Football
Reggie Hayes: Bishop Dwenger’s offense isn’t pretty, but it’s pretty effective when needed
The Bishop Dwenger Saints should team up with Arby’s for a cross-promotion. They have the beef.
Pass-heavy, spread offenses have become commonplace in football, from youth leagues to the NFL. Dwenger is having none of it. Dwenger lines up in a Power-I formation, circa 1986, and bulldozes straight ahead.
It’s not always pretty, but it’s pretty effective.
The Class 4A No. 1 Saints improved to 7-0 with a 15-13 win over Bishop Luers on Friday at Luersfield, clinching a precarious high school rivalry game in the fourth quarter by eating up the last five minutes with straight ahead power running.
“That last drive was just about who wanted it more,” Dwenger senior running back T.J. Tippmann said. “It was about heart. Our O-line pushed them down the field, our fullbacks got huge blocks and they kept pushing. It was all about grit.”
Football fans and analysts insist the days of three yards and a cloud of dust are ancient history. You can’t win unless you have a gunslinger at quarterback, regularly airing it out and putting up 250 yards-plus in the air.
That may be true 99 percent of the time, but Dwenger’s throwback offense has found a way to make it work
Here’s why: Across the line, the Saints have big, strong players and in the backfield they have punishing, tough running backs. There’s nothing finesse in the vicinity.
“We’ve got some hard runners,” Dwenger senior center Alex Kolkman said. “I know the line’s a big deal, but if our line can do their job, our running backs just optimize off that. They do what they can do and do it the best way they can.”
The Dwenger line includes big left tackle Joe Tippmann (6-foot-6, 315 pounds), along with 5-11, 215-pound Kolkman, 5-8, 230-pound senior left guard Nick Hosier, 6-2, 260-pound junior right guard Joe Henry, 6-5, 260-pound junior right tackle Luke Wiginton and 6-1, 200-pound senior tight end Vinnie Tippmann.
“They’re tremendous,” T.J. Tippmann said. “Luers was shifting over, but our offensive line gets the push every time. They’re the key to our season.”
Dwenger built a 15-0 lead with that push and grit, with Tippmann getting the Saints on the board first with a five-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. Tippmann, who finished with 170 yards rushing (on 32 carries), carried the ball six times in the seven-play, 60-yard drive. He often shares the running back load with his brother Devon Tippmann, but Devon was out Friday with an injury.
“T.J. came to me on Tuesday and said, ‘Coach, I’ll carry the load,’ ” Garrett said.
After Dwenger’s Gage Renbarger intercepted a Norman Knapke pass, Dwenger scored again on a 20-yard run by senior TJ McGarry.
McGarry then took a shovel pass from holder Drew Lytle for a two-point conversion and a 15-0 halftime lead.
The Dwenger defense, meanwhile, had held Luers in check for much of the half, allowing Knapke only 20 yards passing.
That changed a bit late in the third quarter when Knapke hit Jamic Johnson on a 52-yard pass to set up a subsequent 10-yard Knapke-to-Johnson touchdown with 20.8 seconds left in the third quarter. Knapke completed 9 of 13 passes for 93 yards in the second half.
Luers (4-3) drew within 15-13 when Jordan Presley broke off a 46-yard run to the Dwenger three-yard line. Three plays later, Knapke hit a slant pass to Johnson for another touchdown with 4:51 left.
On the two-point conversion try, Dwenger linebacker Hayden Ellinger blitzed and nailed Presley to thwart the attempt.
“That’s a play that’s worked for us about every time we’ve called it,” Luers coach Kyle Lindsay said. “You can’t have any regrets down there.”
Ellinger said Dwenger, which held Luers to its lowest offensive output of the season, sensed it might be coming.
“Our defensive line did their job and gave me a perfect path to get him,” Ellinger said. “We did a lot of film study and saw that play on there and saw it coming.”
Dwenger’s offense then ate the rest of the clock up with its ground beef.
WAYNE 27, CONCORDIA 20
The Generals improved to 6-1 and remained in the Summit Athletic Conference race, but they took a bit of an unusual route to get there.
Consider two of their scores:
– Sean Wiedeman scored when he scooped up a Concordia onside kick and sprinted 50 yards for the touchdown, right after the Cadets had taken a 20-14 lead in the third quarter.
