The Sleeping Bear

What started as a cold, overcast day turned into a cloudless, sunny day at Royal Stadium in Arden Hills. Though the weather changed from kickoff to final horn, the product on the field didn’t: Lots of handoffs (99 combined), lots of big hits and lots of small gains.

You could tell it was a Division III West Region football game from the start. Eau Claire entered the game 9-2 after a second place finish in one of DIII’s toughest conferences, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. And like most WIAC squads, Eau Claire is big. They beat you by pounding you into submission, running the ball and passing just enough to keep you off balance.

Bethel, 10-1 and champions of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, may lack Eau Claire’s size, but they also beat you with a three yards and a could of dust philosophy. They run. And run. And run some more. If it’s not freshman Logan Flannery picking up chunks of yards on the edges, it’s sophomore Dusty Wahl pounding it through the middle of the defense. Oh, and let’s not forget senior QB Ben Wetzell, all 6′3″ and 215 pounds dashing around the edge for big yards.

But the unsung heroes on the Bethel team are the small, fast defense. Don’t let their base 3-3-3 defense that seemingly taunts you to run the ball inside fool you – they stop the run as good as anyone in DIII. They’re quick, they fly to the ball and they make you beat them slowly, by grinding out small chunks of yards.

Two plays after the opening kickoff, the Royals were in business. An Eau Claire fumble was pounced on by the Royals inside the 20 and they quickly turned it into a Dusty Wahl 3 yard TD run to take an early 7-0 lead.

Eau Claire was down, but not out, rallying to tie the score at 7 on a 1 yard Cory Sartorelli run 1:55 before the end of the first quarter. A second quarter 22 yard field goal gave Eau Claire their first (and last) lead of the game at 10-7, but their failure to complete a third and goal from the two cost them four points.

On a day when neither offense could get anything going, the Royals relied on their special teams to make a big play. Tim Cornish burst through the middle and then cut outside, returning the ensuing kick 46 yards. A 15 yard late hit put the ball at the 25, and five plays later Ben Wetzell plunged in from the one to give Bethel a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The punters got a a workout in the third quarter as both teams struggled to move the ball and mount a drive. Not surprising, since neither team could throw the ball, combining for a numbing 9-33 for 61 passing yards. Yeah, that’s ugly. 5 punts and a turnover on downs ensued with neither team moving inside their opponents 30. A 6th punt was planned early in the fourth quarter, but Bethel punter Kevin Ness dropped the snap, attempted to punt and had the kick blocked. It rolled into and out of the endzone, cutting the Royal lead to 14-12. Momentum was back in Eau Claire’s corner.

And it stayed there all of one play – the ensuing free kick took a Bethel roll and instead of starting in great field position following the safety, Eau Claire found themselves inside their own 20. They moved it as far as their own 36 before punting. A Royal drive and punt and Eau Claire drive and punt later and there was 7:53 left and Bethel was starting at their own 26 clinging to a 2 point lead.

The drive began. And 12 rushes and five and a half minutes later Bethel had driven 74 yards for the back-breaking TD. On the drive, Logan Flannery, who had been bottled up most of the game, carried 5 times for 27 yards. Wetzell carried 3 times for 22 yards and Dusty Wahl carried 4 times for 27 yards, including the 11-yard TD.

Eau Claire valiantly moved the ball down to the Bethel 27, but their season ended when they turned the ball over on downs. A few kneeldowns later and Bethel had doubled their total number of playoff wins. One more and they’ll be facing the juggernaut that is Mount Union in the semifinals. But first up is Central, fresh off a 37-7 dismantling the the St. John’s University Johnnies, a team Bethel needed fourth quarter heroics to beat a few weeks back.

