August 28, 2011

Baker Blasts Ottawa in First Down Classic, 41-16

Host Baker piled up 488 total yards and forced five turnovers to claim an impressive 41-16 win over 10th-ranked Ottawa (Kan.), Saturday evening in the Victory Sports Network First Down Classic at Liston Stadium.

When the same two teams met a year ago, Ottawa all-American Clarence Anderson returned the opening kickoff 95 yards to set the tone for a 24-14 win for the Braves. Baker head coach Mike Grossner wasn't going to let the speedy Anderson impact the game on special teams this time around.

"He is such a threat and they were trying to get him in position to receive those kicks," said Grossner. "Our kicker did a great job. He was reading it on the run and we had two kicks called and were trying to kick it opposite."

Anderson was a non-factor in a game that was close for 30 minutes, but was totally dominated in the second half by the #23-ranked Wildcats. Baker (1-0) piled up 300 yards after the intermission while allowing a net of just nine yards while posting 24-unanswered points.

Though the Wildcats yielded field position to the Braves all night with short kickoffs, the Baker defense met the challenge head on and forced seven punts to go along with forcing five turnovers.

Scott Meyer scored a pair of second half touchdowns, the first coming from 12 yards out on a quick 3-play drive at the 10:59 mark of the third quarter. He scored again with 8:55 left in the game from two yards out after the second interception of the game by LB Adam Steele.

Chosen the Defensive MVP of the game, Steele finished with a team-leading eight total tackles to set the tone against an Ottawa team that averaged 41 points and over 410 yards per game last season.

"I've always been the type to not do a lot of talking and let my play do all the talking," said Steele. "I think when you have 3 or 4 guys busting it and then other guys join in, everyone is flying to the ball and everyone's play picks up."

The Braves (0-1) started off the scoring at the 9:02 mark of the first quarter on a 9-yard run by Shane Gimzo. The up-tempo Ottawa offense needed just 3:41 to march 92 yards and showed it had some early rhythm.

However, the Baker special teams would respond with a pair of big plays to swing the momentum back to the home team. Tyler Hatcher went 82 yards on the ensuing kickoff to tie the game, then Reggie Harris returned a punt 62 yards with 2:15 left in the opening quarter.

Bobby Adamson hit Gimzo on a 29-yard strike to bring the Braves to within a point just over a minute later, but that would be the last meaningful play by the Ottawa offense. The teams traded field goals before halftime to go to the break with Baker holding a 17-16 lead.

Despite holding the lead, Baker would have felt like the cushion could have been larger after turning the ball over twice in the red zone while also missing a field goal.

"In the first game you worry about pre-snap errors and we had some in the red zone. We got in the locker room and the feeling was that we were behind. Everybody was down because we were disappointed in ourselves. I just told the guys that they had #10 on the run, you're not playing your best, so let's go finish the job and I'm telling you they finished the job on both sides of the ball."

The first half mistakes were corrected over the final 30 minutes and the Wildcats gained their revenge against their in-state rivals.

"All week we were ready to play. In this type of game in the heat, you just have to keep them calm and then let them loose when the gun hits. I thought our coaches did a great job of preparing our football team. We dictated the pressure and I think the game was played on their end most of the second half."

Meyer carried 21 times for 61 yards and two scores while Jake Morse threw for 127 yards. Adamson completed 24-of-45 for 212 yards and a touchdown, but was also intercepted three times. Anderson and Gimzo combined for 11 catches and each had 74 yards for Ottawa.