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Strong second half lifts Carroll past MidAmerica Nazarene

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By JEFF WINDMUELLER Independent Record | Posted: Sunday, November 29, 2009 12:20 am | (0) Comments

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Carroll College couldn’t wait for the second half.

With a 5-3 lead and their starting quarterback sidelined after a vicious hit in the second quarter, the No. 2-ranked Saints were ready to break away from Saturday’s NAIA quarterfinal opponent, No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene.

When the intermission ended, junior quarterback Gary Wagner returned to the field and the Saints offense pounded the ball right down the middle of the Pioneers’ defense for a 34-13 win in Nelson Stadium.

“It was unbelievable, talk about a turnaround,” said junior running back John Camino, whose 111 yards led the Saints on the ground. “We went in, we didn’t play a good first half of football.

“We came out (the second half) and started running up the middle and playing base football.”

Wagner completed 9-of-11 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Carroll  rushed for 198 yards in the second half alone, setting up a semifinal meeting with Lindenwood (Mo.) for the second straight year.  Carroll beat the Lions 38-37 last season.

The Saints took their two-point lead into the second half after Conner Janhunen kicked a 19-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.

With the ball back in its hands, the Carroll offense began punishing the Pioneer defense with one up-the-gut run after another. Camino broke through outstretched arms for a 30-yard run into the Pioneers’ red zone, and after three straight handoffs, Wagner hit Lat Wipplinger on the play-action pass for the first touchdown of the game.

“We knew that was the defense we were going to get,” Wagner said about the TD pass. “They didn’t have anyone deep.

“When you can run the ball like that on anybody, it sets up the play-action.”

The sophomore receiver stretched out for the catch, diving through the back of the end zone for the 11-yard reception and a 13-3 lead, thanks to a two-point conversion.

“That first drive (of the second half), we talk about it a lot. If it’s a tight ball game the opening drive, whether you’re on offense or defense ,will set the tempo,”  Saints head coach Mike Van Diest said. “We ran the ball and we stayed on our blocks, and I think that got everybody fired up.”

The Saints didn’t cool down.

After holding MidAmerica to a 22-yard field goal on its next drive, Carroll pulled a trick play out of its tool box that left the Pioneers stunned.

Sophomore wide receiver Matt Ritter took the snap in the Saints Wildcat formation, handed off to Camino who reversed to Wagner. With the Pioneers looking in the backfield, Wagner launched a pass deep to sophomore wide receiver Corey Peterson downfield.

The pass landed perfectly into his fingertips as he strolled to a 48-yard touchdown reception and a 20-6 lead.

“I don’t know exactly what you call it, but it came in the huddle and I was pretty amazed Coach called it,” Wagner said. “I got the hand off from John Camino and Corey did a tremendous job selling it and getting open. My job’s pretty easy when all I have to do is throw it to wide open guys.”

From that point on, the Saints made sure that the game would be won on the ground.

MidAmerica’s Ashford Johnson cut to the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown that brought his team within a touchdown, 20-13, but the Saints responded with an 11-play, 60-yard drive that rolled into the fourth quarter and ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Gabe Le.

When the Saints held the Pioneers scoreless on their next drive, Carroll once again trudged up field, running 12 straight times, many of the handoffs going to Camino and  Chance Demarais.

Whenever Camino hit the middle of the line, his offensive line pushed right behind, forcing the pile toward MidAmerica’s end zone.

“I think I should give half of my yards to the offensive line, there were times my toes weren’t even touching,” Camino said.

After wearing down the defense, the offensive line gave Le another big hole on the left side for an 11-yard touchdown run to seal the game with 2:57 left.

While the Saints quickly found their scoring stride in the second half, the first 30 minutes of the game was about holding the high-powered MidAmerica offense at bay.

From the moment the Pioneers stepped onto the field they looked poised to get in the Saints’ end zone. MidAmerica’s 79-yard drive to start the game ended on Carroll’s 1-yard line as the Saints knocked their run attempts backward and benefited from a catch that went out of bounds.

Three straight three-and-outs to start the game didn’t help the Saints’ cause and eventually the Pioneers were able to get on the board, taking a 3-0 lead on a 42-yard field goal by Eric Hronek.

On the Saints’ next drive, Pioneer linebacker Jake Duren dove at Wagner as he slid to end a scramble, spearing the quarterback in the facemask. Duren drew a penalty for the helmet-to-helmet contact and knocked Wagner dizzy and out of the rest of the first half.

Dane Broadhead filled in and went 7-of-13 for 60 yards and an interception, but Carroll’s first score came on a safety, thanks to the pressure of the Saints defensive line.

With the Pioneers backed to their 8-yard line, Saints senior defensive end Mike Ogrin rushed off the left side, pulling MidAmerica quarterback Tyler Herl to the ground.

Herl was able to avoid the sack, but drew a penalty intentional grounding and the safety.

“We have a pretty good D-line and we knew we could get after them with the four-man rush,” Ogrin said. “We just executed and we all did our jobs and someone came through each time.

“I think we had the advantage of being a little undersized and a little bit quicker. A lot of movement helped us, they couldn’t walk over us.”

The Pioneers finished with 182 yards through the air as Herl went 19-for-37, hitting Jared Elmore for eight receptions and 110 yards.

Wagner and Broadhead, meanwhile, favored junior tight end Bubba Bartlett for five receptions and 39 yards. Peterson finished with 59 yards on three catches.

With the emphasis on the run game, the Saints finished with 224 yards on the ground. Demarais added 64 yards on nine carries while Le finished with 36 on 10 carries.

The Saints will step up to another top-notch passing attack when it hosts Lindenwood next. The third-ranked Lions are undefeated on the season, coming off a 64-26 win over Ottawa (Kan.) and are 12-0 overall.

“There’s four teams left and they’re all undefeated, so we’ll be playing one of the best teams in the nation,” Van Diest said.

Jeff Windmueller:

447-4065 or jeff.windmueller@helenair.com