Crusaders Lose a Close One to the Regents
Maranatha 12, Rockford 16
November 7, 2009
Box Score
WATERTOWN, Wis. – The Maranatha Crusaders lost a close battle 16-12 against the Regents of Rockford College in a Northern Athletics Conference game on Saturday. The Crusaders are now 0-9, 0-6 in conference play. The Regents get their first win of the season and are now 1-8, 1-5 in the conference.
The Crusaders pulled out all the stops against the Regents with multiple halfback passes and even some barnyard ball. The creative offensive play enabled the Crusaders to gain the second most yards in a game all season—199 yards. The defense did their part too as they gave up only 129 total yards. The Crusaders had 11 more first downs and about 10 more minutes of possession time, but Rockford won the most important statistic—points scored. The Regents accomplished this by making the big plays.
Rockford scored early in the first quarter when the Crusaders snapped the ball over punter Rob Dupre’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. That would be the only score in the first quarter.
The Crusaders started the second quarter with an interception, giving the ball to the Regents at the Crusader 42-yard line. The Regents took advantage and scored on a 27-yard pass play from Williams to Gonsoulin to extend their lead to 9-0.
Later in the second quarter, the Crusader offense advanced the ball to the Rockford 16-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. The Crusaders received another golden opportunity with about 2 minutes left in the half when sophomore defensive end Ethan Rosen (New Munich, Minn.) recovered a fumble at the Rockford 38-yard line. The Crusaders converted with 9 seconds left in the half when junior quarterback Andrew Green (Nampa, Idaho) made a 2-yard jump-pass to Rosen, who also played tight end in the contest. The teams went into the locker room with Rockford up 9-6.
The Crusaders started with the ball and drove down the field to the Rockford 25-yard line but turned the ball over on downs. The defense continued to do its part with 3 defensive stops. However, the Crusader defense could not stop the Regents on their final possession of the third quarter when the Regents were given a short field by their own defense. The Regents sacked Green, forced a fumble, recovered the fumble, and then advanced the ball to the Crusader 6-yard line before the Regent defender was dragged down by senior running back Mike Crawford (Riceville, Iowa). The Regents took 2 plays to advance the 6 yards for the score and the 16-6 lead.
The Crusader offense responded on the next possession with a 12-play, 59-yard drive for a touchdown. The drive included a 14-yard pass completion from Green to senior wide receiver Rob Dupre (Lafayette, Ind.), a 31-yard pass completion from Dupre to senior wide receiver Tim Manion (Watertown, Wis.), and an 11-yard rush by Dupre. The Crusader offense would have the ball 3 more times, but the Regent defense played strong to ensure their first victory of the season.
Four different Crusaders threw the ball with Green gaining the most passing yards with 114. Crawford had 21 yards rushing, 10 yards passing, and 52 yards receiving. Manion had 4 catches for 84 yards, and Dupre had 62 yards passing and 27 yards receiving.
On defense sophomore linebacker Caleb Rader (Kinross, Mich.) led the Crusaders with 14 tackles. Rosen added 8 tackles, and senior defensive tackle Ben Baskin (Torrington, Conn.) had 5 tackles including 2 tackles for loss.
Next weekend, the Crusaders (0-9) will travel to Milwaukee to face Wisconsin Lutheran College in the final game of the season at 12:00 p.m.