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Saturday,
October 12, 2002
BHS makes quick work of Panthers
By Douglas Hamm
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- Two plays, two touchdown passes.
And it only got worse for the Decatur Eisenhower High School football
team Friday night at Fred Carlton Field.
Senior quarterback Andre Brown fired TD passes on Bloomington's first
two plays from scrimmage, and the Purple Raiders coasted to a 49-0
homecoming victory over Eisenhower to clinch the Big 12 Conference West
Division title and run their regular-season winning streak to 32 games.
"Tonight we came out with a little chip on our shoulder because
we didn't play as well as we should have against Eisenhower last
year," Brown said. "The coaches reminded us of that, and we
worked hard all week in practice. We came out gunslinging."
BHS, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, scored on its first five possessions
and improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12 West. The Raiders, who
led 42-0 at halftime, will close the regular season with nonconference
games against St. Louis University High and Champaign Centennial.
"The kids did a nice job," said BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer.
"Sometimes with homecoming week you're not certain how focused they
are. They were misfiring in warm-ups before the kickoff, and we were a
little bit nervous about that.
"We're glad we could come out and execute, put the game away and
then get everyone into the game. The next two games should help us for
the playoffs. We need some good competition and something to challenge us
during practice and during games so we can make adjustments."
Brown fired a 40-yard TD pass to a wide-open Rodney Hursey on BHS'
first play, and he followed with another 40-yard scoring strike to
Brandon Hughes the next time the Raiders touched the ball. Brown also
threw a 36-yard TD pass to Chad Olson to put BHS ahead 28-0 at the end of
the first quarter.
"They kind of walked their safeties up at first, perhaps to stop
the run, and the play action was there," Schmelzer said. "Then
they started pulling their safeties so far back the run was there."
Brown completed 8 of 12 passes for 208 yards to help the Raiders pile
up a 375-113 edge in total yardage. Damon Mehlberg rushed for a game-high
83 yards on only six carries, and James Wade rushed for 59 yards and two
TDs. Hursey had four receptions for 93 yards.
Senior linemen Jacob Kummer and Tyler Noonan rushed for the Raiders'
other two TDs. Kummer scored on a 6-yard run in the second quarter, and
Noonan completed the scoring with an 8-yard run late in the third
quarter.
"It was great the senior linemen could get into the end
zone," Brown said. "It signifies the hard work we've put into
it and the rewards that can become of it."
The clock ran continuously in the second half after the Raiders built
a 42-0 halftime lead. Eisenhower (2-5, 1-2) was held to 25 yards in the
first half and finished with zero passing yards.
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