Hanson finished the season Thursday night with a freshman starting at quarterback and two sophomores sharing the bulk of the load running the ball, a sure indication of the Tigers’ youth and inexperience after suffering a number of losses because of injury this season.
After falling behind 14-0 at halftime to District 7-A rival Vermilion Catholic, Hanson dominated the third quarter until the final play, when the visiting Eagles put the game away with a 77-yard scoring play on a little five-yard hitch pass to the outside. VC added another touchdown in the fourth quarter after a short punt deep in Hanson's own territory, giving the Eagles a 28-0 win.
  
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Sandusky told his players after the game he is proud of them for not quitting this season. The Tigers (1-9 overall, 1-4 district) held VC (4-6, 2-3) to 14 yards on 15 third-quarter plays before the gamebreaker from quarterback Aaron David to Garth Mitchell, who caught the ball at the 27 before spinning away from the lone defender on that side and racing up the sidelines. Justin Simon finally ran Mitchell down but couldn’t stop him from reaching the end zone for the 77-yard touchdown play that pushed the Screaming Eagles’ lead to 21-0 with no time showing on the clock in the third period.
Hanson, on the other side, had gained 46 yards on a dozen plays in the quarter and reached the Vermilion Catholic 25 on one drive before turning the ball over on downs, just before VC’s long scoring play.
After a scoreless first period, the Eagles scored two touchdowns in the second, including a 27-yard scoring pass from David to Mitchell on the first play of the quarter.
An interception on a trick play set up VC’s second scoring drive, which covered only 24 yards and took six plays. David threw to Mark Laporte for the final 7 yards with 4:17 to go in the half, and Reis Hebert kicked his second point-after for a 14-0 lead.
Hanson put together a nice drive in the fourth quarter, starting at their own 26 with a 12-yard run by sophomore Kole Fluke. Quarterback Drake Rodriguez completed passes of seven and 11 yards on the drive, and Hanson went for it on fourth down from the VC 44, but sophomore Zachary Stewart bobbled the pitchout on an attempted halfback pass and was thrown for a loss, turning the ball over on downs at the HMS 47.
Fluke carried 12 times for 13 yards in the game, while Stewart ran 10 times for 19 yards. Senior Charles Uze, who missed several plays after suffering a couple of minor injuries in the game, led the Tigers with 32 yards on only seven carries.
Hanson forced Vermilion Catholic to punt after turning the ball over on downs, but the shift in field position helped the Eagles out on their next drive as Mitchell booted the ball to the HMS 4. After the Tigers failed to convert a first down, Fluke was forced to punt as a substitute for regular kicker Brandon LeBlanc, who cramped up a couple of plays earlier. Fluke’s punt covered only 18 yards, giving VC the ball at the 26.
Incredibly, and to Sandusky’s amazement, the Eagles threw on first down despite holding a three-touchdown lead with less than six minutes to go. Sandusky shouted toward the other sideline, “Are you really still throwing the ball?” A toss sweep to Tyler Vincent on the next snap went the distance, giving the Eagles their final touchdown.
Vincent carried 22 times for a game-high 86 yards. David completed six of 14 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns.
“We had a lot of cards stacked against us all season,” said Sandusky. “It seemed every team we played had one of their better teams.
“I’m just proud of the kids for fighting.”
Sandusky also said he hopes the game time some of his younger players got will help next season. Rodriguez finished the night 14-for-21 for 131 yards, with LeBlanc catching seven passes for 63 yards, sophomore Chase Businelle catching four for 22 yards and Derick Fournet catching three for 46 yards.
“It’s just too bad we couldn’t send the seniors out on a winning note,” he said.
Comments
Kajan wrote on Nov 7, 2009 12:14 PM: