While bodies flew around him and the threat of a safety was real, Robert Mischler had just one thought.
"I knew I had to get around the tackles," the Marian football team's quarterback said. "I couldn't get caught."
Mischler didn't get caught in his impromptu scramble.
Second-and-10 at the Marian 1-yard line with the Knights holding a precarious one-point lead late in the third quarter, this drive was pivotal.
What could have been a huge momentum swing for Glenn (8-3) instead went for a nine-yard gain and was the start of a 16-play march that wore down the Falcons and was critical in Marian's 22-14 Class 3-A second round sectional victory.
The conquest sends the Knights (9-2) against St. Joseph's next Friday, at a site to be determined.
Marian's extended possession didn't yield points, but it chewed up clock and forced nine Falcons who play both ways to be on the field on defense.
"We felt that with our depth we could wear them out," said Marian coach Reggie Glon. "We felt if we could withstand their surge in the first half, we'd be OK."
And, boy, was there a surge.
Glenn scored on its first two possessions -- a seven-yard connection from Tom Knape to Charles Dreessen and a 26-yard run by Josh Anderson, his 43rd TD of the season.
Anderson finished with 123 yards on 22 carries.
Marian answered the Falcon scores in the first half. Fullback Vince Campiti bulled in from five yards and Teshon Sanders scored the first of his two TDs from 10 yards.
Glenn's miss on a two-point conversion accounted for the 15-14 Marian lead at intermission.
"(At halftime, Marian) started getting their outside linebackers to help on the perimeter," said Glenn coach Justin Bogunia. "Our fullback (Chase Bierly) bit off a couple chunks,"
The Knights, who had thrown for 101 yards in the first half, focused on the ground in the final 24 minutes.
"Our (offensive) line was getting a great push," said Mischler. "That allowed us to accomplish the run in the second half."
"Our goal was to hold onto the ball as long as we could," Glon said.
Mischler threw four passes in the second half. Two were intercepted. The Marian defense, though, was stout.
Glenn's deepest penetration was the Marian 20, where Vince Ravotto made a nifty interception on the 1 to start the Knights' long possession.
Marian linebacker Robert Deering played a major role in containing Anderson in the second half, rushing 15 times for 53 yards. Deering led Marian with nine tackles.
Postgame notes
Lots of rumblings from Glenn players and fans alike were not all too happy of Saturday's South Bend Tribune coverage from writer Al Lesar. Lesar quoted Marian Senior linebacker Robert Deering: "We wanted to hit the crap out of (Anderson)," Deering said. "We did that.
"They haven't played any true quality opponents. The first two series, they did some different things offensively. We adjusted. "Watching film, we saw that (Anderson) was a good back, not a great back. He does well because his offensive line was so good."
First off, Mr. Lesar has now misquoted two Marian articles in the same week. The first, stating that Coach Glon said that Colin Rahrig was making the biggest mistake of his life by turning down a full ride scholarship to the University of Indianapolis. If Mr. Lesar actually paid attention, Coach Glon told Colin to go for his dream of playing Division I football at Indiana, but to make sure he thinks it through by turning down a quarantee scholarship and starting position all four years. Luckily for Colin, he's making his dreams come true by starting at Guard for the Hoosiers.
Now back to Robert's quote. He actually said that Glenn has not beaten any quality opponents. No knock on Glenn or the Northern State Conference, but the Falcons played three quality teams and lost all three times. But when you mostly beat up on 2A and 1A schools and two bottom feeders in 3A, your body of work is not that impressive and the stats in those games will be inflated. Glenn has a good team, but they are not what the players and fans pumped them up to be.
Secondly, Robert is a 17 year old kid, who just played a whale of game. Emotions can get the best of you, and Mr. Lesar was capitalizing on that and making something that wasn't there instead of what it really was; a hard fought game and an excited Marian player's reaction. Robert is one of the nicest student-athletes Marian has produced. Shame on the South Bend Tribune and Al Lesar!
Mishawaka Marian Football
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Knights make quick work of Calumet en route to a 49-12 Sectional 17 1st Round Victory
Five Calumet fumbles amounted to four touchdowns for Marian as the Knights cruised to a 49-12 victory.
Marian (8-2) took the lead early on its first possession, marching 53 yards in six plays for a 6-0 lead.
