Photo by andy fuller
RUNNING DOWN A TEAM. Chris Gladney of Tacoma Baptist runs downfield after stripping the ball from a Naselle player.
The fourth quarter of Tacoma Baptist vs. Naselle was well-advanced by the time Chris Gladney stole the ball off the hip of Naselle quarterback Austin Burkhalter and returned it the length of the field to his own 3-yard line, from where he ran it in for a touchdown a minute or so later.
The Crusaders came into the game with a very workmanlike plan – control the line of scrimmage, and all that – against Naselle, which had shown plenty of flash and explosiveness during its 9-1 regular season.
But it was the Crusaders who showed some pizzazz, not all of it planned pizzazz (exhibit No 1: Gladney’s strip of opposing QB) in its 42-8 victory.
With the win, the Crusaders calmly answered some idle and obviously wildly inaccurate chatter on the B Sports blog last week, suggesting undefeated Tacoma Baptist was overrated owing to a weak schedule.
“I’m proud of how we approached this game,” coach Mark Smith said, whose boys might have been battered by some bloggers but proved exactly why they were often on the correct side of some fat scores. They execute.
“They approached it with a lot of focus, and then they went out and executed as well as they have all year. They played a very solid game,” Smith said.
“We weren’t really paying any attention to that (online chatter); our coaches tell us not to worry about the other guys – just to think about doing what we are supposed to do,” said Gladney, senior running back/defensive back.
The opening drive went like clockwork, all the cogs meshing for the Crusaders. Running back Michael Springs flashed some speed – finding outside running lanes like they were labeled HOV – and finished off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown, exactly the kind of drive that nourishes a team with confidence.
For the duration of the first half, grit won out over scoring for both teams. But on a third-down play from the Naselle 30-yard line, with just a few seconds left in the half, quarterback Griffin Lowe launched a pass to Springs who caught it in the back of the end zone, really a shocking play that put the Crusaders up 14-0.
Naselle gathered some poise and came out with a nice drive to start the second half and bring the game to 14-8. But the Crusaders answered in five plays to go up 21-8 and the rout was on.
Lowe completed 6 of 9 for 106, including a 30-yarder to Sam Spiro on a dazzling catch. Lowe also rushed for 80 yards on 13 carries and caught a pass from Springs for another 19.
The Crusdaders meet Willapa Valley this week (Nov. 21, 12 p.m. at Tumwater). Willapa Valley (9-1) is coming off a 43-20 victory over Concrete.
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