TIGERS TAKE THE GAME, BUT AT A COST
    BY TOM CARSON / photos by Garner Studios , Amy Swirczynski  & Shelley Carson

A JUNIOR RUNNINGBACK WITH A FAMILIAR NAME FOUND HIMSELF IN A FAMILIAR PLACE  FRIDAY NIGHT, NAMELY OVER CENTER .  DESIGNATED TO OTHER DUTY  IN THE PRESEASON BY SACRED HEART TIGER HEAD COACH DALE SCHILLING IN THE OFF SEASON, RYAN SWIRCYNSKI, LAST YEAR'S QUARTERBACK,  WAS PART OF THE NEW LOOK OFFENSE THE TIGERS HAD ENVISIONED,
"IT WAS GOING TO BE AN OFFENSIVE NIGHTMARE FOR OPPONENTS ,"  MUSED THE LONGTIME COACH FOR THE RED AND WHITE. "WE WERE GOING TO LINE HIM UP AS A TAILBACK IN A TWO BACK SET WITH HESSE  (NATHAN), THEN USE HIM AS A WIDE OUT OR A SLOT BACK IN A SINGLE BACK SET." 

WITH UP AND COMER FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK CLAYTON BEZNER AT THE HELM, THE OFFENSE LOOKED TO BE WELL STOCKED WITH EXPLOSIVE TALENT.  THE BACKFIELD TRIO OF BEZNER, HESSE AND SWIRCYNSKI COMBINED WITH AN OFFENSIVE LINE MADE UP OF VETERANS JOE GEHRIG {175), TREY THIBODAUX (210), WESLEE SPROUSE (190),  AND ELI HESS (215) SEEMED POISED FOR A PLAYOFF RUN.  

IT WAS ONCE WRITTEN BY THE SAGE,  ROBERT BURNS  "THE BEST LAID SCHEMES OF MICE AND MEN  GO OFT AWRY".  IN THIS CASE IT'S  "THE BEST LAID SCHEMES OF COACH SCHILLING AND STAFF GO OFT AWRY."   SUCH WAS THE CASE IN THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF THIS SEASON.

THE CONCERN TODAY IS INJURY.  THAT MOST UNCONTROLLABLE, DEVASTATING, MANIACAL FOLLY OF HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS.  IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL,  FREQUENTLY RANDOM IN SELECTION  AND SOMETIMES SEASON ENDING FOR A PLAYER AND ARGUABLY, SOMETIMES THE WHOLE TEAM.  GOOD TEAMS, LIKE THE SACRED HEART TIGERS, ARE PHILOSOPHICALLY PREPARED FOR EVENT WITH INJURY PROTOCAL, STAFF TRAINING, PLAYER TRAINING AND REHAB.  WHEN PLAYERS UNDERSTAND THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INJURY OCCURING,  MANY INJURIES ARE AVOIDED.  BE THAT AS IT MAY, INJURIES HAVE COME CALLING.

STARTING LEFT SIDE OFFENSIVE TACKLE AND DEFENSIVE LINEMAN TREY THIBODAUX (210) IS EXPECTED TO RETURN TO ACTION SEPTEMBER 10.  HIS ABSENCE HAS PROVIDED A START FOR JUNIOR MATTHEW SPAETH (220).  JOINING SPAETH IN THE NEW LINE UP HAS BEEN LUKE SPROUSE (210)  WHO JOINS BROTHERS WESLEE AND HADDEN ON THE SQUAD.

STARTING QUARTERBACK CLAYTON BEZNER, FRESHMAN,  WAS INJURED FOR LIKELY FIVE WEEKS ON THE THIRD PLAY FROM SCRIMMAGE DURING THE FIRST ACTION OF THE YEAR AGAINST VALLEY VIEW.  CLAYTON'S DAD, DAN BEZNER, PART OF THE SACRED HEART LEGACY HIMSELF,   APPEARED DURING THE NATIONAL PUNT, PASS, AND KICK COMPETITION DURING THE HALFTIME OF THE TELEVISED NFL GAME.  HIS ASSESSMENT OF HIS SON'S INJURY "HE'LL BE BACK".

