 5. Head Coach Jerry Goosen
called a great play that just about
nobody was expecting. With the
endzone at their backs, QB Goosen, the
head coach's son, took the snap, and
then faked the handoff going
play-action. The pass was on the
money but the receiver couldn't hang on.
The call, however, showed that O-E was
going to open things up and use anything
in their arsenal to win the ballgame.
Robinson got them out of the hole with
an 18 yard pickup on 2nd down, out to
the 23. Robinson then ripped off
14 more. Two plays later, Hurst
carried the ball to midfield. Then
came, a play that would rival any on
Sportcenter's 'Top 10'. Robinson
took the pitch from Goosen and then
looked for an open receiver down the
field, on an apparent halfback option.
Robinson, under immense pressure and
finding his target covered scrambled.
Robinson ran horizontally across the
field from left to right, then up the
middle, broke a few tacklers and then
finally left again, up the sidelines
racing for a 50 yard score. With
5:35 left in the half, Standish-Sterling
now knew firsthand what they were up
against. Hust added the point
after to make it 14-6. While
Robinson was dazzling with his moves and
speed, what was more impressive is that
he was sick last night and into today,
having to receive treatment just to
play.
Standish-Sterling took the blow but
quickly answered again. After a
huge run by Trevor Trombley and a 20
yard pitch and catch from Collier to
Mark Lorence, the Panthers were down to
the O-E 20. A few plays later,
runs by Casey Potts and Trombly set up
first and goal at the 5. Collier
took it in himself on the sneak from the
1 on 3rd and goal. Trombley then
added the extra point to cut the lead to
1 with 1:43 to play in the first half.
With time running down on the half,
Ovid-Elsie didn't go conservative.
They instead went to the air.
Goosen hit Madden for a 16 yard pickup
down to the Panther 48. Then
Goosen found Madden again, this time for
49 yards and the momentum swinging
score. Goosen was almost sacked in
the backfield but broke pressure and
heaved it up the left sidelines.
Lorence had good coverage for
Standish-Sterling but Madden jumped up
and snatched the ball out of the air,
came down with it and then raced in the
for the score. After Hurst's point
after, it was 21-13, heading into
halftime. Standish-Sterling had
the ball with about a minute to play but
went three and out. Ovid-Elsie had
a few good shots at a score but had the
ball batted down in the endzone as time
expired.
Even though Ovid-Elsie had slight
control of the game after a half, no-one
could have imagined the dominance that
took place in the third quarter.
That's when the game turned into a
Semi-Final heavyweight fight, into a
game without doubt.
Standish-Sterling received the ball to
start the half and drove it all the way
down to the Marauder 35 before facing
4th and 12. Instead of going for
4th and long, the Panthers elected to
punt. Terry Evans from Ovid-Elsie
blocked the punt however and turned away
the attempt to pn the Marauders deep.
Ovid-Elsie took over at their own 40 and
that's where the 34 point, third quarter
outburst began. Madden flipped the
field position even further as he took
the ball on a mis-direction run and
raced 41 yards, down to the Panther 19.
Two plays later, Hurst took the handoff
and raced up the left sidelines before
diving into the endzone for the 15 yard
score.
Things deteriorated even further for
Standish-Sterling, as they lost the ball
on the ensuing kickoff return. The
Panthers however, forced the Marauders
into a 3rd and 13 at the
Standish-Sterling 35. That's when
Robinson started his streak of 4
straight touchdown runs, the first
coming on the 3rd and long, for 35
yards. The play was a pitch to the
right that was simply a power play,
where Robinson found a seam from his
blockers and once he got through the
first wave, was gone for 6. The
extra point was no good but the
Marauders were now up 34-13.
Standish-Sterling fumbled the next
return but recovered it themselves.
The possession was short lived however
as Collier's pass was intercepted by
Goosen at the O-E 37. 2 runs and a
52 yard Robinson score later, it quickly
became 41-13 with just under 5 minutes
to play in the quarter. This time
it was pitch left, with the same result.
Standish-Sterling got the crowd back
into it for a moment on the next
kickoff. Mitchell McFarland hauled
in the kick around his own 8, weaved in
an out of traffic and then turned on the
jets, running 92 yards for the score.
After the extra point, the lead was cut
down to 41-20. The momentum was
short-lived as Robinson scored two more
touchdowns of 43 yards a piece on
Ovid-Elsie's next two possessions.
Up 55-20, the running clock was
initiated and the remaining moments of
the third quarter and final 12 of the
fourth, just melted away. If the
afternoon wasn't tough enough, the
Panther's Collier went down with a
sprained ankle and did not return to the
game. One of the game's best
scenes was after the final seconds had
ticked off and Ovid-Elsie's Chris
Robinson and company went over to the
bench and shook Collier's hand.
With the ball and the seconds counting
down, the Ovid-Elsie offense raised
their hands in celebration and were then
joined by the rest of their team and
several thousand fans that made the
trip. I doubt that many from the
community stayed home for this one and
even fewer will be home when Ovid-Elsie
squares off againt Oakridge next
Saturday for all the marbles. The
D5 title game will take place on
Saturday around 4:30 PM. Oakridge
topped Lumen-Christi on the other side
of the bracket today, 27-16. The
two met up in the 2005 Regionals where
Oakridge beat O-E 41-13. This is a
new year and a new ballclub, one led by
Robinson, who will make most defensive
cordinators have a few sleepless nights.
The Marauders can be balanced too and
they showed that today too, with a good
passing game and a rushing attack that
can give Robinson breathers with the
hard running of Hurst and Madden.
I came into the Saturday thinking that
all 4 teams (in the semis) had a pretty
even shot at winning the state title and
I still believe that now, with just 2
remaining now, in what will be a whale
of a title game.
For Standish-Sterling, their season
ended 1 game earlier than what everyone
would have hoped but they concluded
their most successful season in school
history and have a lot to be proud of.
Collier may have had his season end a
little bit earlier than his teammates
but his football career is far from
done. The muti-talented QB is head
to Division 1 Bowling Green next year.
Just a few years ago, this Panther
program was struggling to get a win here
and there. Now the program is one
that celebrates wins but post-season
wins and has added a few trophies to the
hallway case in the past two years, a
trend that they don't plan on giving up
anytime soon. |
