Aurora Christian dominates Senn
The more things change the more they stay the same.
That seems to be the case at Aurora Christian as the Eagles started opening week with 11 new starters on the offensive side of the ball and 9 new defensive starters, including 5 sophomores.
Yet the Eagles did what they have become known for doing, putting up 49 points with an explosive offense and completely shutting down their opening night opponent, Senn, holding them to negative-28 yards for the entire game in a 49-0 blowout.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Clippert had a first varsity start to remember as he threw for 301 yards, including four touchdowns and he also ran for another touchdown.
"Drew Clippert already sees the game like a senior," said Aurora Christian head coach Dave Beebe.
"He's young but he's doing a great job, he's getting the ball out on-time and on target, he's doing a great job," said receiver Devan Cross, another sophomore starter.
For his part, Clippert was quick to share the credit with is offensive unit.
"Our offensive line was fantastic," said Clippert. "Our receivers, the talent level is just amazing. They are just fantastic athletes. All I have to do is get them the ball and they will make a play."
It's true that the Eagles (1-0) did get big plays from a several players. Jeremiah Wright led the way with 91 rushing yards on just 9 carries, including an 11-yard TD.
Wright turned a screen pass into a 36-yard TD and the game's first score. Wright also had an 8-yard touchdown catch that gave the Eagles a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Wright's big night could have been even bigger but he had a 67-yard touchdown catch called back for holding and he returned the second half kickoff for a TD but that was called back for a hold as well.
After Wright, Dylan Leschewski took his turn lighting up the scoreboard. Leschewski out-jumped a Bulldog defender late in the first half for a 61-yard touchdown reception and took a screen pass 73 yards for a TD on the first play of the second half to put the game out of reach.
Cross added 5 receptions for 67 yards and Brock Harner had 3 catches for 34 yards and converted two 2-point conversions from Clippert.
Frighteningly for upcoming Aurora Christian opponents, the offense wasn't the best unit for the Eagles on the night. Their defense did not allow a first down until late in the game and they didn't just stop the Senn offense, the moved them backward.
Senn had negative-19 yards total offense in the first half and negative-24 yards on the game. The Bulldogs ran just 28 offensive plays in the game, 19 of them went for zero or negative yards. They punted on all 9 drives on the night.
"We studied film from last year and the coaches put us in the right positions to make plays," said Wright, who plays both ways for the Eagles.
"A game like this is about execution and we just played a clean game," said Beebe. "We played a crisp game, we tackled well, we rallied to the ball well defensively. Offensively, we ran crisp routes, we got rid of the ball well, blocked well. It's was just all good execution and that is what matters."