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DAVENPORT, Iowa – The weather was picture perfect for a crowd of over 4,000 on Saturday afternoon for St. Ambrose Fighting Bees homecoming football game. However, the Trinity International Trojans felt the effects of both thunder and lightning, in the form of running backs Joe Schimmel and Larry Williams during a 42-18 Fighting Bees’ victory. As
they have done throughout their undefeated season, the Fighting Bees (5-0,
2-0) continued to punish opposing defenses with their ground attack of
Schimmel and Williams, which makes for a lethal combination of thunderous
power and lightning-speed. The running back duo finished with an
astonishing combined total of 386 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. “It’s
great to have both Larry and I running,” said Schimmel. “Obviously, we
are both going to be more effective when we are fresh and healthy. We
complement each other pretty well.” Both
teams came into Saturday’s contest with undefeated records of 4-0
apiece, and both were ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Rankings, as the Fighting
Bees were ranked sixth and the Trojans (4-1, 1-1) ranked 14th.
Although the Trojans were the highest ranked squad that the Bees have
faced this season, the Bees came prepared to exploit their defensive
scheme. “Trinity
does so much blitzing on defense, so we’ve been committed to our zone
play and we worked a lot on that this past week,” said Fighting Bees
coach Todd Sturdy, who now stands with an impressive 65-33 mark while with
St. Ambrose. “The coaching staff decided that we would just stick with
that zone approach on offense, until they would stop us.” In
their second possession of the game, the Fighting Bees chipped away at the
Trojans defense with a 10-play drive that covered 80 yards. This drive was
capped by on a 12-yard run by Schimmel. At the half, St. Ambrose continued
to shutout the Trojans offense, and Schimmel added another touchdown in
the second quarter with a 49-yard dash, making the score 14-0. “We
were real patient with the run, and our O-line covered them really
well,” said Sturdy. “That was as good of an effort by the line as I
can remember here, as far knowing what they had to do with a tough task at
hand.” The
Trojans put up 18 points in a variety of ways in the second half, but the
Bees kept firing right back. The scores for the Trojans consisted of a
field goal, a safety, a 67-yard quarterback scramble by Kevin Oberlander,
and a 9-yard pass to Nathan Endmano. However, the Fighting Bees tallied up
four touchdowns in the second half, including two runs by Williams of 13
and 77 yards, respectively, and another by Schimmel from 13 yards out.
Although there were many great runs on the day, Williams finished the day
with 211 yards and Schimmel had 175. At
the beginning of the third quarter, the Fighting Bees marched down the
field with an impressive 74-yard drive. As Williams dove into the end
zone, the ball popped out and was ruled a fumbled. “I
was definitely pretty mad about that play,” said Williams. “I knew
that we would get more chances though, because of the way the zone was
opening things up.” As
the St. Ambrose defense took the field, they had fire in their eyes, ready
to get back the touchdown that should have been. With the Trojans deep in
their own territory, St. Ambrose safety Luke Perry intercepted a short
pass on third down in stride and ran it in for the touchdown as the crowd
and home sideline erupted in jubilation. “I
think that was the biggest play of the game,” said Sturdy. “The
defense really pulled through in such a critical point in the ball
game.” The Fighting Bees will hit the road next weekend to take on Iowa Wesleyan in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. They will return home on Oct. 23, when they host rival Saint Xavier. Kickoff at Brady Street Stadium is set for 1 p.m. Return to the Football Homepage |
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518 West Locust
Street, Davenport, IA 52803 |
