Sandwich cruises, remains unbeaten

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:24PM

Winning the battle at the line of scrimmage, the Sandwich Indians claimed the "War on 34" here at Reaper Stadium Saturday afternoon sending Plano to its fifth straight defeat.

Powered by its offensive line, Sandwich cruised to a 21-6 Interstate Eight Conference victory and remained undefeated at 7-0 overall and 5-0 in IEC large school division play. Offensive linemen Sam Caldwell, Matt Chalfin, Jeremy Anderson, Colton Mueller and Troy Reddoch provided the push up front, while Dallas Shroeder and Jake Fiedler also contributed to the blocking effort.

Marching 64 yards on their first possession, the Indians grabbed a 7-0 lead. Connor Voss capped the 12-play drive with a 9-yard run around the right side. Mathew Saitta added the extra point at the 6:09 mark.

After exchanging punts, Plano (2-5, 0-5) traversed to the Indians' 4-yard line before turning the ball over on downs, yet they capitalized on the field position. Eric Peruski dropped P.J. Crotty for a three-yard loss and Geraldo Garcia recovered a fumbled exchange in the end zone for the Reapers only score with 7:55 to play in the second quarter.

Sandwich answered quickly though. On the fourth play of the ensuing series, Justin Wegener found Voss near the left sideline for a 42-yard touchdown pass. Under pressure, Wegener bought himself just enough time to release the ball and Voss managed to haul it in after getting behind the Reaper defense. Saitta was good again and the Indians led 14-6 with 6:00 left before halftime.

"It was a great ball with a lot of pressure and a great adjustment by Voss because it was kind of behind him," Sandwich coach Derek Avery said. "That was an outstanding play and a huge momentum builder after they got within a point."

The Indians kept that momentum when the Reapers fumbled away the kickoff. Taking possession at Plano's 43, the Indians carried the ball to the 13-yard line where they faced a fourth and inches. Voss took the handoff and went wide right for a 13-yard score and his third touchdown of the game.

Voss finished the game with 115 yards on 20 carries and the only receiving yards for the Indians.

"He's quite a kid and quite an athlete," Avery said of Voss. "I've coached him in football and baseball for several years. He's very strong and fast and very coachable. He understands his role and doesn't say a lot. He just does his job."

"I owe it all to my offensive line," Voss said. "They did great out there. They were making big holes for me and I was finding room to run. We just played as a team."

The two teams battled to a stalemate in the second half. The Indians salted the game away when they held the ball for the final 10:34 of the contest. The final possession consisted of 16 plays and spanned 42 yards, despite committing five penalties on the drive.

Sandwich allowed a paltry 25 yards in the second half. Plano collected a 100 yards on the ground for the game while the Indians amassed 202.

Tim Schmitt gained 68 yards on 18 attempts for the Indians, while Devin Haws and Vance Schmidt combined for 47 yards for the Reapers. Plano desperately misses junior running back Joseph Jones who broke his tibia in Week 3.

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