Hand Off! Photo Credit: Steve Stearns
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE STEARNS
It was a tough day at the office for Gordon. The Rams (1-2) were shutout last Saturday by St. Laurence(2-1) 14-0 and limited to only 117 yards of total offense at Luther North.
“They are a tough bunch of hard-nosed kids,” said Gordon head coach Bill Jeske about his division rivals from the South side. “They are tough kids. They did a great job in pursuit (on defense). They worried about our quarterback and did a good job.”
“Their offense has been very potent,” admitted St. Laurence head coach Jim Grannan. “We put in some key kids both ways(on offense and defense) and the kids really executed. They did what they are supposed to do. The quarterback is a very good player.”
Steve Fiorella scored twice for St Laurence rushing for 105 yards on 36 carries. The Vikings did a good job of controlling the clock running 51 plays while Gordon committed three turnovers.
“I think he is a stud,” said Jeske who was impressed with the performance of Fiorella. “He was tremendous last year. He is their everything(on offense). He takes to that role.”
The Vikings missed two field goals in the first half while limiting Gordon to only 43 yards on offense.
St. Laurence began the second half with a 43-yard drive capped on a two-yard run by Fiorella.
The Rams responded with a 75-yard drive which ended when quarterback Julian Russell fumbled athe five-yard line.
The biggest play of this game may have been a 54-yard punt by Sean Brady with 2:26 left.
Gordon took over on its own four-yard line, and three plays later Brady intercepted a pass to seal the win.
Fiorella scored on a one yard run with 14 seconds left after the interception by Brady.
One area of concern for Gordon on this day was the passing game. Russell completed only 1-of-6 passes for 11 yards. By comparison, St Laurence Tony Craven connected on four passes for 55 yards in nine attempts.
“Everybody wants to be more effective passing (the football),” admitted Jeske after the loss. “It takes so much time to get the run going and you neglect the other parts of the offense. Everybody we talked to said you would be in trouble if you fell behind. It showed today.”
Gordon will try tp regroup next week against Hales.
The Headline originally said Gordon shut out St Laurence .
