Bulldogs clips Eagles

Taft's Zach Cunningham looks for room to run during the Eagles' 14-12 loss to Schurz Friday night.
(Jason Brown/Staff Photographer)

October 18, 2007 By ROB VALENTIN | Sports Editor

Font Size

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Winning your Homecoming game is one of the most important goals a team sets at the beginning of the year.

That wasn't going to be an easy task when Schurz took on Taft last Friday night in a Big Shoulders Conference duel at Lane Stadium.

In the end, the loud and boisterous crowd that showed up to cheer on the Bulldogs may have been the difference as Schurz held off Taft for a thrilling 14-12 victory.

"This is probably the biggest game in my life," Schurz quarterback Joe Sparacino said. "It's my senior year, it's Homecoming and I've never played in front of a crowd this big."

"We started peaking at the right time and this is real exciting," Schurz head coach Peter Fosco said. "We had a lot of support and it was good for the kids. It's a benefit when you win, but not when you lose."

The first half was a pure battle of field position but Taft (3-5, 3-2) could have easily taken a 7-0 lead into halftime.

Walter Rochet hooked up with Nick Johnson for what looked to be a 34-yard touchdown pass as the first quarter wound down. But Johnson fumbled and the ball rolled into the end zone. The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-2) pounced on the loose ball for a touchback.

Both teams had another chance to put some points on the board in the first half but the defenses kept to their bend but don't break philosophies and the game remained scoreless at halftime.

Schurz finally got on the board when they marched 68 yards on the first possession of the second half. The drive ended on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Joe Sparacino to Erik Solis. Josue Gramajo converted the extra point kick to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

Taft would respond with a spectacular play to start the fourth quarter.

Rochet dumped off a short pass to Zach Cunningham, who proceeded to dart all over the field. After 19 seconds and 52 yards, Cunningham found the end zone with 11:41 to play in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles took a chance by going for two and it didn't pay dividends as Cunningham was stopped on his rush attempt.

Schurz appeared to seal the win when Sparacino connected with Willie Sandifer for a 51-yard touchdown on a perfect pass with just 2:13 remaining in the game.

"I watched the ball the whole time and I knew I had it," Sandifer said. "I just looked it into my hands. This is my first year of football and I didn't expect to do this good but it's great."

Gramajo's extra point extended the Bulldogs' advantage to 14-6, but the Eagles still had enough time for one last chance.

Rochet quickly moved Taft down the field thanks to 20 and 24-yard passes to Steve Roman. Rochet then found Nick Johnson for a four-yard touchdown pass to pull the Eagles within 14-12 with 42 ticks left on the clock.

It all game down to the two-point conversion. Johnson headed towards an opening on the right side but Schurz pursued perfectly and pulled him down well short of the end zone.

"I don't know how to explain but we pulled into a family in this game," senior wide receiver Alan Feeney said. "This was a must win game for us. We said we were going to whip Taft all year and that's what we came and did."

Schurz used a very interesting 1-2 running combination. Solis carried the ball for 77 yards on 10 carries before switching to wide receiver. Frankie Rolon took over in the second half and picked up 70 yards on 18 carries.

"I'm more of a power runner and I like to run people over," Rolon said. "We just wanted to switch things up and see if we could get them confused. They were used to Erik's speed and then they had my power."