Pius XI Can’t Be Denied

Starting from their own 17-yard line with just over 4 minutes left in the game and trailing by 5 points, the Popes’ offense stepped on the field one last time with a lot of pressure on their shoulders. The Popes had only 1 major goal this year and that was to make the playoffs. Coming into the last game of the season, the Popes did what they had to do to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs. But now they had to go 83 yards and score a touchdown. If they succeeded, the Popes make the playoffs for only the second time since joining the WIAA. If they failed, their season was over in a very disappointing way and the success they had accomplished throughout the season would have felt meaningless.

Coming into the game, the Popes were banged up. But the biggest injury was the one that put the Pope’s starting QB out of last week’s game agains Catholic Memorial. It was only a deep bruise but it was too painful for him to practice so Coach Joe Koch converted one of the running backs as the QB for the Kettle Moraine game. With a small roster, the Popes have few backups and they don’t have a backup QB. Without the starting QB, the Popes needed to play solid football on defense and not turn the ball over on offense.

The Popes’ defense was the first to make a statement. On the very first play of the game, a Kettle Moraine pass tipped off the fingers of one of the receivers and into the hands of a Popes’ DB who returned the interception 22-yards for a quick Pius XI touchdown. On Kettle Moraine’s second drive, they were forced to punt after 3 plays. The Popes offense finally saw the field but gave the ball right back to Kettle Moraine as they fumbled on the very first play of their drive. The very next play, Kettle Moraine scored a touchdown on a 45-yard pass to tie up the game at 7-7. Well actually it was a pass that was caught behind the line of scrimmage and then the receiver took it to the house for the score. The play is called a bubble pass and it hurt the Popes all night long. The defense was already beaten before the ball was even snapped because of their alignment. Kettle Moraine had 3 receivers on the right side of the formation and the Popes only had 2 players to defend the 3 receivers. To make matters worse, Kettle Moraine then put another receiver in motion who rolled over to the right side just before the snap of the ball. After the snap, the QB would throw the ball to the receiver in motion who now had 3 blocking receivers in front of 2 defenders. I would call that a big mismatch. Coach Koch immediately talked to the defense coaches to make adjustments with their pre-snap alignment… but it never happened and I have no idea why. Coach Koch kept yelling at the defense coaches to make adjustments and I did see the the defensive coaches talk to the defensive players, but I never saw any adjustments made on the field. It was excruciating to watch.

For their second possession, the Popes started to move the ball before the backup QB fumbled it right back to Kettle Moraine. Kettle Moraine then moved the ball on several bubble passes but the Popes eventually got the ball back on downs. Finally, the Popes were able to put a drive together and score a touchdown. A bad snap prevented a successful extra-point and the score was now 13-7, in favor of Pius XI. After this drive, Kettle Moraine’s defense made adjustments. They realized that the Pope’s QB could not pass and he could not effectively hit the edges with the option game. For the rest of the game, Kettle Moraine had 9 players in the box and the Pope’s offense were unable to move the ball. Meanwhile Kettle Moraine scored 2 more touchdowns in the first half with the help of several more bubble passes. Kettle Moraine also had a bad snap on an extra point and the half time score was 20-13 in favor of Kettle Moraine.

At halftime, the Popes’ chances of making the playoffs looked doubtful. The Popes could not move the ball and the defense still had not made any adjustments to stop the bubble pass. With their 1-dimensional offense, the Popes could not afford to get behind by more than 1 score. They needed to score on their first drive of the second half and tie up the game… and that’s just what they did. On the very first play of the second half, the backup QB ran 65 yards to setup a touchdown a few plays later. The Popes were successful on a 2-point conversion and the score was now 21-20, in favor of the Popes.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Kettle Moraine scored on a 41-yard bubble pass play. After a failed 2-point conversion, Kettle Moraine now led 26-21. The Popes’ defense did make a couple of big stops in the second half but the offense was never able to score again. The Popes made one more big stop and with 4:25 left in the game and the offense had 1 last chance to score and save the season. After the punt, the Popes’ offense started on their own 17 yard line. Coach Koch finally told his starting QB that he needed to fight through his painful bruise and get on the field and lead the team to the playoffs. The Popes quickly moved down the field on several well executed pass plays. Everyone on sideline could feel the momentum picking up. The Popes had showed heart all year long and it was no surprise to the coaches that the team responded in a composed and determined way. Everyone at the game knew that Pius XI wasn’t going to be denied a playoff birth this night.

With 2:01 left the game, the Popes had moved the ball to Kettle Moraine’s 31-yard line with all pass plays. The Popes’ quick no-huddle offense had Kettle Moraine on the ropes and completely gassed. The Popes then immediately ran 3 quick hitting runs up the middle and the 3rd run resulted in a 15-yard score with 1:15 left in the game. After a successful 2-point conversion, the final score was 29-26 in favor of the Popes.

This team showed heart all season long and it is no surprise that the Popes performed under pressure once again. The Popes are in the playoffs for only the second time since joining the WIAA. The team has been tested in the Classic 8 and they should be ready for the playoffs. Unfortunately, 2 more starters are gone for the season because of injuries.

1. Track comments via RSS 2.0 feed. Feel free to post the comment, or trackback from your web site.

   Currently there are no comments related to article "Pius XI Can’t Be Denied".

1. You must be logged in to post the comment!