Scots Send It To Overtime, Defeating UW-Eau Claire 33-30
ALMA, Mich. – The Scots won their first game of the season in an overtime thriller, defeating visiting UW-Eau Claire 33-30. Alma generated 452 yards of total offense while the Scot defense held the Blugolds to just 235 yards in the same category. Alma improves to 1-1 on the season while UW-Eau Claire falls to 1-2.Senior quarterback Josh Brehm (Ithaca) passed for 358 yards – the sixth-best single-game performance in school history – rushing for 76 more. He connected with two different receivers in the endzone for TDs and rushed for two more himself.
Sophomore Matt Brown (Midland) was the top receiver for the day with six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, including a 64-yard reception. Jeremy Stephens (Fulton/Maple Rapids) had 84 yards on seven catches while Venias Jordan (Detroit/Cody) had a career-best performance with eight receptions for 58 yards – his first-ever collegiate reception coming on a 21-yard gem late in the first half. Junior Joe Cline (Ithaca) had another stellar day, catching nine passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Mike Lovely (Essexville/Garber) led the Scots with nine total tackles – two solo and seven assists. Caleb Barnes (Sheridan/Central Montcalm) had eight tackles, including two solo and an interception that he returned two yards, giving the Scots key momentum. Kyle Percival (Lansing/Waverly) had an interception – his second game in a row with an INT.
With two punts, a field goal and a PAT attempt all blocked, the Scots somehow overcame to defeat the Blugolds 33-30 at Bahlke Field Saturday.
After a tough game against Cornell a week ago, the Scot defense came out, holding the Blugolds on their first drive, forcing the first punt of the game on UW-Eau Claire’s first possession.
Josh Brehm and the Maroon and Cream offense took the field with Brehm rushing on the first play from scrimmage, gaining four yards. A pass intended for Matt Brown was swatted down by Nate Rucker and the Blugold defense continued to smother the Scots, forcing a Brehm fumble back to Alma’s own 17-yard line.
Pinned against the wall, sophomore punter Matt Brown had his attempt blocked by Sam Cummings and recovered by Zach Paul in the endzone to give the Blugolds a 6-0 advantage. The PAT by Craig Kolb gave Eau Claire a 7-0 advantage and put the Alma offense back on the field.
Percival again fielded the kick, this time at the one, returning it nine yards to Alma’s 13. Kyle Ryan (Reese) rushed, picking up two yards. A completion to Brown for a small gain brought up third and seven and for the first time of the season, Brehm was sacked by Dan Garin back to the Alma 10. Again with tough field position, Alma was forced to punt and the Blugolds returned the ball to the Alma 25.
A Blugold pass intended for Chris Hull was just a bit long and out-of-bounds to give UW second and ten at the Alma 25. Cory Sartorelli picked up six yards to give Eau Claire third and short. A completion to Hull this time gave Eau Claire the first down at the Alma 14. An illegal procedure against Eau Claire moved them back five yards to the 19. A Edward Kaiser carry was stuffed by Zac Zanotti (Bay City/Central) and Adam Korson (Gaylord/St. Mary's) for second and 12 at the Alma 16. Kaiser got the ball again, gaining six yards for a third-and-five situation.
Another illegal procedure call took the Blugolds back to the original line of scrimmage at Alma’s 15 yard line. A pass intended for Hull was long again outside the end zone as Kolb and the kicking unit came on for the field goal attempt. The 31-yard field goal was good to give Eau Claire a 10-0 advantage with 6:32 remaining in the first quarter.
After a Kyle Percival eight-yard return from the two-yard line, Brehm rushed for nine yards, bringing up second and a foot at the 21-yard line. Ryan rushed for the first down – Alma’s first of the game – to the 25-yard line. Brehm’s pass on the next play was complete to Jeremy Stephens for a two-yard gain and Brehm found Brown on the next play to move Alma to the 34-yard line for a third-and-one scenario. The offense notorious for moving through the air stuck to the ground attack as Ryan gained two yards for the first down.