Calumet then turned out to be its own enemy, fumbling a total of five times in the first half. Four of those were inside the Warriors’ 10-yard line and were converted to touchdowns by Marian for a commanding 35-0 halftime lead.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard twice in the 2nd half, but Marian proved to be too much, adding another two touchdowns to secure the win and the right to advance in the Sectional 17 Semifinals as they host Glenn at Otolski Field.
Marian (8-2) took the lead early on its first possession, marching 53 yards in six plays for a 6-0 lead.
Calumet then turned out to be its own enemy, fumbling a total of five times in the first half. Four of those were inside the Warriors’ 10-yard line and were converted to touchdowns by Marian for a commanding 35-0 halftime lead.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard twice in the 2nd half, but Marian proved to be too much, adding another two touchdowns to secure the win and the right to advance in the Sectional 17 Semifinals as they host Glenn at Otolski Field.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Sectional 17 Pairings are set for a Knights November to Remember
Marian will start their run in the IHSAA Sectional 17 playoffs with a trip back west to Gary when the Knights face Calumet on Oct. 21. With a win, the Knights would then host the winner of the Hammond Gavit - John Glenn winner on Oct. 28. A Sectional 17 Championship could be a rematch of Marian's thrilling 25-21 conquest of South Bend St. Joe on Nov. 4.
Marian is looking for its first Sectional crown since 1999 when the Knights made it all the way to the Northern Semi-State Championship game. With the Knights clicking at the right time, Marian is making it's push for a November to Remember!
Marian is looking for its first Sectional crown since 1999 when the Knights made it all the way to the Northern Semi-State Championship game. With the Knights clicking at the right time, Marian is making it's push for a November to Remember!
Knights Claim 2nd Place in the NIC with backyard win over Mishawaka
Marian quarterback Robert Mischler never flinched.
Faced with a fourth-and-one at the Marian 43 with 3:05 left in the game, Mischler stared into the teeth of a bulldog Mishawaka defense and called his own number as the Knights labored to protect a 35-30 lead Friday night.
Mischler faked out the Cavemen on an option and then bolted for an eight-yard gain to keep the ball in Marian's hands. Two plays later, Mischler broke loose for an 18-yard gain, a dagger that allowed the Knights to run the clock out on a 35-30 high school football victory.
Marian improves to 6-2 overall, 4-2 in the Northern Indiana Conference. Mishawaka is 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the league.
"That's what option guys do," Marian coach Reggie Glon said of going for it on fourth down twice at critical moments. "If you can't get a yard, you don't deserve to win. Our big thing was, if we give them the ball back, they're marching down and scoring. They're averaging 30 or 40 points a game. We weren't stopping them a whole lot."
Mischler connected on 6 of 8 passes for 130 yards, all to Anthony Rice. Mischler hit Rice for TD strikes of 18, 65 and seven yards.
"Anthony is running great routes on the outside and getting open," Mischler said. "He's going to be my first read because of his ability."
Marian built a 29-8 lead in the first half. The Knights turned two Mishawaka turnovers (a fumble recovered by Andrew Derucki and a leaping interception by Rice) into touchdowns.
Mishawaka scored four seconds before halftime to make it a 29-15 score, and then the Cavemen surged in the second half.
"The adjustment we made was we decided to compete and play like it mattered, like there was something important to be played for," Mishawaka coach Bart Curtis said. "That was the big difference. There was no magic, no X's and O's. We just looked like we had a backbone the second half."
Angelo Multari gave Mishawaka a burst of momentum to start the second half. Multari scrambled through the Knights for a 64-yard return of the opening kickoff to give the Maroonclads the ball at the Marian 29. Mishawaka drove to the Marian 5, but a penalty and a tackle-for-loss by Marian's Eric Plude helped thwart the Cavemen drive.
Mishawaka cashed in on field position on its next possession, driving 46 yards. Quarterback Sam Schrader knifed through the Knights for a 28-yard gain to put the ball at the 2. He rammed into the end zone from the 1 two plays later. Khari Berning added a two-point conversion to help the Cavemen close to 29-23 with 2:29 left in the third quarter.
Marian, aided by a fourth-and-1 conversion and a 15-yard facemask penalty, took a 35-23 lead. The Knights moved 65 yards on a drive that culminated in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Mischler to a diving Rice with 7:01 left in the game.
Mishawaka closed to 35-30 with 3:44 left in the game, marching 65 yards and scoring on a two-yard run by Matthew Carver.
But Mischler made sure the Knights never let Mishawaka's offense get another shot.
Mischler finished with 76 yards on nine carries. Vince Campiti worked for 63 yards on 17 carries.
