Streak lost, quarterback found?
Lost were the memories of last year’s championship season where the Johnnie offense seemed to move like a fine-tuned machine.
On Saturday, what the Johnnie faithful found was an offense that moved like a rusted out 1976 Pinto wagon. Fans cringed as the first three quarterbacks stumbled through three quarters of football combining for 6-for-16 for 55 yards and two interceptions. The Johnnies have used three quarterbacks in a game in the past but that was usually in the fourth quarter when their lead was insurmountable.
Lost was the Johnnie staple of having the lead or at least a tie going into the locker room at halftime.
The Johnnies trailed 23-7 at halftime on Saturday and found that porous defense and a stagnant offense countered by execution and a little luck (a botched field goal resulting in seven points) by the Blugolds resulted in their first, first half deficit since trailing 34-13 to Trinity (Texas) in the 2002 national semifinals.
Lost was the enthusiasm of the Johnnie faithful in the stands. Johnnie fans are regularly listed at the top of the attendance list every season and Clemens Stadium is known nationally as a top venue for college football.
For three quarters on Saturday, it was as if Clemens Stadium was a ghost town. Fans were silenced by their own bewilderment at what was happening in front of them. That is until the Johnnies finally found the future in fourth quarterback Alex Kofoed.
When Kofoed entered the game to start the fourth quarter it was as if everything that was lost had now returned. He led the offense 75 yards on his first series and after a Blugold punt followed that up with a 79-yard touchdown bomb to Kyle Gearman and a two point conversion to Lee Clintsman. In a blink it was now 30-15.
For the rest of the fourth quarter, Kofoed was a grater to the Blugolds defensive cheese. He shredded them for 243 yards, three touchdowns and a two point conversion. If the rookie hadn’t slipped on a two point conversion with 17 seconds left he may have led the Johnnies to victory.
Johnnie fans knew Kofoed had had been found, so besides the game, all in Collegeville was not lost.
Power (outage) Bowl VI
Division III Concordia-Moorhead trounced its Division II neighbor Moorhead State 30-7 in a storm shortened Power Bowl VI — sponsored by Moorhead Public Works. During a 45-minute delay the game could have been renamed “Power Outage Bowl VI” as heavy rain and lightning continued to pelt the field until the game was finally canceled with 10:05 to play. It was the first time in the 82-game history of the series that a game was not played in its entirety.
Concordia had plenty of power on its side in the form of wide receiver Andrew Passanante. He hauled in seven catches for 168 yards and a touchdown. The former backup quarterback at MSU, Passanante has spent the last two seasons giving his former team fits. He has 14 catches for 272 yards and five touchdowns against the Dragons.
Early season whispers have Passanante getting attention from NFL scouts with his 6-3 200-pound frame. It would be the third MIAC receiver in as many seasons to draw attention of NFL scouts following Ryan Hoag in 2002 and Blake Elliott in 2003.
It wasn’t the first time that the game was interrupted by lightning, however. Power Bowl II was stopped with 2:32 left in the third quarter on Sept. 2, 2000, with Concordia-Moorhead trailing 13-7. It was resumed two days later, with the Cobbers losing 21-20.
Augie on parade
In 2003, the Central Dutch held Augustana to a mere 87 yards rushing in a 3-0 victory in a torrential downpour. This year, the field conditions were better but the Dutch run defense couldn’t have been much worse. Ten Augie combined to rack up 447 rushing yards compared to 23 for the Dutch. Matt Roe, Tom Anthony, Jeffrey McDowell and Mike Guzman (twice) all reached the end zone for Augustana. The Dutch get a shot at redemption in Week 2 when they welcome Bethel and their strong running attack.
Not over till it’s over
If college football games were 59 minutes, 30 seconds long, Carleton would have its fourth consecutive win after dropping 33 in a row. The Knights took the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Wade Thompson with 47 ticks remaining which looked to be the game winner. Lake Forest, just two years removed from an MWC conference championship, didn’t panic and with 24 seconds left connected for a 55-yard touchdown pass to knock off the pesky Knights.
While Carleton took the heartbreaking loss, several signs pointed to a revitalized program. They found a replacement for all league running back Erik Fisher in Wade Thompson who rushed for 152 yards, they took a very good Forester team to the wire and showed resilience on defense collecting four interceptions. It looks as though the infamous streak of 33 straight losses may be a part of ancient history at Carleton.
Not living up to his name
Coe freshman running back Neil Suckow wasted no time establishing himself as a primetime player for the Kohawks. He rushed the ball 20 times for 225 yards and four touchdowns and two catches for 20 yards. He also returned four punts for 102 yards including one 67 yards for a touchdown. Suckow should be a key player in Coe’s quest to return to their 2002 status when they finished 10-2 and went to the playoffs.
Already ahead of last season
After just the first week of the 2004 college football season, La Verne has as many wins in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as they’ve had since the end of the 2000 season. The Leopards notched just one conference victory from Oct. 28, 2000, until Saturday but matched that total with a squeaker over Pomona-Pitzer 26-21.
While the Leopards have only won seven games over the past four years, this early season conference victory is a good sign that La Verne could be on its way to returning to its 1999 form when they finished the season at 7-2 and second to Redlands in the SCIAC.
Get to the game!
Bethel at Central 1:00 p.m., Pella, Iowa: After defeating the IIAC’s Buena Vista in Week 1, Bethel heads to take on the Dutch of Central. The Royals have two reasons to be very excited about this matchup — Phil Porta and a very large visiting fan section. The Dutch gave up 447 yards rushing in Week 1 to Augustana in a 38-7 defeat which has to make Porta, the MIAC’s best running back, drool. The Royals should fill a good portion of Kuyper Stadium as they will host a pregame tailgate party for Bethel alumni, prospective students and friends of the university starting at 11:00 am.
Western Oregon at Linfield, 1:30 p.m., McMinnville, Ore.: New turf. New Scoreboard. New quarterback. Same old expectations. Linfield opens their 2004 campaign by welcoming Western Oregon to the newly renovated CatDome. With only 30 miles' distance between these two schools and a rivalry that carries back to the 1980s before Western Oregon went Division II, this should be a good battle. Western Oregon is coming off a 38-21 loss to Willamette but will look to capitalize on disrupting Linfield’s transfer quarterback Brett Elliott in his first start for Linfield. Look for WOU to put up an early fight but Linfield will have too much talent in the end. The Wildcats have already moved up one spot to No. 2 in the top 25 after St. John’s loss to UW-Eau Claire.
Whitworth at Redlands, 1:00 p.m., Redlands, Calif.: The Redlands Bulldogs open their 2004 campaign looking to win their third straight SCIAC conference title and fifth in six years. The Whitworth Pirates are looking to return to their 2001 form when they shared the NWC conference championship with Linfield and Pacific Lutheran. These two teams last played each other in 2000 when the Bulldogs won 20-7.