Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006

Box score

   SAVANNAH, Tenn. – No question disappointment and frustration were the two words that best described the mood of the University of Saint Francis football team after second-ranked University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) held off the top-ranked Cougars 23-19 in the NAIA Football Championship Series National Title Game on Saturday.

  "Hold your heads high," USF coach Kevin Donley told the Cougars in the closed post-game locker room. "We weren't even supposed to win our league this season after losing 19 seniors. "The next few days are gonna stink because it hurts, but it will get better. Hold your heads up. Nobody in this room quit. We've got heart."

  For the seniors -- NAIA Player of the Year Brian Kurtz, Eric Hooks, John Wolf, Bo Thompson, Derrick Alderman, Cody Van Deursen, Eric Wagoner, Matt Millhouse, Adam Blakey, Clint Bontempo, Nate Stephenson, and Matt Wren -- Donley offered special words of praise as their active football career came to a bitter end.

  "51-4 over the last four seasons," Donley said in a firm, proud voice. "My gosh, we all owe you so much," and the room erupted in applause. "The seniors did a tremendous job of leading this football team."

  "Remember who you are, who you represent, what you have done, and what you will do in the future, because we are going to continue this tradition because of the foundation these seniors have set for us," Donley continued. "You've done a great job all year. I am proud of you. And I am proud to be your coach."

  Sioux Falls scored the first 10 points of the second half to break out to a 23-13 lead after the two teams battled to a tie at 13 in the first 30 minutes. Then Sioux Falls withstood its own turnovers -- a 46-yard Tim Farrell interception in the third and a fumble with 9:05 to play in the fourth quarter -- to hold off USF (IN) long enough to render the Cougars final score as time ran out meaningless in determining the winning team.

  "After the first quarter we still got in position to score but we didn't take advantage of it," Hooks said afterwards. "We had some good drives and got to the red zone a few more times but we shot ourselves in the foot. They had a good scheme, their secondary and linebackers played really well, and they got pressure up front. They did a good job."

  Sioux Falls took the opening kickoff to start the second half and drove to the Cougars' 6-yard line. The USF defense held and Matt Lindgren kicked a 23-yard field goal for a 16-13 Sioux Falls lead.

  On the first possession of the second half, USF (IN) drove to the Sioux Falls 40, where the drive stalled. On fourth and eight, Clint Bontempo was back to punt. The snap from Wren was a low line drive that whizzed by Bontempo. By the time he chased it down at the USF (IN) 15-yard line, all he could do was fall on it.

  "The only second guess I have is that we should have gone for it on fourth and 10 instead of punting the daggone thing when we had the bad snap and gave them the short field," Donley said.

 Sioux Falls' Trey Erickson carried around the left side of the USF defense for 14 yards on the first play after the bad snap. Mike Dvoracek scored on the next play and Lindgren added the extra point for a 23-13 lead with 7:25 to play in the third quarter.

  USF freshman Marcus Rush gave the Cougars a 6-0 lead when he plowed in from the 2-yard line with 10:30 to play in the first quarter. Cale Grzych kicked the extra point for a 7-0 USF (IN) lead. Sioux Falls only needed four plays to score, the TD coming on a Chad Cavender to Dusty Hovorka 37-yard connection, but William Knepper blocked Lindgren's extra-point try.

  USF took the kickoff and drove 84 yards in 11 plays. Hooks connected with Kurtz on a 12-yard pass for the TD, but Grzych kicked the extra-point attempt off the left upright. On the ensuing kickoff, Erickson dashed around the left side of the USF return coverage for an 89-yard kickoff score with 1:44 to play in the first quarter and Lindgren kicked the extra point for the tie at 13.

  And that finished the first half scoring.

   "It was a big ball game and we made mistakes that we haven't made all year," Kurtz said. "These were two good teams and we played our hearts out, but there were too many mistakes in too big of a game.  We probably could have had a couple interceptions here or there and I probably could have returned that fumble. Little things just didn't go our way.

  "A lot of things hurt, especially the kick off return," Kurtz continued. "The missed extra point also kind of came back to get us. It makes a difference. When you give a team momentum and don't take it back, things don't go your way."

  After Farrell's third quarter interception, Hooks pass to Daniel Carter on the right sideline of the end zone was flicked away at the last second by Luke Hartman on fourth-and-12 from the Sioux Falls 18-yard line.

  On USF's next possession, Doug Wasylk caught a Hooks pass and turned it into a first-down, but USF was flagged for pass interference. The possession ended in a Bontempo punt into the Sioux Falls end zone.

  At its own 27 on fourth-and three, Sioux Falls tried a fake punt and Jarrell Hunter stopped him short of the first down. USF took over on the Sioux Falls 25 with 10:22 to play in the game, but after two carries of 5 and 11 yards by Rush, Wasylk carried off right tackle and fumbled at the Sioux Falls nine with 9:05 to play.

  And the Cougars squandered one more 'gift' when Van Deursen forced Hovorka to cough up the ball near the sideline at the Sioux Falls 27. Sam Miles scooped it up and had a blue escort to the Sioux Falls end zone, but officials ruled that Miles had stepped out of bounds right after he recovered the ball with 5:34 to play. Hooks couldn't complete a pass and USF gave up the ball on downs with 4:44 to play.

  Wagoner set up USF's game-ending TD when he recovered an Erickson fumble forced by Millhouse with 1:20 to play. Hooks was injured on the second play of the drive and sophomore Jeff Wedding drove the Cougars 39 yards in eight plays for the score as time ran out, a 1-yard pass to freshman Taylor Vieck.

"It was a heck of a rebuilding year," Donley concluded.  We've got seven seniors and a lot of young guys playing.  We had new faces in the offensive line and in the defensive secondary. To get this far, we've got to give a lot of credit to our players and coaches. Obviously we're disappointed in not winning the game, but at the same time we hold our heads high. We've got class kids and a program of character."

NAIA Players of the Game

Offense – Sioux Falls Jr. Chad Cavender, QB, Redding, Calif.

Defense – USF So. Tim Farrell, DE, Fort Wayne, IN.

 -- GO USF --