Filer gets Schlaich-ed
Offense struggles, defense picks up slack
By Matthew Neal
Argus Observer
Sunday, October 28, 2007 3:07 AM PDT
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| Fruitland’s Micah McMurry (left) has a pass go in and out of his hands while Filer defensive back Ricky Fernandez attempts to swat the ball. Fruitland stomped Filer 56-7 in the opening round of the 3A state playoffs. |
Fruitland - They say bears awaken from hibernation with a major attitude problem.
Friday night in Fruitland, the varsity football team came out of a week’s slumber and tore into Filer with all the ferocity of a den of angry grizzlies during the opening round of the 3A state playoffs.
One would think that with a score of 56-7, the game would surely be chalked up to a well-oiled Fruitland offense.
However, from a different perspective, one could say the game belonged to the defense: it never faltered and Filer never scored.
“That’s what it means to be on a team,” Fruitland football coach Bruce Schlaich said. “When one element struggles, another can step up and fill in.”
The one Filer touchdown was do to an offensive short-circuit in the fourth quarter, resulting in a fumble by Fruitland’s Tommy Macfarlane who also suffered a gash to his chin during the play.
Filer’s Tyler Kreft recovered the ball and ran it in for a touchdown.
The Grizzlies’ 296 yards of total offense showed one element lending itself to the end result, yet, the more impressive number is the 28 yards of total offense by Filer.
Fruitland’s offense put up some impressive numbers but, according to Schlaich, they struggled a bit and never really “clicked” like he hoped they would.
“If we don’t rush for 300 yards, we are not successful,” Schlaich said. “We threw the ball more because of what they were doing defensively.”
Fruitland’s 191 rushing yards and eight touchdowns must count for something, but for a team that has gone undefeated this season, and won its last 18 games, good just isn’t good enough, and it’s hard to say what that may be.
On the other hand, with a team that frets over not rushing for 300 yards, who can say how far they might go in the post season, given the kinds of goals they set for themselves.
With Filer’s hard-hitting defense and control over the pace of the game, Fruitland had to make adjustments.
“In the first half, they (Filer) ran a 3-5 defense and we only ran 20 plays and our kids were caught off guard,” Schlaich said. “They came to play and our hats are off to them but they had some early turnovers and we had to capitalize on the opportunity, but, in the long run, our offense never really found its momentum.”
In the first quarter, Zack Fabricius had an interception with 10:39 left on the clock and it eventually led to Fruitland’s first touchdown by Kaleo Nawahine’s one-yard end zone dash.
Ross Newman intercepted a Filer pass and ran 39 yards into the end zone and after that it was all downhill for Filer.
In the second quarter Nate Bake scored his first of three touchdowns of the night.
Bake scored again quickly on a pass from Nawahine.
The third quarter also had Bake scoring, with a 15-yard pass from Nawahine.
Caleb Crim recovered a fumble and returned it to the end zone, followed by Micah McMurry’s 31-yard TD reception and Nick Varriale’s 49-yard end zone run.
Bridgette Teunissen never missed her stride, and she sent the ball through the uprights on all eight attempts.
Filer’s one touchdown in the fourth did little to quell the tempestuous onslaught of the Grizzlies, but for Schlaich, something may have been amiss with the cogs of his offensive machinery.
“We abandoned our scheme completely because they made some adjustments at half time,” Schlaich said. “We had to stay on our blocks and try not to be susceptible to the pass, which we did, and we started man to man coverage and we had a great game. But the defense really did a good job. This game was all about our defense, they stepped up and that’s what being on a team is all about.”
