Play off game # 3 summary vs. Murray Wright

Let’s be honest, no one would have guessed back in August, that the 2005 Highlander football team would be 11-0 and hosting their third home playoff game.  The winning team would be the MHSAA division 2 regional champion. Well, believe it!

 After dispensing with Royal Oak Kimball and Hazel Park, the Highlanders welcomed the

 9-2 Murray Wright Pilots to the cozy confines of Highlander stadium.

 The Pilots received the kick off and started their initial possession of the game at the 33-yard line. They attempted a pass on 1^st down that drew a questionable pass interference call. With a new set of downs, defensive leader Tom Fedolak sacked Pilot QB Reginald Byrd for a loss of 5-yards. On 3^rd down and 13, Nick Benacqisto put the heat on the QB who threw a wayward pass to no one that forced the Pilots to punt. A short 12-yard punt gave the Highlander offense great field position at the 37-yard line.

  Jake Ball picked up 1-yard on a QB keeper. John Stirzinger ran for 8-yards to bring up a 3^rd down and 1 situation. Josh Renel found a big hole created by the offensive line and took it to the house for a 24-yard touchdown run. Just who is on the offensive line you ask ? That would be: Dan Harris (RT), Billy Fedolak (RG), Luke Hayden (C), Tom Fedolak (LG) and John Trucksis ( LT).  Bryan Kimball added the P. A. T. kick.

Adams 7 Murray Wright 0

  On the ensuing kick off juniors Mike Gansser and Matt Petrusha made the tackle at the 17-yard line. The second Pilot possession began with a pass to the highly touted receiver Dominique Douglass to move the ball to the 40-yard line and a 1^st down. Again, Fedolak stuffed the RB for no gain. An 8-yard pass completion and a short gain gave the Pilots a 1^st down to move the ball to the 43-yard line. After an incomplete pass on 1st down, junior Wayne Sanders sacked the QB far a loss of 6-yards. Facing 3^rd down and 17, a pass to D’metri Banks was complete for 10-yards. On 4^th down the Pilots chose not to punt and DE Wayne Sanders batted their pass attempt down at the line of scrimmage.

 The Highlanders second possession of the game didn’t last long. Facing 3^rd down and 5, Ball’s pass into double coverage was intercepted.

 The Pilot’s next possession also resulted in a turnover when strong safety Jake Wilson’s hit on the RB caused a fumble that Nick Morrin recovered at the 24-yard line.

 On the next Highlander possession Ball’s pass to Renelwas incomplete. Renel ran for a 5-yard gain on 2^nd down. On 3^rd down a pitch to Hollett ended up with a loss of 5-yards. Then on4th down the Highlander’s attempted a field goal. Kimball’s kick split the uprights.

Adams 10 Murray Wright 0

 With 2:20 left in the 1^st quarter the Pilots returned the kick off to the 19-yard line. The Pilot QB Byrd picked up 8-yards on 1^st down. On 2^nd down, defensive lineman Chris Gierak displayed his strength and speed when he stopped the Pilot RB for a 2-yard loss.

Facing 3^rd down and 3 linebacker Nick Morrin intercepted Byrd’s pass. This play exemplifies Morrin’s strong play throughout the season.

 The Highlander’s took over on the 20-yard line in excellent field position. Jake Ball ran a series of QB option / keeper’s that moved the football down to the 10-yard line. Josh Renel took the handoff and moved the ball inside the 2-yard line before he the ball was stripped. The Pilot’s recovered in the end zone.

The Pilots could not sustain this next drive as their QB scrambled out of the pocket in an attempt to pass the ball. They tried a fake punt that went for 5-yards which was not enough for the 1^st down.

 The Highlander’s took over on downs and promptly fumbled the ball on 1^st down.

On the Pilot’s 5^th possession of the game they needed to get some points on the board. After a 4-yard gain they tried putting Douglass at QB but was dropped for a 4-yard loss. On 3^rd and 10 their pass attempt was incomplete forcing yet another punt. Their punt was once again short and the Highlander’s took over on the 42-yard line.

 A series of miss-cues by the offense didn’t prevent them from putting more points on the board. Brian Hollett recovered Ball’s fumble on 1^st down. Gierak’s nice run on 2^nd down was negated by a holding penalty. Facing a 2^nd and 11, Jake Ball ran hard to pick up 14-yards to move the ball down to the 23-yard line. Stirzinger picked a yard on 1^st down allowing the senior QB and leader to run the ball for 9-yards and a key Highlander touchdown. Kimball added the P. A. T kick.