Random Thoughts

• Man, what a grind-it-out game. Bethel totalled 248 yards, Eau Claire 208. Eau Claire averaged just 2.9 yards per play. There were 33 pass attempts and 99 rush attempts in the game. Both teams were content to grind it out, shorten the game and hope to make the big play at the end. In the end, Bethel was able to sustain a drive and pull out the win.
• Eau Claire was a big team – huge offensive line and big WRs, but they were unable to run or throw the ball effectively. They were missing their starting QB, Mitch Schaeuble, who apparently got injured early in the game. Must have been the first play, because Tony Hull replaced him and fumbled on the second play.
• Bethel’s defense plays fast and is great at stopping the run. When I watched them play St. John’s, SJU was unable to get anything in the way of a rushing attack. Same with Eau Claire. They are small, but fast. They run to the ball and make plays.
• This might be bulletin board material, but Bethel will not win it all. They are just too one-dimensional on offense to win a title. You have to be able to complete a pass if you want to beat teams like Mount Union and Whitewater. If Central plays as well next week as this week, Bethel may find themselves at the bad end of a similar score. That said, I like watching them play. They make plays when they have to and they know how to win: Shorten the game and play big in the fourth quarter.
• I was a little surprised to hear Bethel fans cheering against St. John’s. Not smart. Now you have to travel to Pella instead of playing a team you beat at home. I know I was rooting for Bethel today and will be next week – the farther MIAC teams advance the more chance they have in the future of getting two teams in the playoffs.

In football, momentum is everything. A long TD, an interception, a big hit can all swing momentum from one team to another and change the course of the game. In yesterday’s 41-13 Johnnie win at a cold and overcast Clemens Stadium, a couple of plays both large and small helped the Johnnies turn a lethargic performance into a rout.

The Johnnies opened the game in style – intercepting Redlands QB
Dan Selway’s first pass and returning it for a TD. An illegal block in the back by junior lineman Nick Gunderson took 7 points off the board, but the Johnnies still had great field position. A four yard run by Kofoed a few plays later and it was 7-0 Johnnies.

It stayed that way until midway through the second quarter. The Johnnies, pinned back inside their 10, decided to try a little razzle dazzle. A pitch to RB Mike Patnode turned into a halfback pass, and not a bad one at that. But both the corner and safety failed to bite and the ball was picked off near the 40. Redlands drove down the field, scoring a TD with just under 7 minutes left (with George Foreman’s kid, George, laying out a Johnnie defender on the lead block, a knockdown that would have made his dad proud) to cut the lead to 7-6.

And then, either because of poor blocking or a poor call, Redlands faked the extra point, throwing an incompletion among heavy traffic. This seemingly miniscule play shifted the game. Instead of a tie, Redlands was still playing from behind.

Yet, Alex Kofoed tried his hardest to give the Bulldogs the lead. On the next series, he threw an interception near midfield that again gave the Bulldogs a shot to quiet the restless Johnnie faithful. But the Johnnie defense stiffened and the Johnnies took over at their own 17.

And then came the second big play. After a couple completions moved the ball to the 39, Redlands inexplicably changed their coverage, leaving no deep safety in the middle. Kofoed alertly spotted the chink in the armor, lofting a beautiful 61 yard TD to a wide open Adam Weber, who ran a post pattern and caught the ball precisely where the deep safety should have been. Instead, the man covering Weber lost his footing and by the time he got off the turf, the Johnnies had awakened.

Fitting for a day where flurries amused the Californians, it snowballed from there. Another turnover, this time a fumble, set up a a 14-yard Kofoed to Patnode TD. An interception led to a final FG as the Johnnies waltzed into halftime with a 24-6 lead.

The second half proved mostly uneventful as the Johnnies controlled the ball in the third quarter, extending the lead to 34-6. Redlands had turned to their backup QB in the second half and, though he played well, they really had no shot of digging themselves out of such a deep hole. Though George Foreman’s son did throw another key block in the Bulldogs second TD run, the Johnnies closed it out on a Kofoed to Pollock TD with about 5 minutes left.

Mike Patnode had an outstanding all-around game, finishing with 170 total yards and a couple of scores. Kofoed shook off some early rust to finish 17-34 for 244 yards, 4 passing TDs and a rushing TD. He now has 99 passing TDs on his career, needing just one more to join a small group of QBs who have thrown for 100 TDs in a career.

But the real stars of the game were the Johnnies defense. They limited Redlands, a team that averaged 38 points per game, to just 13 points and held them under 300 yards while forcing 4 turnovers.

It’s playoff time in D3 football and that must mean another Johnnie first round win – I believe Gagliardi and crew last lost a first round game when Reagan was president. It also means it’s time to go on the road to Central, the third time since 2000 the two squads have met in the playoffs. And hopefully the Johnnies can uphold their tradition of beating Central, something they’ve done the last two meetings. And then maybe we can look forward to a rematch with the Bethel Royals or another home game at Clemens against Eau Claire.