A shovel pass to Ryan was good for an eight-yard gain but an incompletion intended for Stephens brought up fourth-and-two and the punt team came onto the field. This time, Brown had a 28-yard punt to push Eau Claire to its own 24-yard line. Rob Schreier took the pass eight yards before he was forced out of bounds by Nick Merlo (Rochester/Adams). Brandon Smith stopped the rush before, on third-and-five, Alma forced the incompletion and the Eau Claire punt team onto the field. Kolb kicked to the Alma 37 where Caleb Barnes fielded the ball for a four-yard return to the Alma 42.
A rush by Austin Schaar (Dewitt) was forced back to the Alma 36. But on the next play, Brehm found Brown – who made a key catch – and found his way down the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown catch. Brehm’s longest touchdown pass of the season. The PAT attempt by Dan Seals (Ithaca) was blocked by Sam Cummings. Alma was on the board with a minute remaining in the first quarter to make the score 10-6.
Seals took the field to kick-off and a mishandled ball at the Eau Claire 25 was covered by Jared Roeker. After two successful Sartorelli rushes, Eau Claire got the first down by the tip of the football, bringing up first down at Eau Claire’s 35-yard line.
Kaiser then broke wide open on an Alma College blitz for a 52-yard touchdown run to make the score 17-6. Kolb’s PAT attempt was good.
Determined to respond, Derek Curry (Peck) came up big, fielded the kick at the Alma 12 and returning the ball 57 yards to the Eau Claire 31 yard line. A Kyle Ryan rush was stuffed for a loss of a yard and Brehm’s pass to Joe Cline was long, bringing up a third and 11 situation. Austin Schaar made a reception at the 24 yard line to give Alma a fourth and two. Alma was then penalized with an illegal procedure call, moving them back to the 29-yard line. Brehm and the offense stayed on the field, going for it on fourth and long out of the Scotgun. And Joe Cline, finally able to shake the Eau Claire defenders assigned to keep him in check, caught the ball at the 20 – getting the first down – shook Eau Claire’s defender and ran in for the touchdown. Opting to go for two points, Brehm kept the ball and was just shy of the conversion to make the score 17-12 in Eau Claire’s favor.
Dan Seals’ kickoff was fielded at the 10 yard line by Ryan Schulz and was brought down by Travis Martin (Fennville) at the 19 yard line. Two consecutive incompletions by quarterback Ryan Paulson brought up third-and-10 – and a pick by senior defensive back Caleb Barnes brought Alma’s offense back on the field at the UW 25 yard line.
Brehm kept the ball for a nine-yard rush and kept the ball against on second and short for a rush of six yards, bringing up first and goal at the 10. A pass breakup by Tom Dohr – intended for Alma’s Austin Schaar – brought up second and goal. A pass intended for Brown was nearly picked off to make it third and ten. A pass completion to Kyle Ryan moved Alma to the four yard line and Dan Seals and holder Tom Montgomery (Decatur, Ind./Big Rapids) and the Alma kick team came on. But Seals missed the kick wide right to keep the score at 17-12 in Eau Claire’s favor.
With Eau Claire taking over at the 20, Paulson fumbled on the first down, putting the Blugolds back to their own 17 yard line. Kaiser rushed and several Scots tried to bring him down before Kyle Percival got a hold of him – with a face mask penalty – to give Eau Claire an automatic first down at the 38 yard line. A completion to Schreier gave the Blugolds another first down at the Alma 49 yard line. Caleb Barnes and Jacob Zainea (Midland/Dow) combined to stop the Eau Claire rush on second down. On third down, Ryan Coon (Cheboygan) nearly had another AC interception, but instead the punt team came on the field and as Curry signaled fair catch, the punt rolled into the endzone for a touchback at the Alma 20 yard line.
Alma took over possession and a Josh Brehm rush to the Alma 15 yard line and the ensuing fumble gave UW-Eau Claire the ball at the Alma seven yard line. The defense held the Blugolds but Craig Kolb’s 33-yard field goal was good to give UW-Eau Claire a 20-12 advantage.