Adams 17 Murray Wright 0

Kimball’s squib kick was covered by Mark Hammett.

The Pilot’s QB Banks ran for 17-ayrds before Mike Hauser ran him out of bounds. The Pilot offense was on the move after they picked up another 1^st down running the QB keeper around their left end. With the ball spotted at the 33-yard line Bank’s picked up 8 –yards before Copacia made the stop. The Pilot’s had the ball now at the 25-yard line and picked up 5-yards on two running plays to face a crucial 3^rd down.

Linebacker’s Ben Dahlstrom and Matt Petrusha blitzed the QB forcing him to rush his pass. The pass was incomplete. The Pilot’s passed the ballon 4^th down and the pass was caught for a 1^st down with 3:04 left in the half and the ball now on the 6-yard line. After a short gain of 2-yards Gierak blew through the offensive line and sacked the QB for a 3-yard loss. Facing a 3^rd down and 7 the Pilot’s went to a reverse pass that fooled the Highlander defense and put the Pilot’s on the board. Their P. A .T. kick was good.

Adams 17 Murray Wright 7

With only 1:41 left in the first half, Ball ran for 10-yards off his patented QB veer keeper. A Pass to Hollett was good for another 1^st down followed by a QB keeper that picked up 5-yards. Facing a 3^rd d own and 4, a well timed middle screen pass to Stirzinger was good for a big gain of 15-yards. Senior QB Jake Ball would not be denied as he ran 26-yards for another Highlander touchdown. Kimball’s P. A. T. kick was good.

Adams 24- Murray Wright 7

Before the half ended Nick Morrin sent a message to the Pilots that the defense would not quit by sacking the QB for a 15-yard loss.

 The second half started off with Brian Hollett taking the kick off and running 38-yards to the 47-yard line. Stirzinger and Gierak carried the ball to pick up 4-yards before Ball was sacked for a loss. Kimball’s punt went to the 27-yard line where the Pilots took over.

The first possession of the half for the Pilots was not a sustained drive. After Douglass picked up 13-yards on a nice run he was dropped for a 4-yard loss by Petrusha. On 2^{nd down} and 13 they picked up 9-yards to face a 3^rd down and 3 situation. Again the defense lead by Fedolak, Benacquisto and Bernard, stopped the play for a loss. On 4^th down the Pilot’s were called for a false start so they wisely chose to punt.

The Highlander’s second possession of the half resulted in another touchdown that involved 5 different backs. Hollett, Stirzinger, Hamilton, Ball and Renel followed the blocking of their outstanding offensive line to move the ball into scoring position. Ball finished off the drive from the 1-yard line. Mr. reliable (Kimball) made the P. A. T.

Adams 31- Murray Wright 7

The Pilot’s received the kick off with 2:15 left in the 3^rd quarter. Matt Petrusha made the tackle on the kick team. The Pilots did move the ball well on this drive. A pass good for 30-yards on 1^st down followed by a loss of 8-yards set up a 2^nd down and 18. A pass good for 9-yards followed by a pass to Douglass moved the ball to the 28-yard line. This play ended the 3^rd quarter.

 After a 3-yard run and two incomplete passes the defense was called for a roughing the QB penalty that gave the Pilots a 1^st down at the 13-yard line. A slant pass along with a fade pass route were incomplete so that brought up a 3^rd down and 10. The Pilot offense tried a reverse that Tom Fedolak blew up causing a fumble. Hollett was there to recover the ball.

 Jake Wilson checked in at quarterback and promptly moved the ball deep into Pilot territory running the veer option. Cory Hamilton in at fullback showing his speed chewed up the yardage as well. Wilson capped off the drive with a 14-yard run into the end zone for another Highlander score.

The Pilot’s took possession on the 20-yard line but before the chains were in place Gansser intercepted their pass at the 30-yard line.

Wilson and Hamilton went back to work and moved the ball down to the 5-yard line. From there sophomore Greg Ornazian took it into the end zone for the final Highlander touchdown. This time it was Matt Petrusha who kicked the P. A. T.

Ben Keider ran out the clock at QB for the Highlanders. Final score:

Adams 45 Murray Wright 7

3 down, 2 to go.

We Believe!

 Submitted by: Dan Renel