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Wolf Newsflash
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Sunday, 07 September 2008 |
Starting quarterback Kent Smith missed the game because he was in a wedding.
Backup quarterback Randy Sinnott took a hit late in the first quarter and went to the hospital.
That meant the Southern Michigan Timberwolves had to go with wide receiver Rob Elswick as their signal-caller most of the night Saturday at Navarre Field.
Elswick managed the game well and the defense never gave up a point all night as the T-Wolves pulled out a closer-than-it-should-have-been 18-8 victory over the Indiana Mustangs.
Indiana is only 2-5 in the Mid-Continental Football League compared to Southern Michigan's 6-1.
But the outcome was seriously in doubt until Kassem Rizk's 33-yard touchdown run on third-and-17 with 1:10 left salted the win.
The T-Wolves' defense held the Mustangs to 137 total yards and forced four second-half turnovers.
Airport product Jeremy Anderson had an interception and a fumble recovery, St. Mary Catholic Central graduate Mike LaPlante recovered a fumble and Ernie Smith picked off a pass. Ali Bazzi and former Monroe High gridder Jason Ihrig recorded three sacks each.
"The defense played tough and kept us in this one," said head coach Dick Clark. "Coach (Rob) Streeter is the best defensive coordinator in the league, and you can print that."
The game was a defensive struggle throughout. Southern Michigan led 3-0 at the half on Corey Phillips' 36-yard field goal. Indiana missed two field-goal tries in the half and quarterback Adam Rich was frustrated as Bazzi and Ihrig batted down passes on successive plays.
Sinnott was injured just before Phillips' field goal. He was hit as he released a pass and suffered a reported hip injury.
The T-Wolves seemed in command in the second half after Nate Lewis' 11-yard scoring run gave them an 11-0 lead. But a mental mistake put Indiana back in the game.
Stephen Isaac unwisely tried to field a punt on his own 5-yard line. The ball glanced off his hands and Indiana's Anthony Dingledine grabbed the muffed punt and returned it for an easy touchdown. That cut the lead to 11-8 with 12:29 left.
The Mustangs had two chances to take the lead, but one drive ended on an Anderson interception and the other was stopped on downs. Southern Michigan got conservative in the final minutes until Rizk used his speed to break loose, hurdling into the end zone for the game-clinching touchdown.
"This time we won, but I'm not pleased," Clark said. "We've still got some work to do on offense. This shouldn't have been this close."
He said Elswick did a good job under difficult circumstances.
"It's tough when you're used to playing receiver and you have to step in at quarterback at a moment's notice because your brain hasn't made the change yet," the coach said. "
Anderson is making an art form of interceptions.
"Our defense played tough and kept us in the game," he said. "I think our offense will come around. Overall, it was a good team effort. If we play like we did against the (Detroit) Ravens, we have a good chance of winning next week."
That's when the T-Wolves play their regular season finale against their arch-rivals, the undefeated Detroit Seminoles. Kickoff is at 7:25 p.m. at Navarre Field.
Southern Michigan is 8-2 overall, guaranteeing its best season since 1999.
T-Wolves 3 0 8 7 - 18
Indiana 0 0 0 8 - 8
First Quarter
TW - Corey Phillips 36 field goal
Third Quarter
TW - Nate Lewis 11 run (Greg Sizemore pass from Rob Elswick)
Fourth Quarter
I - Anthony Dingledine 5 fumble recovery (Brandon William run)
TW - Kassem Rizk 33 run (Phillips kick)
TW Ind
First Downs ...................................10 8
Rushing yards ..................................174 67
Passing yards ...................................52 70
Total Yardage .................................227 137
Comp-Att-Int........................................4-10-0 8-25-2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Kassem Rizk, TW, 8-75; Nate Lewis, TW, 17-71; Erick Harper, I, 10-45.
Passing: Adam Rich, I, 5-18-51; Rob Elswick, TW, 2-6-44; Dan Zoeller, I, 3-7-19; Randy Sinnott, 2-4-8.
Receiving: Stephen Isaac, TW, 2-44; Kenny Beatty, I, 4-34; Brandon Williams, I, 2-20.
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MCFL Divisions
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2010 MCFL Standings
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Columbus Fire 4-0 (7-0)
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Detroit Seminoles 4-1 (7-1)
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TIMBERWOLVES 3-1 (5-2)
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Louisville Bulls 3-2 (5-2)
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Kings Comets 2-2 (3-3)
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Wisconsin Wolfpack 1-4 (1-4)
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Flint Fury 1-5 (1-7)
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| Indiana Mustangs 0-4 (2-7) |
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T-Wolves Vision
Player Spotlight
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Minor-league football attracts players from all walks of life. This season, the Southern Michigan Timberwolves have a colorful cast competing to pro |
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Read more...
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T-Wolves News
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The MCFL statistics from all of the games played in week 1 (July 19) have been released. You can get to them here: http://eteamz.active.com/Louisvil |
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New QB could revive T-Wolves' passing game
by Jeff Meade , last modified June 14. 2008 11:38PM
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2010 Schedule
| Home games in bold |
| Game time 7:25 |
| Location: Navarre Field, 301 Jones Ave, Monroe MI |
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| 6/19 |
@ Metro Detroit L 3-30 |
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| 6/26 |
@ Capital City W 31-7 |
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| 7/10 |
DET. RAVENS W 33-29
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| 7/24 |
@ Louisville W 26-13
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| 7/31 |
*WISCONSIN W 40-14 |
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| 8/7 |
BYE |
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| 8/14 |
INDIANA W 39-12
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| 8/21 |
BYE |
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| 8/28 |
DET SEMINOLES L 21-28
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| 9/4 |
LABOR DAY WEEKEND |
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| 9/11 |
@ Kings Comets |
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| 9/18 |
@ Flint Fury |
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| 9/25 |
COLUMBUS FIRE |
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| 10/2 |
MCFL PLAYOFFS BEGIN |
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* 7/31 game 11am at Univ. of Toledo |
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T-Wolves Poll
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