Phoenix Dealt a Body Blow
The Wilmot Phoenix Offense defeated the Wilmot Phoenix 18-6 on a perfect night in Janesville....
All jokes aside, the Janesville Nighthawk offense needed to do very little to defeat the Phoenix this past Friday night as the Phoenix continued to do what they do best, play really well untill an opportune moment comes along to mess with everything. The Phoenix threw 5 interceptions and lost a fumble (more on that later); 3 of which were taken back for scores. Yes, you read that right, 3 were taken back for scores. One could simply brush it aside as a bad game, the Phoenix only had 14 players (15 after halftime), and honestly, when will we ever see so many turnovers taken back for scores? Yet it gets to the point where we shouldn't have to make excuses, the season is almost over, and the same problems keep coming up. The reffereeing, which has been ok as of late, also played a heavy hand in this.
The Nighthawks had possession first and pillaged thier way down the field for an early 8-0 score. The Phoenix, led again by Dan Mikal, flew down the field in 6 plays as Mikal hit Tight End Andrew Menard on a corner route for what was sure to be a great score...however, Menard, running open down the field, was badly led on the throw and had to go low to catch it. He dove on his knees, came up with the ball and lept back up to his feet to run straight into a Nighthawk defender. Stretching with all of his might for the goaline, Menard came up short and fell a few feet shy of the line. As he hit the ground, the ball came lose, and it was ruled a fumble even though the ball clearly was knocked lose by the fall. A Nighthawk defender carried the ball back all the way for a score as the stunned Phoenix team (literally everybody) were aghast as the Nighthawks take a 14-0 lead. It was a sign of things to come as the Phoenix, back on offense, gained considerable yardage yet still missed catches, blew assignments and gave up sacks while Wilmot let the score slip to 22-0 before halftime.
In the second half, the defence played truly inspired football. After the Nighthawks scored early in the half, the Nighthawk offense did not touch the endzone again. However, that responsibility fell soley to the Nighthawk defense, who took two more interceptions back for scores. More would have been taken back...yet the Nighthawks have a nasty penchant for blocking in the back. In an Ironic twist, Jeff Thorpe intercepted a ball and weaved his way through the Nighthawks offense seemingly twice to take the ball back for a score mid-way through the half (which would have made the score 30-6), yet a penalty was thrown 50 yards behind the play, calling the score back and killing any Wilmot momentum. In actuality, the Phoenix scored on that drive, as Thorpe finally got his Touchdown as Mikal slipped a ball to him in the endzone. However, that was one of the few highlights for the rookie QB, as he threw two more INT's and had troublere moving around in the pocket. The Phoenix changed Quarterbacks half-way through the second half, untested and mightily overmatched Kyle Ritter stepped in, and while he threw 2 INT's of his own, he made a few nice passes and ran when he could. In many ways it should never have come to that.
Going back to the defense for a minute, not enough can be said for how they scrapped in this game. Only giving up three scores on a night like tonight is commendable, yet having multiple turnovers and really keeping the team as a whole in this game far longer than they should have been. At times this season, they have let us down, tonight however, was all on the offense.
All in all, the struggling Phoenix are 1-7. We have played well at times this season, yet you'll never see that in the record books. The Phoenix have yet to be truly outplayed this season, instead making the deal harder on themselves than on opposing teams. This is the plight of a first year team, and all signs point toward a much better record in 2011. The team has a solid core, and although we are running on fumes right now, we have very much to look forward to.
| Top Offense
Kyle Ritter - 7
Matt Splitt - 2
Jeff Thorpe -1
Top Defense
Andrew Menard - 6
Cody Sisk - 2
Chris Bella - 1
Top Reserve
Ryne Johnsen - 7
Tim Thornton - 1
Top Play
Jeff Thorpe (INT) - 4
Jeff Thorpe (TD) - 2
Ryne Johnsen - 2
Chris Bella - 1
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