After slow start, OLSH overwhelms Sto-Rox

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 1, 2018 | 1:00 AM

It’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish.

On the second play of Friday’s Class A Big 7 Conference clash against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Sto-Rox scored on an 80-yard pass to take an early 6-0 lead.

OLSH would respond in a big way, scoring 46 unanswered points en route to a 46-6 victory at Moon’s Tiger Stadium.

“We were misaligned on their touchdown,” OLSH coach Dan Bradley said. “The game was a little fast at first. We had some young guys starting up front, but once they settled in, I thought we did a good job moving the ball offensively.”

Just over one minute into the game, Sto-Rox quarterback Eric Wilson hit Vinnie Eggleton on a bubble screen, and he went 80 yards untouched for the first score of the game.

Neither team could get on track for the rest of the first quarter, combining for two punts, two turnovers and two turnovers-on-downs.

But once teams switched sides for the second quarter, the switch turned on for OLSH. Tyler Bradley hit Andrew Schnarre for a 28-yard touchdown to tie the score 6-6. Schnarre had a game-high 11 receptions for 115 yards.

On their following possession, Austin Wigley scored on an 8-yard run to extend the lead.

OLSH then got a big score right before halftime. With just over one minute left, Bradley found Ricco Tate wide open down the middle for a 26-yard reception. He was tackled at the 10 and fumbled. OLSH receiver Sig Saftner scooped up the loose ball and ran into the end zone, giving the Chargers a 19-6 lead at halftime.

After receiving the second half kickoff, OLSH went to the run game, especially with Wigley. The workhorse back finished with 101 yards and two touchdowns.

“We stuck with (the run game) last week and did the same trying to get (Wigley) going this week,” Bradley said. “He’s just getting better with every carry.”

Wigley also had two of the Chargers’ three interceptions.

“We should have had two more (interceptions),” Bradley said. “We dropped a pick-six in the first half, and Andrew Schnarre actually made a good play and knocked the ball down at the 1-yard line, which he easily could have intercepted, but he made a smart football play.”

Tyler Bradley finished with 214 yards and four touchdowns for OLSH (2-0, 1-0). Tate caught two of Bradley’s three second-half touchdowns.

For Sto-Rox (0-2, 0-1), the offense struggled after the opening touchdown. The Vikings mustered only 96 yards of offense the rest of the game — 22 yards in the second half.

“We couldn’t quite get on task,” Sto-Rox first year coach LaRoi Johnson said. “I’ll give them all of the credit. They had an outstanding game plan. We just couldn’t get playing fast. We need to learn how to become more consistent, and that starts with practice every day.”

James Dotson is a freelance writer.

Tags: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Sto-Rox