CLAYTON'S INJURY MARKED THE RETURN OF SWIRCYNSKI TO THE  QUARTERBACK'S ROLE WHICH  WAS CAPABLY HANDLED BY THE JUNIOR  DESPITE SORE RIBS.  "YOU PROBABLY NOTICED THAT RYAN  PASSED OR HANDED OFF EVERY TIME HE HAD THE  BALL'', COMMENTED COACH SCHILLING.  " I DIDN'T WANT TO RISK  GETTING  HIM BEAT UP".

THE MOST DEVASTATING INJURY OCCURED IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF FRIDAY NIGHTS 34 - 14 DRUBBING OF PETROLIA.  ON THE  OFFENSIVE DRIVE FOLLOWING THE LAST  SCORING DRIVE OF THE NIGHT BY THE TIGERS,  NATHAN HESSE WENT DOWN WITH AN ANKLE INJURY. THE 175 POUND RUNNING BACK SCORED THE TIGERS SECOND TOUCH DOWN ON A SCAMPER OF 14 YARDS AND ADDED A 57 YARD SCORE IN THE SECOND QUARTER WITH 9:37 REMAINING IN THE HALF.  

HAVING PUT ON ALMOST TWENTY POUNDS SINCE A YEAR AGO, HIS  IS A DOUBLE LOSS, SINCE HE ADDED A KEYSTONE IN THE DEFENSIVE UNIT AS A PUNISHING TACKLER.  "NATHAN ADDED ABOUT TWENTY POUNDS TO HIS FRAME OVER THE YEAR AND DIDN'T LOSE A STEP IN SPEED," COACH SCHILLING SAID OF THE SENIOR.

GUS GANZAN DELIVERED AS PROMISED BY SCHILLING.  "GUS IS A PLAYER TO KEEP AN EYE ON," THE  COACH  STATED DURING THE DALE SCHILLING SHOW PRIOR TO KICKOFF. WITH 6:08 REMAINING IN THE FIRST HALF GANZAN SKATED 13YARDS FOR A SIX POINTER  BRINGING THE  TIGERS THEIR LAST POINTS OF THE HALF.

GANZAN'S RUN WAS SET UP BY 40 YARD INTERCEPTION RETURN BY CORNERBACK  ZACH HENNIGAN.  DURING A PREGAME INTERVIEW HEAD COACH DALE SCHILLING HAD CALLED HENNIGAN ''THE MOST IMPROVED PLAYER ON THE TEAM".
WITH A LITTLE THAN MORE THAN 6 MINUTES REMAINING IN THE THIRD QUARTER THE TIGER DEFENSE WAS CALLED ON TIME AND AGAIN TO SHUT DOWN THE PETROLIA OFFENSE.  DURING THE FIVE REMAINING POSSESSIONS MOUNTED BY THE PIRATES NOT A SINGLE FIRST DOWN WAS TALLIED WITH FOUR DRIVES ENDING IN WITH PUNT AND A FIFTH ALERTLY SNUFFED OUT BY AN INTERCEPTION.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS KEY TO THE EFFORT WERE JOE GEHRIG, PARKER FORSHEE, ELI HESS, ROZELLE, TYLER FELDERHOFF, AND ANDY BAYER.  KEY PLAYS WERE MADE  BY  LINEBACKERS ISAAC SALINAS, SHOOTER HESS AND WESLEE SPROUSE.  GUS GANZAN, RYAN SWIRCYNSKI, NATHAN HESSE, AND HENNIGAN CONDUCTED A STIFLING COVERAGE THAT LIMITED THE PIRATES TO ONE PASS ATTEMPT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER.

