Crusaders Defeat Zion 35-32
STRONG RUNNING GAME, TOUGH DEFENSE SEAL IT FOR CRUSADERS
The beginning of the season was not the start that the Crusaders had been looking for. Going into the game Friday night, the boys were looking to start their district play off right. They did just that. Zion started with the ball at their own 45, but a stout Crusader defense and a sack by Austin Fitzgerald held them to 4th and short. Kyle Boutin and Jeremy Varsallone teamed up to force a tackle for loss and a fumble which Boutin recovered to give the Crusaders the ball. For the first time all year, the Crusaders seemed to have the push they needed on the offensive line, despite the Lions' 10 man front. Solid line play and great running by Jake Sofianos and Charles Pommels led the Crusaders to a score when Fitzgerald recovered a fumble in the end zone for the second time this season. After a Lion score, and missed extra point, the Crusaders went on a 14 play drive to take up the entire 2nd quarter. The long drive was capped off with a 16 yard Pommels run around the edge into the end zone (XP No Good). Special teams had a hiccup and gave the Lions great field position, but Godson Joseph made a touchdown saving tackle on the return. However, the Crusaders couldn’t keep the Lions out of the pay dirt, when Zion’s quarterback Bolling ran it in from 9 yards out. CSCA drove down the field and scored on a 5 yard run by Sofianos, on what they thought would be their last possession of the half. Boutin added the 2-pt conversion on a pass from Martin. On the ensuing kickoff, the Lions fumbled the return, and the Crusaders capitalized on the turnover by scoring in just two plays. Mike Martin snapped the ball with no time remaining on the clock, and connected with Sofianos on a beautiful pass of 25 yards in the corner of the end zone. The score at halftime was CSCA 20, Zion 12. Both teams seemed to come out rusty in the second half. The Crusaders went 3 and out on their first two possessions, and the Lions had a fumble that was caused by TJ Littlejohn and recovered by Sofianos. The Lions took advantage of the slow start and scored on another 9 yard run by Bolling. Pommels finished the next Crusader drive with another touchdown around the edge. The 5 play drive was aided by a 19 yard run by Sofianos, a 28 yard pass from Martin to Boutin, and all the plays were aided by great blocking on the offensive line. Daion Donaldson added the 2-pt conversion run. The 4th quarter started off with a score by the Lions on a quarterback keeper by Bolling. Bolling’s 2-pt conversion throw was intercepted by Martin. On the following kickoff, the Lions recovered the ball at the Crusader 15 yard line. The Crusader defense stepped up, and Boutin made a huge 4th down stop, tackling Bolling in the backfield to get the ball back for the offense. Zion would score one more time on another Bolling run, after they returned a punt to the Crusader 3. They would also convert the 2-pt run with Cowart around the edge to bring the score to CSCA 35 ZION 32. All the Crusader offense would have to do is run the clock out. Unfortunately, after a great run, there was a fumble which gave the Lions the ball back with about 2 minutes left. It would now be up to the defense to stiffen up and get a stop. The Crusader fans got as loud as anyone can remember, and really helped the defense forget about the pain to get the job done. Zion made it interesting, bringing the ball all the way down to the Crusader 10 yard line, but Boutin knifed in to knock the ball loose. Ramos was there to scoop up the ball, and that was the ball game. The Crusaders ended up with over 300 yards rushing, and forced 6 turnovers. If you were at the game, all of the Crusaders thank you for being so supportive. It was a crazy atmosphere to play in, and we know it wasn’t easy after the delay, and the constant rain throughout the game. You all were the 12th man yesterday. Go Crusaders!! Now it’s time to focus on next week, and our rivals. Please come out, and bring a friend. I want to see as many people as last year.