Second Half Execution Downs Madison
Germantown, OH (September 19, 2004) Everything you have seen on the field Friday nights is about to change. Adjustments have been made on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. A lot of those adjustments just didn't show up during the play on the field. That was not until the Spartans began to execute.
The Spartans struggled on their way to 10 points in the first half Friday night because they weren't able to execute on the majority of plays Coach Jay Niswonger sent in from the sidelines.
The game was scoreless going into the second quarter when finally a combination of plays ended with a one-yard run by Blake Newsock into the end zone. There was 7:04 remaining in the quarter as the score became 7-0.
After a quick transition back to offense off of a fumble recovery, the Spartans looked like they might be in trouble after a series of penalties had them looking down the barrel of a first and 27. A 29-yard reception by Stephen Henry, two incomplete passes, and a motion penalty forced the Spartans into a 30-yard Elliot Boyd field goal just before the half, to take 10-0 lead into the locker room.
Half-time brought whispers from the stands. Will we ever get into a rhythm? Where's the execution? Is youth and inexperience really hurting the Spartans for the first time in years?
Behind closed doors, Coach Niswonger was asking his team those same questions. Niswonger knows just what type of talent he has and what they can do. It may have just been that half-time talk that jump-started the Spartan second half.
"It's the same thing that has been happening in previous games; dropping passes, not getting set up, penalties and just not executing. We eliminated that in the second half," Niswonger explained.
The whispers continued at the start of the second half, when Valley View fumbled the ball. Solid defense helped hold the Mohawks to just six plays on their first series paving the way for a different offense to take the field.
Newsock's 14-yard pass to Henry started the Spartans but in the next three plays, a sack, a penalty, and a no gain pass, put Valley View in the hole with a third down and 20 to go.
A Mohawk's holding penalty gave the Spartan's another chance. A Newsock to Lucas Kramer pass netted 23 yards for a first down at the Madison 17 yard-line. Then Henry grabbed his first of two touchdown passes of the evening to make the score 17-0 with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter.
They looked the same, but something surely felt different.
Valley View took advantage of nearly every possession for the rest of the game. With 4:25 seconds remaining in the third quarter, a 9-yard run by Newsock put the Spartans at 24-0.
Following their touchdown, in less than two minutes, the Spartans defense managed to hold the Mohawks to two yards, rush for 22 (Curtis Moore) and pass (Newsock to Henry) for the final 13 yards needed to score yet once again.
With the score now 31-0, the Spartans seemed to have hushed those half-time whispers. Valley View fans seemed to sense the return of their former teams.
The defense, who played exceptional the entire game, kept things going after another Deaton QB sack and yet another fumble recovery that set the Spatans up at the Mohawk 41-yard line.
Two plays later the Spartans were in the end zone again. Robby Cottingim rushed for three yards and then Lucas Kramer nabbed a 39-yard pass for his third touchdown of the season. The extra point trailed off to the side, but the Spartans continued to expand their lead.
It took just eight plays on their next possession, capped by a 9-yard run by Kramer to make the score 44-0.
Freshman QB, Chris Cason, engineered the final drive, before time ran out.
So what made the difference from the first half to the second half?
"At half-time I showed them a couple diagrams and told them to execute," said Niswonger.
The defense kept the up the goose eggs on Madison's side of the scoreboard, having recorded three shutouts in their first four games.
"The defense stepped up from last week's performance and that's what we wanted," noted Niswonger.
Next week the Spartans travel to Brookville and are hoping to take everything they have gained through the last four weeks with them.
"We are going to take what we did tonight and build on it," added Niswonger.
They're going to need it. The Blue Devils' record matches the Spartans at 3-1, their only loss coming at the hands of Bellbrook, 34-0, in week 3. Earlier in the season, they dismantled Greenview (0-4) 57-12, before downing Eaton (3-1) in an offensive shootout, 42-20. The Blue Devils have the ability to score points.
If the Spartans continue to play the style of football they showed in Friday's second half, they're certain to walk out of Brookville with a win.
Can they continue to find the rhythm to execute or will they succumb to the mediocrity of they displayed in the first 3½ games?
We think the former. Something in Friday night's second half seemed to awake inside the sleeping giant. Devils watch out. Spartans 35, Brookville 7.
