The Observer, September 22, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 4
Amid injuries, Spartans blow out Lords for third straight win
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Will lightning strike twice?
The Spartan football team won its first three games last season against Oberlin, Denison, and Kenyon, before injuries hampered the Spartans as they lost their last seven.
Once again, the Spartans are undefeated through their first three games this season, after Saturday's 43-13 drubbing of Kenyon. During the first half, however, defensive stalwarts Nick Decesare and Scott Madden went down with injuries, adding to an injury list that already included offensive linemen Tom Zagorski, Nick Spring, and Paul Hannen.
Only time will tell whether the team will repeat its 3-7 record of a year ago. Regardless of injuries, the games must still be played, and coach Greg Debeljek has confidence in the guys he has remaining on the field.
"Any time you lose three-year starters, it's tough," he said. "But we've lost guys before and have been able to bounce back. We have more depth this year than last year."
The Spartans showed off that depth against Kenyon, as the Spartans, both starters and backups alike, dominated the game. A big part of the strong performance was the running game, which had struggled through the team's first two games. Brendan Jones led the way with 69 yards on 13 carries.
"We were very happy for Brendan," Debeljak said. "He didn't really have an opportunity until this week. We knew he was a powerful inside runner, but he really turned some heads [Saturday]."
Senior James Rosenbury had his best game of the year so far on the ground, gaining 65 yards on nine carries. As a team, the Spartans rushed for 196 yards, exposing Kenyon's weakness against the run.
"We'll keep the rotation that we have going," Debeljak said regarding his running back situation. "The guys complement each other well."
The rushing attack led Case during its opening drive of the game. After a sack of Dan Whalen on the first play of the game, the Spartans ran the ball seven times for 48 yards, marching down to the Lords' two-yard line. Whalen then found Corey Checkan for a two-yard touchdown pass, giving the Spartans a 7-0 lead. The Spartans increased their lead on another touchdown drive late in the first quarter. A 53-yard punt return by Madden gave the Spartans great field position, bringing the ball to the Kenyon 31. Whalen then finished the drive with a six-yard scoring run. After the kick failed, Case's lead stood at 13-0.
After struggling to start games during the first two weeks, the Spartans' strong start against Kenyon, both offensively and defensively, was encouraging to see.
"We stressed starting out strong in practice going into the game," Debeljak said. "The team rallied around that. It's one thing to talk about it, though, and another to execute. We still had to go out and execute, and the kids played extremely well."
Case continued to pour it on in the second quarter. Following a theme from the previous week against Denison, the Spartans stuffed the Lords in their own endzone for a safety, increasing their lead to 15-0.
The game marked another impressive performance by the Case defense. Led by Brian Calderone and Tom Brew, the defense held a Kenyon offense, which had been averaging 459 yards of total offense coming into the game, to 281. Much of that came off an 81-yard touchdown run by Javier Arbolaez in the fourth quarter.
"We always try to evaluate the other team and take away their strengths," Debeljak said of his team's defensive approach. "They also had a lot of problems blocking Calderone and Brew. Calderone is so tough due to his athletic ability. He's so athletic, so disciplined. There are some guys you can fool, but he plays his assignments very well."
With the offense and defense both executing well, the Spartans cruised to the victory. They increased the lead to 22-0 as Joe Brenner turned a Whalen pass into a 65-yard touchdown catch. Brenner has scored a touchdown in each game this season. Whalen scored his second rushing touchdown early in the third quarter to give Case a 29-0 lead. The Spartans scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one on a pass from Angelo Mirando to Matt Skolnicki, and the other on a run by Checkan.
The Spartans will have to continue to play well on both sides of the ball tomorrow when they travel to play the Fighting Scots of Wooster. Wooster represents the most formidable opponent the Spartans will have played so far this season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
"Wooster is a quality program," Debeljak said. "It will be a good test for us. They have 26 seniors, including eight on defense. Any time a club has that much experience, they're going to be tough."
