After the Bishop Dwenger Saints beat the stuck-in-the-mud Wayne Generals 22-0 on Friday at Zollner Stadium, former Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopf came up to new coach Jason Garrett.
“I’ll tell you what Andy (Johns) told me when I got my first win,” Svarczkopf said, referring to his coaching predecessor. “At least you won’t go 0-10.”
We better be careful not to draw too many other definitive takeaways from the Week 1 game. That’s either in the case of Dwenger, which looks like it could have its quickest, most opportunistic defense in recent years, or from Wayne, which never gained traction, in either the literal or figurative sense.
Here’s what most impressed about Dwenger:
Outside linebacker Hayden Ellinger: Ellinger had nine tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, but more than that he seemed to be disrupting everything Wayne tried to do. When he didn’t make the tackles, he was setting the edge and pushing the action toward another tackler.
“When you think of Hayden Ellinger, you think of a motor,” Garrett said. “He’s not taking plays off, he’s selling out every play. He’s the epitome of what it means to be a Bishop Dwenger football player and, in particular, a linebacker.”
Ellinger pointed to the shutout as a particular point of pride for the Dwenger defense.
“Every year you want to get off to a good start and then you want to finish good,” Ellinger said. “Of course, you always have room for improvement. Everyone does, and everyone is going to work to improve. Wayne’s a good team, but we played better and we were the grittier team and came out with the W.”
Defensive back Brenden Lytle: He pounced on the ball when Jared Lee stripped the ball away from Craig Young and scored. He also had two interceptions, with Griffin Eifert adding a third Dwenger pick.
“Lytle can do a lot of things,” Garrett said. “He puts himself in the right place. He’s opportunistic. But credit to him, you have to be in those positions to make those plays and that’s why he’s out there.”
Patrick O’Keefe’s touchdown pass: O’Keefe rolled right and looked like he was going to turn up and run for a first down when he veered back and hit Eifert for a 21-yard score for the season’s first touchdown.
“In our headset, I said, ‘There’s our Friday night quarterback,’ ” Garrett said. “That’s just the poise, the moxie that Patrick O’Keefe is defined by.”
As for Wayne, the Generals rely on their speed and quickness and a downpour before the game and throughout much of the first half made conditions unfavorable for the visitors, to put it mildly.
The Generals were able to grind it out at times, led by KeShaun Fields with 14 carries for 47 yards, and Brandan Young showed his savvy and flair with 10-of-19 passes for 103 yards. But Ohio State recruit Craig Young was stymied (three carries, minus-seven yards rushing). The team was also without Devonair Kelsaw, who is sitting out two games for a team matter.
“We’re not a muddy, muck team,” Wayne coach Derrick Moore said. “We’re missing No. 5. Devonair not being there kind of hurt. I thought our defense played great, they made stop after stop. Our quarterback has to play better. Muddy or not, we just have to play better.”
BISHOP LUERS 21, CARROLL 20
Sometimes the true measure of a quarterback is how he responds to adversity. Bishop Luers quarterback Norm Knapke chalked one up to a big-time response.
Late in the fourth quarter, with Luers trailing 20-14, Knapke had the Knights driving when his pass toward the end zone was picked off, a moment – with the clock ticking – that could be devastating to fragile psyches.
Instead, after Luers’ defense came up big and stopped Carroll, Knapke took the snap and hit Justin Gaston for a 50-yard touchdown pass. The game-winning play.
“He hit Gaston on a slant and Justin used his speed and ran by everyone,” Luers coach Kyle Lindsay said. “Norm put a strike right on the numbers. It was pretty cool to see both kids respond.”
Knapke threw for 142 yards, but more importantly, he ran the offense like a veteran. “The weather conditions aside, that’s the best game Norm has played in terms of being a field general,” Lindsay said.
HOMESTEAD 45, NORTHROP 28
Most of the media entered this game focusing on the quarterback duel between Jake Archbold and Luke Goode, and which one would get the chance to throw to outstanding receiver Trevin Taylor. We should have been looking at receiver Griffin Little.
Little caught seven passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Northrop, a game delayed by weather for an hour. Little caught a touchdown pass from both quarterbacks, an 11-yarder from Archbold and 20-yarder from Goode.
Luke Goode finds Griffin Little on a rope, 20 yard Touchdown, 35-7 Homestead pic.twitter.com/8TwYFaBMBr
— SummitCitySports.com (@260sports) August 18, 2018
As for the QBs, Archbold was 5-for-11 for 67 yards and a score, and rushed for 59 yards on 10 carries. Goode was 7-of-10 for 85 yards and two touchdowns. His other TD pass was to Taylor.
Cam Rogers, who had a big fumble-recovery return when the game was tied 7-7, showed his big-play ability once again.
CONCORDIA 42, SOUTH SIDE 0
The passing game numbers weren’t necessarily there for the Cadets, but their big-play knack is hard to beat. Jake Byrd completed only five passes in 21 attempts but three of those completions went for touchdowns.
Kamari Anderson-Drew caught only two passes but – you guessed it – they both went for touchdowns.
When the Cadets kept it on the ground, that worked, too. Amir Drew rushed 17 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
SNIDER 31, NORTH SIDE 8
Both Snider quarterbacks saw action, with Jon Barnes completing 7-of-14 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Antoine Taylor Jr. adding 4-of-5 passing for 70 yards and two scores. A’nyis Lockett rushed for 117 yards and a score and Michael Ledo Jr. caught four passes for 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns. North Side’s Jalen Harris logged 10 tackles.
It’s hard to know what to take away from this game. Snider didn’t overwhelm the Legends, but they got the job done. The problem is, we expect Snider to win by 40. Those are the standards the Panthers set. The verdict remains out.