The Scots offense marched 37 yards in 10 plays to the UW 43-yard line, followed by a Brehm 41-yard punt to the UW-Eau Claire two-yard line.
The Blugolds held the ball but could not get much going with just 53 seconds remaining in the half. The teams headed to halftime with UW-Eau Claire holding a 20-12 advantage.
Out of halftime, the Alma offense got the ball at it’s own 20 yard line but with a three-and-out drive – including a false start penalty against the Scots. Brown came on to punt – again pinned in his own zone – and kicked the ball to the Alma 48 from the 18-yard line.
The Scot defense then forced the Blugolds into a three-and-out drive with Kolb putning from his own 42 through the endzone for a touchback.
A Venias Jordan reception gave Alma second and five at the 26 yard line. Nate Jervey (Harbor Springs) got the ball on second down for a six-yard gain to the 32 yard line. A pass intended for Austin Schaar went right through his hands to bring up a third and 12 situation. Under pressure from all sides, Brehm found Schaar along the near sideline to bring up first and 10 at the UW-Eau Claire 46 yard line. Brehm found his rhythm as the Scots’ hurry-up offense came up big with an eight-yard gain when Brehm found Cline. A pass for Schaar was incomplete and on third-and-two Brehm found running room, gaining 12 yards for the first down at Eau Claire’s 26 yard line.
Jervey was open on the far sideline for a nine-yard reception. A bullet from Brehm found Cline in the endzone to give Alma six points and make the score 20-18. The decision to go for two and tie the game was made and Brehm carried the ball in for the conversion to tie the game at 20-20. The 80-yard, 12-play drive turned the momentum in the Scots’ favor as UW-Eau Claire came onto the field at the Eau Claire 27-yard line.
Kyle Percival, one of the speediest defensive backs in the MIAA, was able to gain position on Matthew Evensen and pick Paulson at the Alma 41 yard line. On first down, Jeremy Stephens had an eight yard reception, followed by a long pass to Cline, slipping through his hands as the official called the pass incomplete. A pass intended for Stephens into coverage gave Alma fourth and two, bringing on the Alma College punt team. Brown booted it to the Eau Claire 25, a 26-yard punt.
A three-and-out drive by the Blugolds brought on the Eau Claire punt team as Kolb kicked to the Alma 30 – Caleb Barnes returned the ball to the 40 but a holding call against Alma on the return moved the ball back to the 20 yard line.
Brehm took over, finding Brown for a four-yard gain to the Alma 24. He found Brown again as he broke free and ran the ball all the way in for the touchdown…but it was called back with another offensive holding call against the Maroon and Cream. Instead of a touchdown, the Scots got second-and-17 from the Alma 14-yard line.
Venias Jordan caught the pass to move back one yard behind the original line of scrimmage with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Finding Jordan open again, he advanced to the Alma 27 yard line, five yards shy of the first down.
Brown’s punt was blocked again but recovered at the Alma 30 yard line. After two plays, UW-Eau Claire had first and goal at the Alma six-yard line. With the end of the third quarter, the Blugolds came out and scored seven more to begin the fourth to give them a 27-20 advantage.
Taking over at its own 29-yard line, Alma and Brehm rushed for no gain on the first play from scrimmage. After a gain of a yard by Kyle Ryan, Brehm connected with Matt Brown for a 13-yard reception, giving Alma first down at the 43-yard line. But they could not find another first down as Brown punted 41 yards as the kick was returned to the 29 yard line.
A nine-yard gain by the Blugolds on the first play of the drive gave them an opportunity to gain the first down on the ensuing play with 12:02 remaining in the game. But it only resulted in a punt –32 yards to the Alma19 yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, Brehm connected with Jeremy Stephens for a 43-yard reception, moving all the way to the UW-Eau Claire 38-yard line. Venias Jordan had a seven-yard catch on first down and Brehm kept the ball, rushing for eight yards for first and ten at the 23 yard line. A pass completion to Joe Cline moved the ball to the 18-yard line for second down in the red-zone. A sack to Brehm by Nate Rucker sent the Scots backward four yards for third down. Chris Francis (Lapeer) was the intended receiver when the catch was ruled incomplete. Brehm’s pass on fourth and long as he looked for Joe Cline was too long as Alma turned the ball over at the Eau Claire 22-yard line.
