Cardinals conquer Gannon

Offense and defense score early as rain, 'sloppy' play overshadow first home game

by Andy Hoag
Vanguard Sports Editor

September 11, 2006 —

After a game plagued by rainfall, it's fitting that the SVSU football team's second-leading scorer this year is a safety.

Just as he did a week ago at Ashland, senior Joe DiGiorgio returned an interception for a touchdown, giving the Cardinals a sizeable lead they never looked back from in their 26-10 victory over Gannon on Saturday.

Less than five minutes into the second quarter, DiGiorgio picked off a pass from Golden Knights quarterback Matt Butler at Gannon's 18-yard line and scored relatively easily, tying redshirt freshman Toby Goetz temporarily for the team lead with two touchdowns.

After a fluke two-point conversion, the Cardinals were up 16-3 and were well on their way to their second victory of the season.

Goetz added a touchdown in the third quarter to regain the scoring lead, but it was DiGiorgio's score and a first-quarter touchdown pass from junior Chris Dougherty to junior Kevin Kelch that were key.

The game began with a light sprinkle that escalated to a heavy downfall by the second quarter, making the 16 points the Cardinals put up tougher for the Golden Knights to match.

"Getting early points was huge," coach Randy Awrey said. "It's much easier to stop people in the rain."

The Cardinals opened the scoring on their second possession of the game, driving 85 yards in nine plays and scoring on the 12-yard play-action pass to Kelch. Awrey then called for a fake point-after attempt, and holder Bob Awrey rolled to the right and found sophomore running back Brandon Emeott in the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion.

Dougherty must have felt like he was playing in his backyard again, as he connected with his brother Joe three times on the drive for 46 yards.

The teams traded three-and-outs before Gannon drove 62 yards in 11 plays for a 39-yard field goal by Brendan McNicholas to bring the game within five points.

On the ensuing drive, freshman punter Kurtis Fournier pinned the Golden Knights at their own five-yard line with a 59-yard punt. Four plays later, DiGiorgio jumped the throw by Butler to the right flat and scored.

"We knew they would come out with some three- and five-step drops and quick throws," said DiGiorgio, who added that the team as a whole was well-prepared and able to jump several throws. Senior safeties Lenny Dantinne and Jeff Mackey had near interceptions after timing Butler's quick throws.

Bob Awrey fumbled the snap on the subsequent point-after but was able to recover, roll to his right, and find junior Aaron Quinney in the corner for another two-point conversion.

By the time DiGiorgio scored, the rain was coming down hard, turning the game into a sloppy one.

"The game was very sloppy for both teams," said coach Awrey, pointing out several instances on both sides of the ball where players had trouble holding onto the football.

The rain harmed Gannon, Awrey said, explaining that the Golden Knights have an offense geared for speed on their home artificial turf. Conditions were worse for Gannon against Hillsdale a week before, a game they also lost 35-7.

Senior Bobby Belmonte added a 24-yard field goal with 3:16 left in the first half to give the Cardinals a 19-3 heading into halftime.

SVSU added to the lead with their second drive of the second half, as Goetz took a handoff on fourth-and-one and scampered for a 44-yard touchdown, putting the Cardinals up 26-3. The fourth-down call was an easy one for Awrey, who inserted 6'6", 325-pound nose tackle Damion DeRosia and 6'4", 298-pound defensive tackle Josh Miller in the backfield to block for the 6-foot, 225-pound Goetz. DeRosia cleared a hole for both Goetz and Miller, who proceeded to push down a Gannon defensive back with ease as Goetz ran for the score.

Gannon responded with a 15-play, 65-yard drive to make the score 26-10 but was unable to create any more of a comeback.

The Golden Knights had two drives start in SVSU territory in the fourth quarter and drove into the Cardinals' side of the 50 once more, but failed on fourth down on all three drives. The SVSU defense stiffened as Gannon threatened and was led by redshirt freshman linebacker John Jacobs, who had five tackles, three of which were sacks, in the quarter alone.

Jacobs, playing outside linebacker despite his 6'2", 210-pound frame, finished the game with 12 total tackles, including seven for loss. Junior Derek Volmering added 10 tackles, including a sack and a half, and two pass breakups, while sophomore Brad Bush contributed eight tackles and a sack and a half.

The Cardinals totaled 17 tackles for loss, which included seven sacks, and had 12 pass breakups.

Gannon's run game was completely stuffed, as the Golden Knights had 48 attempts for just 66 yards, a 1.4-yard average.

In a game not suited for offense, Dougherty was an efficient 12-of-17 for 119 yards with the touchdown and an interception. He split time with senior Vinnie Miroth, who was 2-of-7 for 15 yards.

Emeott and Goetz combined to carry the ball 26 times for 151 yards, a 5.8-yard average. Joe Dougherty was the team's leading receiver with four catches for 48 yards, while Emeott caught three balls out of the backfield for 15 yards.

Freshman punter Kurtis Fournier was also key to the win, Awrey said. Playing in just his second game, Fournier had six punts for an average of 38.7 yards, including three that were inside the 20.

Compounding the problem was the rain, as the Cardinals' long snapper had several problems getting the ball to Fournier. The freshman handled the pressure well, fielding several balls off the turf and getting them off without a blocked punt. One snap was too difficult for the punter to hold, though, and resulted in him taking a 13-yard loss in the fourth quarter.

While the game's weather conditions had an effect on how both teams played, Awrey said he still found some things the team can work on for their Saturday night game at Ferris State.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 28-7 defeat of Mercyhurst in their first GLIAC game of the season and are 2-0 overall. The game begins at 7 p.m.

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