Springfield tops McDonald 28-7
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MCDONALD -- Springfield continued to roll Friday night.
Led by a strong running game and an inspired defensive performance in the second half, the Tigers took down McDonald 28-7 to capture their sixth straight victory and remain undefeated in conference play.
The effort was led by running back Kasen Kosek who rushed for two touchdowns in the second half. Senior quarterback Kolten Ruark also threw and rushed for a touchdown in the win.
"I'm very proud of how our kids came out and played," Springfield coach Sean Guerriero said. "I thought they played hard, I thought they got after it and I'm just happy with the way we worked into the game."
Although the Tigers (7-2) got the last laugh, the Blue Devils (5-4) started strong. They put together a 14-play drive that ate up over eight minutes of clock before sophomore quarterback Drew Zajack pounced into the end zone from four yards out.
Zajack had scored earlier in the drive on a 27-yard run, but it was called back for holding. The Blue Devils adjusted though, and marched the rest of the way down the field for the score. Zajack carried the ball six times on the drive and picked up big gains of 10 and 12 yards at one point.
"That was big for our kids, they knew they could go out and play with this team (Springfield)," McDonald head coach Dan Williams said. "I was happy with the way they came out and got confidence early."
Both teams only got three possessions in the first half as they utilized their running games and ate up the clock. But Springfield took full advantage of its first two drives.
After taking over on their own 35, the Tigers methodically moved down the field with a mix of run and pass. Kosek and Dante Gentile picked up big chunks of yardage before Ruark scampered in from 11 yards out.
Then, on their second offensive drive, Gentile picked up 37 yards on three carries before Ruark hit Dylan Sheely on a nice play-action pass over the top for a 29-yard touchdown.
The Blue Devils tried to pick up some momentum on their final drive of the half and moved the ball down the field. After a defensive pass interference call put them in a good position, the Tigers forced a fumble and took over on their own 31-yard line.
"We turned the ball over there, we had a little momentum going there before half," Williams said. "If we would have gotten a field goal or even scored out of that, it could've been a difference maker."
The second half was all Springfield though. After trading possessions at the beginning of the third quarter, and an Aiden Appel punt return to McDonald's 20 flipped the field and put the Tigers in the red zone.
Five plays later, Kosek found the end zone for his first score of the night.
The Tigers then forced a McDonald 3-and-out and Kosek scampered in from 27 yards out five plays later to break the game wide open.
"They are a physical team and they wear you down," Williams said. "They wear you out in the second half."
The Tigers' defense was just as strong as its offense and they didn't give up much in the second half. Zajack was constantly facing pressure and the Blue Devils couldn't get into a rhythm. But it came after the Tigers adjusted to the variety of formations that McDonald was using.
"I think Dan does a good job," Williams said. "One play they are out in spread and they'll throw and dink and dunk it and they'll try to run counter with the Q. He does a lot of things and I think it took some time for our kids to adjust to that. But once we adjust to that I think our kids played well."
After losing two of their first three games, the Tigers have hit their stride into the back half of the season. Guerriero wants to see his team be able to pass the ball a little better, as he thought they missed a few opportunities against McDonald. But overall, he wants to see his team continue to do what they are doing.
"We just have to continue to run the ball successfully and then we have to do a better job of working the pass game into it," Guerriero said. "I thought we had some missed opportunities with that. But we just have to continue to get better. Just because we are going into Week 10, doesn't mean we can't get better."