Roberts, Eagles handle IC

Aurora Christian quarterback Jordan Roberts' physical gifts are obvious on the football field. In the Eagles' game against Immaculate Conception, Roberts showed the value that the poise and leadership of a four-year varsity starter can bring to a game in the 22-12 nonconference victory over the Knights.

With his team trailing 12-7 with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Roberts engineered a 64-yard scoring drive that included a 12-yard strike to Marcus Schmidt that kept the drive alive, a 19-yard completion to Brandon Oest and then Roberts hooked up with David Zielke for the play of the game. On fourth-and-13 with under two minutes to play, Roberts threw a bullet to Zielke, who made a sliding catch along the sideline for a huge first down conversion.

"I just had one goal - getting those 15 yards - and I made sure I got like 3 yards past that and came back and cradled it in," said Zielke.

Two plays later Roberts hit Zielke in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute to play.

Zielke gave credit to Roberts for keeping his teammates focused facing a late deficit.

"He's a great leader in the huddle, he calmed everyone down," said Zielke. "Some guys were down, some guys were up but after that play everyone's spirits just shot through the roof."

Aurora Christian head coach Don Beebe knew the Knights would be out to stop Roberts and he also knew that with the graduation of both starting wide receivers, last years starting tight end and Matt Morse, the returning player with the most receiving yards last year, out with an illness, his offense could be in for a rocky start. That was the case as the usually high-flying Eagles were held to under 100 yards total offense but Roberts was able to lead them to a score when it mattered most.

"What I am happy about is how we finished," said Beebe. "You can have all that adversity and things just aren't clicking, maybe you have an overthrow or two, but great ones always make the play when it really counts and when I see that, I think that is a winner right there. When you can do it when the heat is on, knowing things weren't going well and still pull it out, that is a good sign."

Roberts got a huge assist from Zielke who caught 7 of Roberts' 14 completions. Zielke also put the game away for good with an interception as the Knights, who ran for 247 yards in the game, led by Paul Homstra's 160 yard effort, were forced to go to the air late in the game.

"Nobody knew abut David Zielke and we kept him a secret all summer," said Beebe.

"It felt like they kept their composure better that we did when they really needed to," said Immaculate Conception head coach Bill Schmidt. "We fumbled a snap, we took a couple ten yard penalties, we had a 15 yard penalty because we can't keep our composure and when you are playing a good team you can't make mistakes like that. You can't give a good team with a great quarterback any opportunities and we did.

Mooseheart 7, Milford 6: How dominant was Mooseheart's defense on Friday night? The Ramblers offense turned over the football four times and yet Mooseheart still finished "plus-two" in the giveaway-takeaway competition.

Neither Mooseheart nor Milford found a way to score an offensive touchdown on Friday, but the visiting Ramblers emerged 7-6 winners in a game where nearly all the key defensive plays came from Mooseheart's defense.

"We had a lot of turnovers," Mooseheart senior defensive lineman Davon Davy said. "But we did what we had to do. The way we practiced was the way we played. We practiced hard and we played well."

Both touchdowns came in the second quarter. Milford (0-1) took a 6-0 lead on the first play of the quarter when a botched center exchange was covered by a Bearcats defender in the Mooseheart end zone.

Significantly, Milford missed the conversion kick.

Davy tied the game with 7:10 to play when he intercepted a Ryan Kunce pass and ran 17 yards into the end zone. Shawn McReynolds sent the point-after kick through the uprights and Mooseheart (1-0) had the 7-6 lead which they held the rest of the contest.

"I think defensively as a whole, we did a good job," Mooseheart coach Gary Uwiler said. "It was a great team effort defensively. They put us on the board and that was what we needed tonight."

Despite the mistakes, Mooseheart still got the win and has a full week to prepare for its Sept. 6 game at Luther South. "We'll pout about this tonight," Urwiler said. "But when next week comes, it doesn't matter. We're 1-0 and that's all that matters. Obviously we have a lot to improve on, so it should be easy to play better."

One of the key changes for Mooseheart this year is quarterback. Ethan Grasty took the offensive reins and moved the team sporadically. He was 5-for-11 passing with 1 interception. But he proved he was willing to throw the ball under pressure.

"He has a great arm," Urwiler said. "The thing is he wasn't able to make some decisions. But it's his first game and we haven't given him a decent look. But when he sets his feet and locks in on somebody, he throws a good ball. When he tries to do too much, that's when bad things happen."

Senior tailback Gabe Kendor gained 59 yards on 19 carries and had his best runs in the second half. Milford's defense kept Mooseheart's offense bottled up for most of the game, limiting the Ramblers to 111 total yards and six first downs.

"We didn't play well," Urwiler said. "We didn't line up well. We had penalties. We have a lot of guys who have been in the program but this is their first shot. I don't know if it's their nerves, but we didn't play smart football tonight."

With the Ramblers unable to extend the lead further, the defense was always in the spotlight.

"It's harder to keep the focus because you're worried about everything," Davy said. "One mistake and they're going down the field and that will turn over the game for us."

Mooseheart nearly saw that come to fruition. With 1:52 to play, Kunce hit Kyle Evans for what appeared to be a touchdown pass, though the play was called back for a penalty.

"I almost cried on the field," Davy said.

- Darryl Mellema