Football: Maroons win with defense
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By Shannon Heaton | Saturday, October 11, 2008 |
John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES Moline’s Stevie Stephenson brings down Galesburg quarterback Andrew Shearer (11) on Friday. Buy this Photo
VIDEO: Maroon defense brings down Galesburg
Great defensive play gave Moline all the momentum they would need for a 35-…
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In keeping with the Moline football team’s tradition of honoring patriotism at the Maroons’ homecoming games, a cannon was fired after every Moline touchdown Friday night.
The Maroons had to barely fire a shot, however, to generate a 21-0 lead barely six minutes into the first quarter. Moline had the ball on offense for all of seven seconds, scoring on that short burst of possession and adding two takeaway touchdowns.
That gave the Maroons all the momentum they would need for a 35-10 victory at Browning Field. With Rock Island’s 36-7 win on the road at Quincy, the victory also gave Moline (4-3 overall, 4-0 Western Big Six) a chance to play for the outright league title next week at Rock Island.
“At the beginning of the year, our main goal was to have an opportunity to defend (the title), and now we have that opportunity,” Moline coach Joel Ryser said. “Our defense played great ball. They made things happen and those plays gave us momentum. Then our offense got chances to score.
“We can’t ask for anything more, but maybe a better fourth quarter. I’m happy with what happened.”
Blake Lanum got things rolling for the Maroons, picking off an Andrew Steck pass and returning it 39 yards for a score. The pick came one play after Galesburg back Drexler Blue was blown up deep in the Galesburg backfield.
“It was a big start to the game, a big boost. It gave us confidence for the rest of the game,” Lanum said of the early score.
Four downs later, Moline’s offense punched in another score after a huge Luke Wood punt return, as running back Eric Carlson scored from 19 yards out. Just two plays later, it was 21-0, as Jordan Nunn grabbed a loose ball at the Galesburg 25 and scored.
“I thought it was just a big Christmas present, and I just took off,” Nunn said of the recovery and touchdown, which capped a week in which he was named to Moline’s homecoming court. “There’s so many things going on, and with (being named to) court, I was trying not to be distracted. I had to be staying focused and taking care of business.”
Moline’s defense did that all night — at least until the first-teamers were pulled off the field by Ryser. Galesburg (3-4, 2-2 Western Big Six) ran 29 plays in the first half, with 12 resulting in losses, some for big losses.
“They run the veer and their offensive line doesn’t block the tackle,” Ryser said of Galesburg’s sets, which allowed senior Stevie Stephenson to wreak havoc throughout the night.
“We finally realized if we gave good effort for four quarters, good things are going to happen. We started playing four quarters, we’ve been more intense in practice.”
As a result, Galesburg ran for minus-8 yards after one quarter and four by halftime. For the game, Moline held the Streaks to just 69 yards on the ground, in 42 carries.
“We’ve worked our way back to one above .500 and we’re 4-0 in the Western Big Six,” Lanum said. “Every win we get feels like a big confidence booster for next week.”
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