Giants’ speed too much for Vikes
Published 5:31 am Saturday, August 26, 2006
By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The game could have went either way in Friday's nights opening football game between Niles and visiting Kalamazoo Central. But in the end, the Giants were able to pull ahead of the Vikes and take home a 50-34 win.
It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Giants were able to take a comfortable lead. In fact, for most of the contest, the Vikings ruled the field and had a strong performance on both sides.
First-year head coach Dan Brawley said his guys just got tired in the end.
"These kids fought very hard. A lot of them play on both sides of the field so they were working even harder," Brawley said.
One key ingredient the Vikes were missing Friday was speed, something which Kalamazoo Central had plenty of.
"We just don't have the speed they do. When they can catch you and you can't stop them, there's a problem," Brawley stated.
Niles hit paydirt first at the 1:43 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Jake Messner completed a 14-yard pass to DJ Wolnik to put Niles on the four-yard line. Ben Brandstatter ran the ball in on the next play for a Viking touchdown. The kick by Blaise Nsengiyumva was wide, posting a 6-0 score.
Kalamazoo Central answered back with just 28 seconds left on the first when quarterback Justin Sharpe completed a pass to Nick Davis for a 26-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, leaving the score tied at 6-6.
Midway through the second period, with the ball in possession of the Giants on a fourth down, Cameron Cheatham made a successful fake punt play and ran the ball 21-yards toward the end zone, ending at the 18-yard line. Two plays later, the Giants scored when Sharpe successfully completed a 21-yard pass to Davis with 6:01 showing on the clock.
Sharpe's pass to Morris Brooks was good for a two-point conversion as Kalamazoo Central took a 14-6 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Brandstatter scored another touchdown for the Vikes from 15-yards out. A two-point conversion attempted by Messner was good, bringing the score to a 14-14 tie. Neither team could score as time expired in the first half.
Niles opened the third quarter with possession of the ball. The offense stayed strong for 13 plays, when Josh Beers scored a touchdown for the Vikes from the 13-yard line. Nsengiyumva's kick was good, giving Niles a 21-14 lead.
While Kalamzoo Central had been showing off some of its speed, it really became noticeable on the Giants' next possession.
Just two plays and 18 seconds after Niles hit paydirt, Kalamazoo Central scored on a 64-yard run from Anthony Robinson. Chris Amdt's kick was good, showing the third tie of the night, 21-21.
It only took two plays again for the Giants to score their next touchdown. This after a Viking fumble. Aubin Dyer drove the ball in from 17-yards to put six more points on the board for Kalamazoo. Amdt's kick was again good, bringing the score to 28-21.
In the fourth, Cheatham scored for the Giants on a 45-yard run in the opening seconds of the quarter.
It took almost seven minutes for Niles to find the end zone again. This time, Messner drove it in from one-yard on a quarterback sneak, posting a 34-28 score with just over four minutes left.
A 50-yard touchdown from Brooks on Kalamazoo's next possession bumped the lead to 42-28 with 3:45 left to play. But Brandstatter brought the Niles bench and fans back alive with a 15-yard touchdown with just over one minute to play.
A final touchdown by Brooks on a 57-yard run sealed the victory for Kalamazoo.
"There were some things we could have done better, but these kids played discipline football tonight. We knew we had to stay away from letting them get the big plays," Brawley said.
Brandstatter ended the night with 262 yards on 43 carries. Brawley said he is the work horse of the team.
"Brandstatter is just a warrior out there. He did great for us. Messner and Wolnik also did a good job. Our offensive line is experienced and we just kept going back to them. They did good tonight," Brawley said.
Messner ended the night with 95 passing yards and completed 6 out of 11 passes.
For Kalamazoo, Cheatham ended with 194 yards on 12 carriers.