Random Thoughts

• As disappointed as I was in the officiating of this game, I was even more disappointed by the Gagliardi’s conduct. Following an apparent Johnnie TD that was called an incomplete pass, both Jim and John threw tirades, with John going so far as to push (as well as an aging man can) a referee. Sure, he was just trying to get his attention, but it’s not something you want to be doing.
• Redlands was an interesting team – they seemed smaller on the lines, but had some big, bruising RBs. Yet for their size, they just weren’t shifty or fast enough to get to the running lanes, which is why the Johnnies were able to limit them to 59 rushing yards.
• The Johnnies special teams played one of their better games of the year. Chase Pollock had a nice return, Derek Stifter almost took a punt to the house and the kick coverage was excellent all game. And Gliadon didn’t miss any XPs and kicked two FGs, punted well, and, despite not kicking the ball real deep, pinned Redlands inside the 30 almost every time.
• By the way, I love watching Stifter return punts. He could have 6 guys within 5 yards of him and he’s not going to throw his arm up for a fair catch. He’s back there to return the ball. Plus, he consistently makes the first man miss and has great speed. He’s got the same mindset as Blake Elliott had.
• Holy crap is Drew Percival huge. The Johnnies backup tackle is listed at 6′9″, 300 pounds and that height is not an exaggeration. It’s hard to imagine 300 bills looking thin, and he does.
• Alright, so I’m talking about the backups again, but Billy Ryan had a nice closing drive. The 5′9″ 175lb junior from Park Rapids picked up 39 yards on 7 garbage time carries.
• John Cloeter, who finished with two interceptions, is a great safety. He’s big, rangy and has great hands. All year he’s played well. A senior, he’s going to be missed next year.
• It’s nice to have Ryan Wimmer back. He finished with a team high 11 tackles.
• Gagliardi must be feeling well – the last two games have been 40 degrees and cold and he’s been on the field the entire time for both. Sure, he’s got the big red parka and stocking cap, but there were some games last year that he finished up in the booth.
• Kofoed struggled early in this one, throwing low and behind receivers. Possibly it was the weather, but after his second INT of the first half, he started warming up on the sidelines in between possessions. It seemed to help, as the next possession was a beautifully thrown pass to Adam Weber.
• It was a relatively small crowd – I arrived about 15 minutes early and found plenty of parking on campus and no wait to buy tickets. Even the student section was only half full.

Every Viking fan remembers the Randy Moss era. There was that masterpiece that was ‘98. It ended thanks to that dwarf South African, Gary Anderson. And then there was 41 doughnut. The Giants were stealing our plays. Then there was the time Moss bumped a traffic cop while on the doob. The time he squirted the official. The faux mooning that drew Joe Buck’s wrath.

But the act that broke the camel’s back and eventually led the Vikings to ship Randy Moss to the Raiders for a couple of picks and Nap Harris, occurred with two seconds left in the last regular season game of the 2004 regular season against the Redskins. He walked off the field in disgust after another disappointing Viking loss.

Moss was derided, locally and nationally, as a quitter. A me first guy. A baby. That may be the case, but what most people failed to realize at the time, and what Dwight Smith and Antoine Winfield made me realize today, is that he cared. He pouted, he whined, he “played when he wanted to play” because he wanted to win. If he didn’t win, he got pissed. He walked off the field in disgust. He talked crazy shit to the media (“I take plays off.”) Articulate? No. Driven to win? Yup.

What would Moss have done after yesterday’s embarrassing 34-0 loss to the Packers if he were still wearing the purple? He definitely wouldn’t have been yacking it up in the fourth quarter of this embarassment like current Vikings Antoine Winfield and Dwight Smith. He may have sprayed an official. He may have yelled at teammates. But he certainly wouldn’t have been “laughing and flailing like he was on stage at the Improv” as current safety Dwight Smith was doing Sunday at Lambeau.

Randy’s personality is as flawed as his talent is absurd, but I’ll take a guy who cares enough to walk off the field after an embarrassing performance over a guy who yucks it up after one of the worst performances in Viking history. Sadly, this Viking fan misses Randy not because he’s the most talented WR to play the game, but because he cared about winning and losing.

I never thought I’d say this, but the Vikings could learn a thing or two about heart from Randy Moss.