|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DAVENPORT, Iowa – There were a lot bees buzzing around the
stands at Brady Street Stadium on Saturday afternoon. There were almost as
many St. Ambrose Fighting Bees buzzing around the field by the time the
final horn sounded. Numerous players saw action in the first Fighting Bees
home game in 315 days, and scorched the visiting Waldorf Warriors 71-7. Fighting Bees coach Todd Sturdy was not only pleased with the
work of his starting core, he was just as pleased with his reserves. “Our young kids played well and that was good to see,”
Sturdy said. “We have some depth.” And even though the seventh ranked Fighting Bees (2-0) have
now outscored the Warriors 141-7 in two contests, Sturdy believes that
Waldorf (2-2) is a much better team than they were a year ago. “They’re a better football team that they were a year
ago,” Sturdy said. “They are, there is no question about that. It
didn’t show on the (score)board. Dog gone it they played us tough in the
first half, a lot tougher than a year ago. They did some good things. They
even took away some of our best plays.” Some of the plays that they did not take away were a 25-yard
Jeff Kietzman to Brandin Smith touchdown play, a Joe Schimmel 84-yard
touchdown run and a 28-yard Kietzman to Andy Ford score. Kietzman finished the day 15-of-25 for 195 yards and two
scores. Backup J.T. Bucy saw every down of the second half after the first
Fighting Bees offensive series and had a big day as well. Bucy went 5-of-7
for 54 yards and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Smith. “I think that Bucy did a great job,” Sturdy said. “We
let him throw a few times to see how he would respond to a few things and
responded real well.” Smith was one of eight Fighting Bees receivers to haul in a
pass on the day. Leading the core was Ford, who had eight receptions for
67 yards and a score. “Obviously we have some good, veteran, older receivers and
Smith is only a sophomore,” Sturdy said. “He is improving everyday. He
is going to be a real good player; we are really excited about him. “We put him in at a key point in the game, and he went in
and made a big play in the heat of the moment (on his first touchdown
grab, which put the Fighting Bees up 14-0 early on.” After being held to just 44 yards in the first game, Schimmel
responded with a 17 carry for 188 yards and a touchdown performance to
lead the Fighting Bees ground attack, who had nine players rush at least
once. Larry Williams also had a big day, as he rushed for 67 yards on 10
carries and added two scores. Williams also had a few big runs called back
because of penalty, the only downside of the day for the home team. The Fighting Bees defense picked up right where it left off
with Johnny Dickens leading the way yet again. Dickens did exactly what he
did a week ago against Loras and picked off two Warriors passes. Ryan
Newman also added an interception, which he returned 32 yards for a
touchdown. The Fighting Bees added two sacks, six tackles for loss, forced
three fumbles, broke up seven passes and had five quarterback hurries.
Luke Perry led the way with 10 tackles (four solo), two tackles for loss
and a pass breakup. “I think defensively we continued to play pretty good
football,” Sturdy said. “I am pretty happy with our defense,
obviously. “Our two corners continue to play better. We have two new
(corners) from last year. (Johnny) Dickens played well, Matt Hunt is
tackling well. Our front seven does some good things and I think they
controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well.” The Fighting Bees offense outgained the Warriors 632-106 on
the day. Return to the Football Homepage |
|
|
|
|
518 West Locust
Street, Davenport, IA 52803 |