Schrader carried the ball 24 times for 131 yards.
"Sam's a warrior," Curtis said. "We had some unbelievable kids battle in the second half. We're just not making the big plays when it counts."
Faced with a fourth-and-one at the Marian 43 with 3:05 left in the game, Mischler stared into the teeth of a bulldog Mishawaka defense and called his own number as the Knights labored to protect a 35-30 lead Friday night.
Mischler faked out the Cavemen on an option and then bolted for an eight-yard gain to keep the ball in Marian's hands. Two plays later, Mischler broke loose for an 18-yard gain, a dagger that allowed the Knights to run the clock out on a 35-30 high school football victory.
Marian improves to 6-2 overall, 4-2 in the Northern Indiana Conference. Mishawaka is 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the league.
"That's what option guys do," Marian coach Reggie Glon said of going for it on fourth down twice at critical moments. "If you can't get a yard, you don't deserve to win. Our big thing was, if we give them the ball back, they're marching down and scoring. They're averaging 30 or 40 points a game. We weren't stopping them a whole lot."
Mischler connected on 6 of 8 passes for 130 yards, all to Anthony Rice. Mischler hit Rice for TD strikes of 18, 65 and seven yards.
"Anthony is running great routes on the outside and getting open," Mischler said. "He's going to be my first read because of his ability."
Marian built a 29-8 lead in the first half. The Knights turned two Mishawaka turnovers (a fumble recovered by Andrew Derucki and a leaping interception by Rice) into touchdowns.
Mishawaka scored four seconds before halftime to make it a 29-15 score, and then the Cavemen surged in the second half.
"The adjustment we made was we decided to compete and play like it mattered, like there was something important to be played for," Mishawaka coach Bart Curtis said. "That was the big difference. There was no magic, no X's and O's. We just looked like we had a backbone the second half."
Angelo Multari gave Mishawaka a burst of momentum to start the second half. Multari scrambled through the Knights for a 64-yard return of the opening kickoff to give the Maroonclads the ball at the Marian 29. Mishawaka drove to the Marian 5, but a penalty and a tackle-for-loss by Marian's Eric Plude helped thwart the Cavemen drive.
Mishawaka cashed in on field position on its next possession, driving 46 yards. Quarterback Sam Schrader knifed through the Knights for a 28-yard gain to put the ball at the 2. He rammed into the end zone from the 1 two plays later. Khari Berning added a two-point conversion to help the Cavemen close to 29-23 with 2:29 left in the third quarter.
Marian, aided by a fourth-and-1 conversion and a 15-yard facemask penalty, took a 35-23 lead. The Knights moved 65 yards on a drive that culminated in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Mischler to a diving Rice with 7:01 left in the game.
Mishawaka closed to 35-30 with 3:44 left in the game, marching 65 yards and scoring on a two-yard run by Matthew Carver.
But Mischler made sure the Knights never let Mishawaka's offense get another shot.
Mischler finished with 76 yards on nine carries. Vince Campiti worked for 63 yards on 17 carries.
Schrader carried the ball 24 times for 131 yards.
"Sam's a warrior," Curtis said. "We had some unbelievable kids battle in the second half. We're just not making the big plays when it counts."
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The 2 Roberts Look to Spearhead the Knights @ Notre Dame's 7 on 7 Tournament
Marian Senior standouts Robert Mischler and Robert Deering try to kickstart the 2011 preseason as the Knights take part in the Notre Dame 7 on 7 Adidas Tournament on Saturday, June 25. Marian will be one of 61 high school teams from across the Midwest competing in this annual event.
Mischler, the likely starter at Quarterback, will lead the Knight offense along with fellow seniors, Anthony Rice (WR), Coley Schultheis (RB), Vince Campiti (RB), and Zach Zehender (TE). Junior running back Michael Whitfield will also look to do some damage as well for Marian.
Defensively, the Knights are spearheaded by the All-State LB Deering. Senior Eric Plude and Junior Vince Ravotto will be manning the corners, while Junior Michael McNamara and Super Soph Tyron Otterbridge will be holding down the opponents offense at linebacker.
Anthony Rice Makes His College Choice
Marian standout WR Anthony Rice announced late last week on his Twitter account that he is going to be continuing his academic and athletic career at Central Michigan University. CMU is a member of the MAC. Rice will try and help guide the Knights explosive offense to the top of the Northern Indiana Conference and compete for their first Sectional Championship since 1999.
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