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Late stops save Titans
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Beloit Titans receiver Brian Little reaches out to catch a pass during the first half of Saturday’s GMFL playoff game.
Staff photo by Marc Correnti |
Published: Monday, August 23, 2010 11:42 AM CDT
Beloit earns berth in conference title game
The Beloit Titans defense didn’t look like they would be the reason for a victory in Saturday’s Great Midwest Football League playoff opener.
Not when they already surrendered 34 points — 27 of which came in the second half.
But when the Titans left the old Beloit Catholic High School football field, they could look to their defense as the reason that helped them hang on for a 40-34 triumph over the St. Louis Chargers.
With the win, the top-seeded Titans advance to next Saturday’s Gateway Conference championship game against the River City Eclipse. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the old high school field.
But if not for a pair of late defensive stops, the Titans wouldn’t even be thinking about next week’s opponent.
“It wasn’t looking good for a while there, was it?,” Beloit linebacker/running back Chris Appleton said. “But (the defense) was awesome when we needed to be. We played too hard all season to let this one go.”
The Titans (10-2) held a lead all afternoon, but were in danger of losing for the first time after the Chargers’ Michael Clark raced down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown run at the 12:59 mark of the fourth quarter, trimming Beloit’s lead to 40-34.
Things went from bad to worse for the Titans when quarterback Dyshawn Thomas had to leave the game for two series after suffering a bruise on his right throwing wrist.
After the Titans went three-and-out, they pinned the Chargers at their own 10-yard line following a beautiful punt.
But St. Louis began to march, looking to wear down the Titans’ defense on a hot, muggy day.
The Chargers’ offense stalled at the Titans’ 27-yard line following an incomplete pass on third-and-9 that was defended perfectly by Beloit defensive back Kelvin Haley Jr. On fourth down, St. Louis (9-3) lofted a pass into the end zone that fell incomplete, turning the ball over to the Titans.
“I thought we had them at that point,” Thomas said. “Our defense was doing the job and we were making them work for everything. Their offense is crazy good, so we were happy to get them off the field.”
But they wouldn’t be off the field for long.
Backup quarterback Ben Pehler fumbled the first snap with 4:37 remaining in the game, giving St. Louis another opportunity in Titan territory.
“Even though it wasn’t looking good,” said Appleton, “we still had confidence in ourselves.”
Appleton would be the reason for that instilled confidence. On the Chargers’ third play, Clark fumbled and the ball bounced right into the arms of Appleton.
“It just kind of bounced right into my stomach,” said Appleton, who is also involved in mixed martial arts. “Once I saw the ball come out, I just went for it and it hit me in a good spot.”
Thomas returned to the game and scrambled for a pivotal first down that closed the game out, clinching the win.
“We couldn’t have won this game without Chris,” said Thomas, who passed for 91 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another. “Chris has that MMA mindset where he just fights and fights. Everyone kind of knew that it was going to be a shootout, so we felt confident that our defense would step up and get enough stops.”
It didn’t look like the Titans would need their defense too much after a dominant first half in which they jumped out to a 26-7 lead.
After the Chargers fumbled on their opening possession, Beloit put together its first scoring drive capped off with Thomas’ 5-yard touchdown pass to Will Franklin for a 6-0 lead as time expired in the first quarter.
Thomas added to the Titans’ lead in the second quarter.
The signal-caller suffered a crushing hit to the chest, but completed a fourth-and-goal pass to Brian Little for the 5-yard TD and a 13-0 advantage.
The Titans tacked on another touchdown following a 62-yard fumble recovery for a score and Andrew Worden’s 43-yard scamper for a 26-7 halftime cushion.
It was a lead the Titans precariously held onto — thanks to a defense that was caving in during the second half.
“It’s all glory right now,” Thomas said. “We came together when we needed to at the end. We’re not done until we get that title.”
