We got our first hint of fall on Friday with some blustery winds and low-ish temps, but that didn’t slow down area teams on the gridiron like lightning did in Week 2.
Now that the first week of league play across the region is in the books, what did we learn?
Let’s put a bow on Week 3 with Bear Necessities.
SAC
• Carroll cruised to a 49-0 victory over South Side, but it was the initial score of the game that got everyone’s attention.
Sitting on the 2-yard-line, the Chargers inserted a rather large running back into the backfield.
That player? Senior Mason Irmiter, a 5-foot-9, 270-pound offensive lineman. Irmiter received the handoff from Jimmy Sullivan and fought his way into the end zone for a score on Senior Night.
How did it all come about?
“We practiced it throughout the week,” said Irmiter. “As a lineman my whole career, I’ve been asking to run the ball, but I finally got the chance.”
What was in Irmiter’s head as he lined up in the backfield?
“My only thoughts were don’t false start and make sure to get into the end zone.”
• Bishop Dwenger desperately needed its 14-6 win over North Side. With Carroll and Homestead looming, there was a real possibility that the Saints would begin the season 0-5.
The Saints were up against it on Friday, with starting quarterback Henry Jordan out with an injury. But credit to Coach Jason Garrett’s squad. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win, and Dwenger grinded one out on the road.
The defense was exceptional, limiting North Side quarterback Tristen Newsome and his weaponry to only a few chunk plays.
The hope is that Jordan is back next week for the showdown with Carroll.
• Without David Callison at quarterback, Northrop’s offense was out of sync all night on Friday at Luersfield, but the Bishop Luers defense had something to do with it as well.
The Knights had six(!) interceptions in the 40-6 victory – a pair by Dee Hogue, a pick-six by Brayden Mygrant and INTs by McKale Woodson, Danny Arnold and Jacob Felger.
We knew that the secondary, with its entire starting lineup returning intact, would be exceptional for the Knights. But it has been better than even Blitz expected with nine interceptions through three games, including five by Hogue.
• Speaking of interceptions, Snider defenses nabbed five of them in a rout of Concordia. Allen Bolton had a pair of them, while Landen Fry had a 61-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. Dallas Woodson and Brandon Logan (of course) also had INTs.
In true Logan style, he returned his pick for a touchdown, but it was called back due to penalty.
NE8
• Kudos to the East Noble defense, which was able to seriously limit the Huntington North running game in Friday’s win.
While the Vikings’ spread offense utilizes the pass, its bread and butter is still the rushing attack. Huntington North was able to gouge Eastbrook and Northrop in the first two weeks for big yardage on the ground.
But not so much against the Knights, who held the Vikings to just two yards per rush.
And the passing attack? Well that didn’t fare too well either, with East Noble defenders picking off quarterback Tony Decker four times.
• Interceptions were a theme all night (see SAC notes), and there was no exception in Leo with the Lions notching a pair of pick-sixes by Landin Hoeppner and sophomore Bret Sauder.
Leo’s defense is going to dictate how successful this season is, because it has the potential to shut down almost any team it may go against. Through three games, the Lions have eight interceptions, eight sacks and 18 tackles for loss.
Friday was a clinic on the defensive side of the ball. It wasn’t the first time and it definitely won’t be the last.
ACAC
• Axton Beste is the real deal, folks. The Bluffton quarterback torched South Adams for 340 total yards in Friday’s victory.
For the season, he is already approaching 1,000 total yards. The competition will stiffen with Heritage, Adams Central and a decent Franklin County team in Week 9, but Beste’s pure athletic ability is proving very problematic for opposing defenses.
And he’s only a sophomore.
NECC/Area
• While top running back Cam Ruble had a solid game for Garrett, it was sophomore Aiden Reed that broke out in the Railroaders’ 41-0 rout of Churubusco.
Reed rushed for a team-high 115 yards and a score on just 11 carries including scoring his first career varsity touchdowns.
It was one of five rushing touchdowns for Garrett, three coming from Calder Hefty and one from Ruble.
• Blackhawk Christian was forced to cancel its Week 3 game with John Glenn due to lack of players. Between injuries and a bacterial illness making its way through the roster, the Braves were down to 10 guys, per Coach Brice Bennett.
The expectation is that BC is back on the field for Week 4 against Osceola Grace.
• Warsaw was back in form on Friday night, topping Goshen 56-7.
The Tigers spread out 291 yards of rushing over seven players, led by 89 yards from quarterback Drew Sullivan. He also threw for 76 total yards in the victory as the Tigers were able to spread the ball out so well that Goshen couldn’t get much of a foothold.
In fact, when Goshen did find the end zone in the closing minutes of the third on a Gabe Diaz pass to Logan Mishler, the good vibes didn’t last very long at all. On the ensuing kickoff for Goshen, they picked a wrong target as senior Tristan Wilson returned the ball 97 yards for a touchdown to wrap up the scoring out of either team for the night.
The long kickoff return for Wilson was the fourth different method of scoring for the Tigers during the night as they has touchdowns by rush, reception, Wilson’s kickoff return and Cohen Heady‘s interception return for a touchdown.
QUICK HITS
Daryea Williams of Bishop Luers outgained North Side’s offense on his own, 266 rushing yards to 248 total yards for the Legends…Heritage has started the season 3-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2003-04…Bluffton has started the seson 3-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history dating back to 1920…Eastside has been shut out in two-straight games for the first time in 15 years.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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