Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

Crusaders slip past Triad, 12-7

Nowak and McGlynn connect on winning touchdown pass with 28 seconds to go

TROY -- Two backyard neighbors -- quarterback Brady Nowak and running back Pat McGlynn -- combined to help the Althoff Crusaders end the regular season on a winning note.

Nowak threw two touchdown passes to McGlynn -- the second being a dramatic 19-yard pass with 29 seconds left -- as the Crusaders edged the Triad Knights 12-7 Friday night.

On fourth-and-3 from the Triad 19, Nowak found McGlynn wide open in the middle of the end zone.

"I was kind of the No. 2 route on the play," McGlynn said. "I saw it break wide open, and I saw his eyes meet mine. I just knew it was too good to be true. Me and Brady, he like lives right in my backyard. He's right behind me, only across the creek, so we're real close. We're on the same page with each other."

McGlynn said he and Nowak developed a sixth sense about what the other is going to do from the time they spend hanging out together.

"He hops over the creek, we hang out," McGlynn said. "We watch TV, we watch football games."

McGlynn also caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Nowak with 4:05 left to play.

"They've been clicking all season," Althoff coach Ken Turner said of Nowak and McGlynn. "I feel like I have a pretty good receiving corps, and I feel like on any given day any one of those guys can come through. Tonight was just Pat's night. He hadn't had a night in a couple of weeks. Tonight was his night to make big catches, and he did."

Things looked bleak for the Crusaders after a swarm of Triad defenders broke through the line and blocked the extra-point kick by Althoff's Bobby Rowan after their first touchdown.

"That was really deflating, but I have to get it to our 'D,'" McGlynn said of the Crusaders' defense. "Our 'D' coming out and not letting them get anything, that was the three biggest plays. Our defensive line, our linebacking corps and our offensive line were just amazing tonight."

The Knights had the ball and a 7-6 lead with 3:58 to go, but the Crusaders' defense stood firm, forcing to them to punt with about two minutes to go.

"When we had an opportunity to run out the clock and get out of there with a one-point victory, but we couldn't do it, and they took advantage of it and went down and scored," Triad coach Paul Bassler said.

The Crusaders got the ball at their own 23 with 1:55 to go.

Nowak completed four straight pass attempts, enabling the Crusaders to get down to the Triad 19.

Turner said he thought about going for a field goal on fourth-and-3, but he decided to put his faith in his offense.

"Hey, I trust these guys," Turner said. "Nothing against our kicker, we have a good kicker, but if we're going to lose, I want to lose with these guys on the field."

Both teams will be playing in the playoffs next week.

The Crusaders improved to 6-3, while the Knights dropped to 8-2.

"We were obviously trying to get a home game in the first round, and we'll probably be on the road, so it'll be tough. It will be a tough road in the playoffs," said Bassler, whose team had a five-game winning streak snapped.

The field conditions -- it was slick from all the rain over the past couple of days -- caused the teams to struggle getting untracked on offense.

Both teams had five first downs and possession of the ball in each other's territory twice in the first half, but were unable to score.

The Crusaders dominated the third quarter, but an interception by Chris Rimar and a holding penalty thwarted two drives in Triad territory.

The Knights were the first to put points on the scoreboard with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that was aided by two penalties -- a 15-yard personal foul for a late hit near the sideline and a 15-yard pass interference penalty -- on the Crusaders.

The pass interference moved the Knights to the Althoff 14.

Two plays later, quarterback Kristian Moon burst up the middle, slipped a tackle and then ran into the end zone with 7:54 left in the game.

The Crusaders' first touchdown was set up by a 52-yard pass from Nowak to tight end Carson Sonnenberg.

Nowak completed 14 of 21 passes for 189 yards in the game.

Paul Ceferatti rushed for 63 yards on 17 carries for the Crusaders.

The Knights' ground-based attack had trouble sustaining drives against the Crusaders. They finished with 147 rushing yards, and no single runner had over 50 yards.