Edward Kaiser rushed but was sent backward three yards as Matt Stempki (St. Ignace/La Salle) and Buddy Scarborough (Romeo) combined to stop Kaiser. With pressure to Paulson by Zac Zanotti, he was forced to throw the ball away, brining up third and 13 from UW’s 19. Despite an eight-yard reception, the Blugolds were forced to punt as Caleb Barnes fielded the ball at the Alma 29-yard line and returned the ball 43 yards (on a 44 yard punt).
Back in scoring position Brehm and Cline connected for a gain of five yards to Alma’s own 23 yard line. A quarterback keeper moved the ball three yards and gave the Scots a third-and-two situation. Brehm kept the ball again, moving 14 yards for first and goal.
From the six yard line, Kyle Ryan carried the ball three yards to the three for second and goal. Brehm kept the ball to score six and Dan Seals’ PAT was good to even the score again at 27-27.
Taking over at its own 26 yard line, Eau Claire got successive first downs to move toward midfield and with second and seven from its own 49 yard line, Matt Stempki batted down an Paulson pass before a pass to Chris Hull was incomplete to give Eau Claire fourth down with 1:40 remaining in the game. With a too-many-men penalty to the Scots, Eau Claire had fourth and two from the Alma 43. Forced to regroup, Eau Claire called timeout with 1:40 still showing on the clock.
Out of the timeout, Eau Claire opted to go for it as Zanotti and Mike Lovely stopped Paulson on the run.
Taking over on downs, Brehm found Cline for a gain of five and found Stephens for a first down at the Eau Claire 46 yard line. Going deep, Brehm nearly found Cline in the endzone, but the pass was inches outside his grasp. With second and 10 from the Eau Claire 46, Alma receiver Jeremy Stephens got the ball at the 37-yard line and got out of bounds to stop the clock with 39.4 seconds to go in the game.
Again complete to Stephens for the first down at the 26-yard line, the clock stopped to move the chains and the Scots called their first timeout of the half. Brehm kept the ball to get to the 24-yard line as Alma called another time out to stop the clock with 25.8 seconds to go in the game. With Brehm looking for Cline, his pass incomplete, the yellow flag was thrown and pass interference called against the Blugolds.
Half the distance to the goal at the 14-yard line. Brehm kept the ball and was tackled. The chain gang came onto the field for the measurement – second and inches at the Alma five yard line with 17.1 seconds showing on the clock. Brehm tried to run the ball into the endzone, but Nate Jahn and Dan Rogney tackled him as they called for measurement again, this time giving the first down to the Scots at the four yard line, first and goal.
With nine seconds remaining. Brehm tried to find the endzone himself, but was stopped short. Alma called timeout with one second showing on the game clock.
But UW-Eau Claire had timeouts to use, icing Dan Seals with back-to-back timeouts. The field goal attempt was blocked by Brian Larson.
Alma won the toss in overtime and chose to defend its goal.
First and ten for Eau Claire at the 25-yard line. The defense stopped the Scots, holding the Blugolds shy of the goal line but Eau Claire converted on a field goal to take a 30-27 lead.
Alma’s offense then took the field under Brehm’s direction. On the first play, Brehm kept the ball to rush seven yards to the 18 yard line. An incomplete pass intended for Cline gave the Scots third down at the 18 yard line. Brehm put the ball in Brown’s hands on an eight-yard reception to give Alma first down at the 10-yard line. Brehm kept the ball and was on his way down by a host of Blugolds, but he found Ryan on the end for a six-yard gain as he was forced out of bounds at the four yard line.
Brehm then kept the ball for four-yard rush and the winning touchdown to end the game in the Scots’ favor.
Alma returns to action next week when it travels to Wittenberg for a 1 p.m. game.
Posted: Sat, September 16th, 2006 at 4:09PM
