"The Blizzard Bowl " (Photo by Steve Walbrun) |
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Harrison vs. Rochester Adams Oct. 12, 2006
Summary: Rob Minton
Photos: Jill Olmack
ROCHESTER HILLS—In a game that could easily be called “Blizzard Bowl
‘06”, the Rochester Adams freshmen football team overcame the elements and a
pesky Harrison squad to remain unbeaten, winning at home 20-0.
At kickoff, the temperature was 36 degrees with flurries, which deposited
a dusting of snow on the Highlander turf. Add in the Green Bay Packer
look-a-like uniforms of the Hawks, and you could have thought you were at
the
frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in December. All that was missing were
the Johnsonville brats.
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The cold conditions definitely affected play. Harrison
started their first possession of the game on their own 26. On the second
play from scrimmage, a pitch to the halfback bounced off his hands and was
recovered by #44 Tommy Roncelli on the Hawk’s 20 yard line.
The Highlanders had tremendous field position for their first time with
the ball. But the snow on the field made for difficult footing, and the ball
wasn’t getting any easier to hold on to. Adam’s tried a pitch on their first
play and the result was predictable—another rock-hard football bouncing off
a pair of ice cold hands. The Highlanders were fortunate to recover the
miscue, but lost 13 yards on the play. Facing fourth and 11, #21 Danny Park
made a valiant run at the first down, but came up short. |
| The Hawks went nowhere on their next possession either, and
after a punt the Highlanders got the ball back on the Harrison 42. By now
the sun had peeked through long enough to melt the slick snow. On second
down from the 36 yard line, #26 Marc Benacquisto blasted through a huge hole
on the right side for a touchdown. He also ran in the PAT and Adams was on
the board 8-0 with 7:29 left in the first quarter.
Harrison repeatedly tried to run up the middle on their next possession
and got nowhere, punting the ball back to Adams. The Highlanders wisely kept
the ball on the ground as the game moved into the second quarter and plodded
deeper into Hawk territory. On third and 10 from the 18, Benacquisto again
got the call and delivered the ball to the end zone. The PAT failed, and
Adams extended their lead to 14-0 with less than a minute gone from the
second quarter. |
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The teams then exchanged turnovers – with Roncelli
intercepting a pass, then another fumbled pitch by Adams. This time they
weren’t so fortunate and Harrison recovered on their own 31. At this point
the Hawks decided they couldn’t run on Adams’ defensive line and went to the
passing game of quarterback Vince Salatino. They had their biggest gain of
the game to that point with a 13-yard completion, and followed that up with
a 19-yard reception that gave the Hawks a first down on Adams’ 30. But on
third and 12, Harrison committed another turnover, as #10 Eric Hyde
intercepted Salatino’s pass on the Highlander 14 yard line. |
| After a couple of QB keepers by #9 Tyler Martin, he
attempted his first pass of the game and was on the money to #23 TJ Trouba.
Adams had a first down on the Hawks 43, but only 51 seconds remained in the
half. After some nice runs by #42 Alec Prechtel and Marc Benacquisto, Adams
moved the ball to the Harrison 15. On third and three with 15 seconds
remaining, Martin dropped back to pass and threw towards the end zone. But
his receivers weren’t there. The ball was picked off by Vince Salatino on
the 1-yard line, and the half was over.
The third quarter was scoreless, as the teams exchanged punts and the
Highlanders lost another fumble. |
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The Adams offense got back on track in the fourth quarter.
Facing a second down and 26 after a 15-yard penalty, #26 Marc Benacquisto
got half of it after catching a flare pass and running 13 yards. A key play
of the game came two plays later. Facing fourth and 13, Tyler Martin ran
left for a 22-yard gain and a first down at the Hawks 11. And then
Benacquisto had his finest run of the game, bouncing off would-be tacklers
and dragging others into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game.
The PAT failed, but the Highlanders could breathe a little easier with a
20-0 lead with 7:35 left in the game.
The remainder of the quarter went much like the third, with both teams
turning the ball over on downs, and turning the ball over by dropping it on
the ground. But the Highlanders notched their second shutout of the season,
and seventh consecutive win. Harrision fell to 3-5 for the year.
Next week Rochester Adams will try to complete a perfect season as the
freshmen play their final game at cross-town rival Rochester 4:30 p.m. on
Thursday, Oct. 19. |
