Published: Sunday, October 15, 2006
Hess gets chance, leads Thiel's 20-0 victory
The Tomcats blanked Grove City to retain the Mercer County Cup.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
GROVE CITY — Thiel College tailback Dan Hess rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns, and the Tomcats' defense held the Grove City College offense in check for much of the afternoon, en route to a 20-0 shutout of the Wolverines Saturday afternoon.
With Thiel starting tailback Steve Minton visible on the sidelines in street clothes while nursing an injury, Hess got his opportunity and he made the most of it.
"I love it [being the No. 1 back] and it is a great experience for me," said Hess following the win. "I love when Steve and I can work together because it keeps the defense off balance because we have slightly different running styles."
Hess was quick to praise his offensive line.
"It was pretty tough in the first half and we just had to try and grind it out until we got a rhythm going," said Hess. "Grove City has a great defensive line and they kept getting good penetration on us.
"Finally in the second half, we were able to put it together and our offensive line did an outstanding job of jelling together to get a lot of push up front. When that happens, it makes my job a lot easier."
Thiel retains Cup
Not only was the game a key clash in the President's Athletic Conference, but it was also for the Mercer County Cup. The Tomcats have won it three straight years.
"There is no question that we had a little more incentive to play for today," said Thiel coach Jack Leipheimer. "We talked about having the cup and maintaining possession of it and we are certainly glad to have been able to do that."
Thiel (4-3, 3-1) had a 7-0 lead despite at halftime despite showing distinct advantages in time of possession (21:17 to 8:43), total yards (145-15) and first downs (9-2).
Leipheimer's halftime message was simple.
"I just told them to go out and play 30 minutes of football as hard as we can and see what happens," he said. "Fortunately for us we were able to get things moving in the second half."
The Tomcats made it 14-0 on their first possession of the second half, marching 65 yards on eight plays. Hess scored on a second-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
Facing the 14-0 deficit, Grove City mounted its best drive of the game in the final two minutes of the third period when it moved from its own 1 to the Thiel 26.
Grove City repelled
But once again, the Wolverines (1-5, 1-4) were turned away from the end zone by a mistake.
"We just couldn't make the plays to give ourselves a chance to feel good about things," said Smith. "All we needed was one sustained drive to get into the end zone, but it never happened."
GCC quarterback Andrew DiDonato, who completed three passes for 40 yards and rushed for another 34 on the drive, was stripped of the ball by Tomcat linebacker Chris Hlinka (Chaney) and the ball was recovered by defensive tackle Logan Malie (Sharon) at the Thiel 26.
"I just saw him starting to scramble around and I went for him," said Hlinka. "I went for the strip, fortunately I got it and my man Logan [Malie] recovered it for us to get the ball back."
More Stories from Wed, Oct 18, 2006
from vindyJOBS.com
