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| SportsSaturday, November 25, 2006 10:10 PM CST |
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NCHS D comes up big
CHAMPAIGN -- Normal Community High School had a 27-7 third-quarter lead with its defense heading onto the field. Saturday’s Class 6A state championship football game appeared to be over, or at least well in hand. The undefeated Ironmen had allowed an average of 5.2 points per game, making a Batavia comeback seem unlikely. Yet, the Bulldogs began to gouge the NCHS defense with passes over the middle, scoring twice on long completions in a two-minute span to close the gap to 27-20. Batavia got the ball back again with 5 minutes, 24 seconds left, and two first downs moved the ball to the Bulldogs’ 38-yard line. “We knew we needed to dig down and find ourselves and find each other,” said NCHS senior linebacker Jake Detmers. “They were hitting short pass plays and long pass plays. We knew we needed to step it up and play better pass coverage. Fortunately, we did that and we got a big stop at the end.” Defensive back Alex Buck knocked down Jordan Coffey’s pass near the Batavia sideline on fourth-and-eight, giving NCHS possession with 3:09 left. The Ironmen then moved into position for a 30-yard Max Bakana field goal to ice their 30-20 victory. “Last year, I knocked down a pass on third down (in a 14-9 title-game loss to Morris). I had to kind of know the situation today,” Buck said. “I knew the ball just needed to be on the ground. There was no reason to intercept it and take yards away from our offense.” NCHS struggled in the second half against what Batavia coach Mike Gaspari called “an NFL-style passing attack” in which the Bulldogs “often send four and five receivers out in routes.” “It’s difficult to cover,” Gaspari said. “We ran a lot of delay routes that were there all day long.” The Bulldogs finished with 316 yards passing, including 215 by the sophomore Coffey. Coffey came in late in the second quarter after senior starter Alex Schroeder injured a shoulder on a sack by Detmers. It was the most success anyone had against NCHS’ defense all year, but the Ironmen did not surrender the lead. “They passed on us and found our weak spots. But we kept composed and that’s how champions respond,” said NCHS senior linebacker Sam Smith, who led the Ironmen with 11 tackles. “That’s what we are now. “We’ve worked our whole lives for this moment … in summer training, lifting, everything. Man, we deserve this.” Senior Nick Price, a two-way starting lineman, said the Ironmen “never felt like we were going to lose.” “They were scoring on us, but the way our defense has been all year, it’s been bend but don’t break,” Price said. “No one put their head down. “I remember Jake (Detmers) saying in the huddle, ‘You know, they’re the ones who have to score, not us.’ That took a little pressure off and it was like, ‘Let’s just do our jobs and what we’ve been coached to do.’ ” Coach Hud Venerable has grown to expect nothing less. He said it has been rewarding to have players “who receive coaching as well as these guys do.” “This game goes way deeper than what you saw today. It’s about the kind of people they are, the commitment they make, the way they play for each other, the character they have … and they have huge hearts,” Venerable said. “This is a very competitive group, but they’re also very good kids to be around. We’re just happy to be along for the ride as coaches.” Trophy ‘injured’ NCHS worked a full year to get its hands on the first-place trophy. Minutes after receiving it Saturday, the player-like figure on the trophy broke off. The Ironmen players in the postgame news conference reported it came loose in the hands of star nose guard Kirkland Grant. “The trophy’s broke?” a smiling Venerable asked. “Well, you know, Kirkland’s that kind of kid. He’ll probably take it home tonight and spend some time with it.” Never gets old While the state title was the first for Venerable, it was the third each for veteran NCHS assistant coaches John McIntyre (offensive line) and Terry McCombs (defensive coordinator). McIntyre won two state titles as Central Catholic’s head coach in the 1980s, and McCombs won two as an assistant at East Leyden and Downers Grove South. He also guided Bloomington to a runner-up finish in 1991 as a head coach. “Oh, they’re all good,” McIntyre said. “I delighted in the fact that we were such a good team of coaches. The young guys did a heck of a job and we had some experience with Hud and Terry as well. It just made it a really positive, fun experience for all of us. These kids kept me young all year.” Asked if he will continue coaching, McIntyre replied, “I don’t know. Time will tell.” Likewise, McCombs avoided a definite answer, but said it was “probably” his final time as a high school coach after nearly 400 games. He was doused with Gatorade by the players late in the game. “You couldn’t pick a better scenario (to go out),” he said. “This is great. It’s a great bunch of kids. We had fun all year, and they earned it out there.” Postgame glance Key play: On first-and-15, Batavia quarterback Jordan Coffey was under a heavy rush from Normal Community nose guard Kirkland Grant. Coffey’s pass into the flat was intercepted by NCHS linebacker Cam McIntosh and returned 41 yards for a TD. The play gave the Ironmen a 27-7 cushion which enabled them to hang on for a 30-20 win. Normal Community pluses: The Ironmen held Batavia to 37 yards rushing and had interceptions by McIntosh, Alex Buck and Kennedy Freeman. NCHS amassed season highs in passing yardage (259 by Omar Clayton) and receiving yardage (133 for Marcus King, 93 for Buck). Max Bakana averaged 42.0 yards on three punts, kicked three extra points and a 30-yard field goal. Normal Community minuses: NCHS could not mount a consistent ground game. Standout tailback Dan Moore was held to 23 yards on 13 carries. The Ironmen averaged only 2.7 yards per carry. They also lost two fumbles and had a pass intercepted in the end zone. Batavia pluses: The Bulldogs passed for 212 yards in the second half and 316 in the game. Sophomore Jordan Coffey was 13 of 26 for 215 yards in relief of injured starter Alex Schroeder. Batavia minuses: The Bulldogs lost the time of possession battle by nearly eight minutes. They also were 2 of 11 on third-down conversions compared to Normal Community’s 11-for-17 efficiency. Quoting: “My son John said to me the other day, ‘Dad, it’s going to be a great year ... the Cardinals and the Ironmen (winning titles) in the same year. We’ll never forget ’06.’ ” -- Normal Community coach Hud Venerable, a diehard fan of the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. Get area high school sports scores and statistics at Varsity Sports. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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go iron wrote on Nov 27, 2006 4:49 PM:
Kelsey Adams wrote on Nov 27, 2006 2:07 PM:
West Football Player wrote on Nov 27, 2006 11:28 AM:
Rocky wrote on Nov 27, 2006 9:51 AM:
Rob Driscoll wrote on Nov 26, 2006 7:27 PM:
Hit mmm hard wrote on Nov 26, 2006 11:09 AM:
Iron Alum wrote on Nov 26, 2006 10:56 AM:
Matt wrote on Nov 26, 2006 8:23 AM:
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