BY THE YARD....A BONE JARRING, THROUGH THE AIR , FLAT  OUT HIT BY SOPHOMORE KAMERON KNABE A 130 POUND DEFENSIVE BACK  WAS DEALT OUT.  THE WHACK BROUGHT A GROAN FROM THE CROWD.  HE IS JOINED ON THE TIGERS SQUAD BY HIS BROTHER STARTING WIDE RECEIVER JACKSON KNABE.

PER THE COACH ...."EVERYBODY THINKS THEY ARE KICKERS.  THERE IS A SAYING THAT EVEYBODY THINKS THEY CAN PITCH,  SHOOT THREE POINTERS AND  KICK.  I BRING OUT THE KICKING TEE AND LET THEM KNOW THAT IF THEY'RE WASTING MY TIME AND THEY PROVE THAT'S THE CASE WTH THEIR KICK, THEY GET TO DO PUSH UPS, " SAID COACH SCHILLING.   DUE TO THE INJURY TO FRESHMAN QB CLAYTON BEZNER,  WHO ALSO FILLED THE POSITIONS OF  PUNTER AND KICKER,  A KICKING COMPETITION WAS HELD AND TYLER FELDERHOFF WILL TAKE OVER AS KICK OFF SPECIALIST.  ZACH HENNIGAN WILL SERVE AS TEAM PUNTER.
 THE LEGACY ALUMNI....TYLER FELDERHOFF IS PICTURED IN THE TIGER FOOTBALL PROGRAM WEARING NUMBER 65 BUT IN REALITY THE 179 POUNDER WEARS NUMBER 20 ON THE FIELD.  TYLER WEARS THE NUMBER 20 WITH PRIDE SINCE 20 WAS THE NUMBER WORN BY TIGER LEGACY MEMBER KENNY FELDERHOFF, HIS GRANDFATHER.  KENNY IS WELL REMEMBERED AS THE RUNNING BACK WHO STEPPED UP TO HELP THE TIGERS UNDER LATE HEAD COACH ED STOCK  LEAD THE TIGERS TO THEIR FIRST TAPPS STATE FINAL APPEARANCE.  KENNY SUFFERED  A KNEE INJURY MIDWAY THROUGH THE SEASON AND WAS REPLACED DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE RUN BY NTSN COLOR MAN DANNY WALTERSCHEID.  INTERESTINGLY  ENOUGH, THE TIGERS HAD ALREADY LOST ANOTHER SPEEDSTER,  ROGER HAVERKAMP,  WHEN DANNY, WHO WAS LISTED AS NUMBER THREE ON THE DEPTH CHART WAS CALLED  ON TO TOTE THE HOG HIDE.   THE RESULT- AN ALL STATE PERFORMANCE BY WALTERSCHEID.

KUDOS FOR RESERVE QUARTERBACK JOHN  LOUIS NASCHE WHO RAN OUT THE ENTIRE FOURTH QUARTER WHILE FILLING IN FOR SWIRCYNSKI WHO HAD TO LEAVE THE GAME DUE TO CRAMPS.  THE LEG CRAMPS CAME AFTER THE SON OF OFFENSIVE CO-ORDINATOR GLEN SWIRCYNSKI  CAPPED OFF THE NIGHT WITH TWO TOUCHDOWN .  A NOD AS WELL TO GAGE CAMPBELL AND THE OTHERS WHO APPEARED IN RELIEF FOR THE TIGERS.  

NEXT WEEK THE OLDEST FOOTBALL RIVALRY IN COOKE COUNTY TOUCHES GROUND AGAIN AS THE SACRED HEART TIGERS HIT THE BACK ROAD TO ERA TO BATTLE THE HORNETS.    
BY THE QUARTER ...

       1ST        TIGERS    14    PETROLIA    7
       2ND      TIGERS      28    PETROLIA    7
       3RD       TIGERS     34    PETROLIA    14
       4TH       TIGERS     34    PETROLIA     14