Tabor survives another nail-biter
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Heading into what could decide the KCAC title this Saturday in a showdown that features the Tabor Bluejays and the Ottawa Braves, Tabor might have been looking ahead last week.
The Bluejays played like anything but the 13th ranked team in the NAIA Saturday afternoon in Leavenworth against the struggling, but dangerous, St. Mary Spires.
The Bluejays did just enough to thwart a pre-Halloween scare by the Spires, 21-12.
Lucky?
It's not every day a team can turn the ball over five times, fumbling nine times while losing three and still hang on for a win.
Fortunately, the Bluejays roll into Saturday's dogfight with the Braves in a two-way tie for the top spot in the KCAC with a 6-0 record and a 7-0 record overall.
"We were glad to win even if it was an ugly game for us," Bluejay coach Tim McCarty said. "We didn't have a good week at practice, and we played like that Saturday. We were flat, and we weren't motivated to play a football game."
Tabor never trailed but struggled to take care of the football.
The first fumble occurred on the opening kickoff, but the Bluejays recovered the muffed kick only to turn it over on the first of two Ricky Ishida interceptions.
Finishing the game with 76 yards of the Bluejays' 194 yards on the ground, Dwayne Cleaves put Tabor in front to start the second quarter.
After Cleaves hit pay dirt from 14-yards out with 11:51 left in the first half, Keenan Morris gave Tabor a 7-0 lead with the PAT.
Tabor's inability to defend the long pass, resulted in a Spires' touchdown as St. Mary sawed the lead to one after Brian Caler hit Jon Quisenberry for a 71-yard bomb.
At halftime, the Spires were nipping at the Bluejays' tail feathers, down 7-6.
A 43-yard dart from Ishida to Tyson Ratzlaff on Tabor's opening drive of the second half moved the ball inside the Spires 35.
Ratzlaff ended the day hauling five catches for a team-high 117 yards to go along with a touchdown.
But the drive stalled inside the red zone with Ishida getting picked by Brian Lewton.
Against the potent Bluejay defense, St. Mary's options were limited.
Holding the Spires to 71 yards on the ground on 26 attempts, Tabor surrendered 119 yards in the air with Caler throwing 12-of-31 for 119 yards and four picks.
The Spires only fumble of the game helped the Bluejays take a 14-6 lead after Ishida and Ratzlaff hooked up for a 38-yard touchdown with 6:47 left in the third quarter.
The game's monentum shifted back into the Spires' favor on a peculiar play in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
On a play that many thought Ishida was down on, the ball came out of the Tabor quarterback's hands.
With no whistle to signify the dead play, the Spires Matt Mayes snatched the live ball and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown.
Tabor dodged the score being tied as Caler's two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
Picking off two Caler passes, Tabor secondary specialist Ernest Garza had a career day against the Spires.
The defensive back ran an interception 41 yards for a touchdown to make it a 21-12 game with just over 7:30 left.
Then the Bluejays' other secondary duo, Olando Harris and Jeremy Loewen intercepted potential Spires-scoring drives, preserving the undefeated season for Tabor.
The Bluejays' highly anticipated showdown with the 19th ranked Braves begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Reimer Field.
"If we perform like we did last week, we will not win Saturday," said McCarty of the match-up with Ottawa. "We've got to come in focused, but I don't think that will be a problem this week. Practice is going better."
