Bluejays soar past Sterling
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Despite the fact that Saturday's home opener against the winless Sterling Warriors was slated for 7 p.m., it was a good hour-and-a-half before the Tabor College Bluejays woke up and played football.
They eventually sped past the Warriors en route to a 35-0 victory despite the slow start.
"Right now, we cannot start a game," coach Tim McCarty said. "That's been a two-week problem now.
"It's there, we're seeing what's there, things are wide open and we're moving the ball. But either poor execution, or penalties are stopping all of our drives."
Saturday was nothing new.
In a game that saw a combined 257 yards worth of infractions, it was Tabor that drove in reverse almost the length of a football field.
"It's kind of us just shooting ourselves in the foot," Bluejay wideout Tyler Marsh said. "We had I don't know how many penalties, some are legit, some are not, but still they happen.
"(Penalties,) turnovers, and dropped balls pretty much helped them the first half. It's just us missing a little bit."
Finishing the game with its best offensive onslaught in two years, 529 yards, the Bluejays looked anything but impressive in the first half.
Heavily favored to crush the Warriors, Tabor's opening drive ended when Dave Hernandez got picked by Sterling's Adrian Tubbs after a tipped pass.
After one quarter of play, Tabor had a scant 23 yards worth of real estate, leaving the defense to carry the load.
Throughout the night, defensive leader Eli Kennedy preached "three-and-out" to the Bluejay defense. Of its 19 third downs, Sterling converted a just four.
"We've got to get better still," Kennedy said. "We try to play team defense and play the bend-but don't-break schemes.
"We try to get as many three-and-outs as we can and get the ball back to the offense, but we've got a long ways to go."
Disputable penalties and poor tackling by the Bluejays often overshadowed big hits and plays by Kennedy, Jake Schenk, Robert Haude, Tracy Wehrman, Olando Harris and Chad Duerksen.
"That part of our game is very consistent right now," McCarty added. "Penalties and stupid mistakes, that part is consistent."
Heading into the third week of the season, Tabor's been hit with 305 yards worth of penalties.
Controlling the ball over four minutes longer than the Bluejays, the Warriors had 77 more yards of offense in the first quarter.
The Bluejays' defense bent, but it never broke with Sterling burning Tabor for 74 yards through the air in the opening frame.
A nine-yard pass from Terry Harrison to Rodrick Young set the Warriors up with a first-and-10 at the Bluejay 12-yard line.
But Tabor dodged a bullet when Jeremy Loewen picked off Harrison's pass in the Sterling end zone.
Hernandez carried the ball six times for 55 yards, breaking loose for a 35-yard scamper on Tabor's drive following the Loewen-interception. But the drive was later disrupted when Hernandez fumbled the ball.
Missed chances were another downfall for the Bluejays the first half.
But the Bluejays weren't the only ones unable to take advantage of big breaks.
"We knew we were better than they were. We were just playing down to their level," Kennedy said of the Bluejays in the first half. "We've got to learn how to put people away."
Coming off a huge week in returns against SAGU, the ever-dangerous Marsh returned a Jason Royer punt 30 yards to the Warrior 32-yard line.
Fittingly, on a third-and-15, Hernandez hit Tyson Ratzlaff, for a 20-yard touchdown with 11:27 to go in the first half.
Ratzlaff was a thorn in the Warriors side, hauling in two passes for touchdowns on the night, both totaling 83 yards.
Marsh also pained the Warriors.
The Bluejay receiver caught seven passes for 117 yards and compiled 140 more yards on returns.
As the Bluejays chalked up 102 more yards of offense over the Warriors in the second quarter, Sterling was still in Tabor's rear-view mirror at halftime.
Backed up to the Tabor 37-yard line, Hernandez aired it out for an open Ratzlaff, who took it 63 yards for a touchdown.
Morris' PAT sailed wide right, Tabor still clung to a 13-0 lead at the 2:12 mark of the second half.
On Tabor's next drive, Hernandez found Marsh, who took the pass 21 yards to the Warrior 27-yard line.
Marsh's reception eventually set up a 27-yard touchdown catch from Hernandez to Layne Frick.
With a 19-0 advantage, Tabor went for two, taking a 21-0 lead after Hernandez zipped around the right guard for the score.
A major chunk of Hernandez's 270 yards, came in the third quarter, in fact, 182 to be precise. The quarterback also completed four of his five touchdown passes in the third.
He capped off his night firing a 42-yard bullet to Jeff McKinnon in the endzone which gave Tabor a 28-point margin with 7:03 left in the quarter.
Then Marsh put the finishing touches, shedding a Warrior-tackler and darting down the right sideline 71 yards for six points.
Brian Kimsey split the uprights on the PAT to end the Bluejays scoring at 35 at the 2:42 mark of the third.
The 2-0 Bluejays' showdown with the Threshers is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Reimer Field.