– Darius Alexander scooped up a forced fumble at Wayne’s 21-yard line on a blitz and sack by Devonair Kelsaw and rambled all the way to the end zone.
Alexander’s touchdown came when Concordia was driving in the fourth quarter and Wayne was holding onto a 21-20 lead.
Wayne’s Brandan Young completed 5 of 14 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns – a 26-yarder to Cameron Chambers and a 57-yarder to KeShaun Fields. Kelsaw carried 10 times for 70 yards rushing. Wayne’s defense was led by Tristen Pernell with 17 tackles (seven solo), Alexander with 13 tackles (seven solo) and Dre Walton with 10 tackles (two solo).
Concordia quarterback Brandon Davis completed 11 of 16 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, 25 yards to Kamari Anderson-Drew and 23 yards to Tyler Grossman. Amir Drew rushed 38 times for 194 yards. Grossman caught seven passes for 91 yards. Michael Fairfield had 6.5 tackles. Concordia’s record fell to 2-5.
SNIDER 48, NORTHROP 21
Snider broke open a 21-21 game at halftime with four second half touchdowns to improve to 5-2 and continue its dominance over Northrop.
Jon Barnes put Snider in the lead with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Maxwell (their second scoring connection of the game after a 35-yarder in the first quarter) and the Panthers scored twice more in the third on a 22-yard run by Lenny Bennett and an 11-yard run by A’Nyis Lockett. Jasuan Lambert added a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Barnes was 10 of 14 for 157 yards and three scores in his best performance of the season. Lockett rushed 17 times for 96 yards, Lambert added 55 yards and Bennett 50 yards. Simon Dellinger caught four passes for 66 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown reception. Gianini Belizaire led the defense with eight tackles, and two tackles for losses. Ethan Hoover, Luke Owens and Quyion Carter had interceptions.
Northrop (2-5) played without quarterback Bailey Meerzo, who was injured. Seth Pearson was 10 of 30 for 122 yards with two touchdown passes to Davieun Berry (11 and four yards) and one to Adrian Sewell (44 yards). Jeremiah Green rushed 22 times for 107 yards. Damarius Cowen carried 13 times for 59 yards. Berry had four receptions for 33 yards. Antoine Scott led the team with eight tackles.
HOMESTEAD 38, CARROLL 17
The Spartans blitzed to a 24-3 halftime lead, boosted it to 31-3 on the first play of the third quarter and rolled to the win over their rivals.
Jack Archbold was 11 of 17 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns and Luke Goode was 8 of 10 passing for 129 yards and a touchdown. Braeden Hardwick rushed 12 times for 155 yards (12.9 per carry) and a touchdown. Archbold added 62 yards rushing. Griffin Little caught seven passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Trevin Little caught nine passes for 115 yards and Conrad Keszei caught three passes for 40 yards and a touchdown. Luke Palmer had an interception.
Carroll quarterback Gaven Vogt completed 35 of 52 passes for 290 yards and touchdowns to Camdyn Childers and Layton Mitchell. Vogt also rushed for 44 yards. Nathan Harrah caught 13 passes for 96 yards and Childers caught 11 passes for 91 yards. Mitchell had five catches for 56 yards and Rhett Saylor five catches for 38 yards.
Homestead improved to 4-3 and Carroll dropped to 3-4.
NORTH SIDE 32, SOUTH SIDE 18
Ronald Collins III threw three touchdown passes, including a final game-sealer of 41 yards to RJ Armstrong, and also rushed for a score to lead North to its second win of the season.
Collins completed 11 of 24 passes and also threw scoring passes to Jordan Turner and Preston McElroy. The offense was put in motion by the running of Alex Holliday-Robinson, who carried 22 times for 231 yards. Armstrong had five catches for 59 yards.
South Side quarterback Omar Jackson was 10 of 26 for 210 yards and rushed for three touchdowns to lead the Archers. Deshawn Boyd caught four passes for 100 yards. Caleb Aquino caught three passes for 62 yards and Rhonnie Moore caught three for 48 yards. Sam Knight had eight tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.
North Side is 2-5, South Side is 0-7.
Photos by Josh Gales and Reggie Hayes
