Marmion stymies South Elgin
New lights towered over Marmion's Fichtel Field Friday night, but Cadets senior Colin Hirsch provided the real electricity.
Hirsch stepped in front of a potential South Elgin touchdown late in the third quarter and returned it 99 yards for a score at the other end. That, combined with a relentless Marmion rushing attack, highlighted a 33-7 season-opening victory.
"Coach always tells me to read the tight end," Hirsch said. "I watched the quarterback, read his eyes, and picked it off. I kept looking back, thinking, 'Please don't catch me.' "
They didn't. Hirsch snared the fourth-down pass intended for Storm receiver Joshua Smith, who finished with five catches for 68 yards, and had nothing but green in front of him. His team had led just 19-7 at the time, so a South Elgin touchdown then would have made it too close for comfort.
Marmion coach Dan Thorpe said Hirsch deserved such a big moment.
Thorpe noted that Hirsch, who lives in Genoa, drove 45 minutes every day over the summer so that he could lift weights at Marmion with his teammates. "Good things happen to people who work hard," Thorpe said.
The excitement of that play and the win provided the perfect counterpart to the school's first game under its new illumination. Marmion played one night game under temporary lights late last season, and that had been the school's first home night game since the 1960s. The home crowd responded by packing the stands and cheering enthusiastically.
"It was awesome," Hirsch said. "All my friends came out. The stands were full. It's a great feeling."
The Cadets weren't without concerns. They took 13 penalties for 130 total yards, many of them on holding calls. Thorpe said he'll be working with his team to move their feet more this week, as well as working on conditioning.
Marmion had bolted to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter. Sean Fichtel started things with a 42-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Ricky Bird less than four minutes into the game, on a drive that started after a South Elgin fumble turnover. Matt Pircon and Bobby Winkel--who finished with 128 yards rushing--then each scored on 1-yard runs on the next two drives.
But then penalties bogged down the ensuing drives, and a second-quarter South Elgin score from Patrick Rae to Shawn Ryan cut the lead to 19-7.
The score remained there as the Storm marched down the field on a 14-play drive in the third quarter. They made it to the Marmion 1-yard line before a strong defensive stand stopped a run on third down. Storm coach Dale Schabert decided to go for it, but Hirsch foiled his plans.
"You've got to have confidence in your kids to go get that," Schabert said of the fourth-down play. "If they make it, you're jumping up and down. We just put the ball in the wrong place."
Schabert noted that he has a young team this year with many new starters, so he was pleased with the way they stayed tough all game against a much bigger Marmion team. Rae put up big numbers through the air, too, finishing 18 of 37 for 205 yards and just the one interception.
"We were fired up," Schabert said. "We fought all night long."