Blunders cost McDonell

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By DAVID BOSSICK
david.bossick@lee.net
Saturday, September 6, 2008 2:04 AM CDT

The interceptions.

The penalties.

The injuries.

All were on display and all to the dismay of McDonell coach Todd Brown as the new Macks coach lost in his home debut to Rib Lake/ Prentice, 20-7.

McDonell rotated Andrew Rydland and Kyle Cody in at quarterback. Between the two, they threw five interceptions.

The second thrown by Rydland proved to be the most dangerous. An interception by Rib Lake/ Prentice at the goal line was returned to the McDonell 42-yard line.

“That changed the whole complexion right there. I think that led to the confidence when we came out at halftime,” Hawks co-coach Kevin Weiss said.

The drive was littered with penalties and miscues that forced McDonell back from a goal line situation to the interception.

“It’s really disappointing. That’s one thing we stressed all week. No more mental mistakes,” Brown said. “We were moving the ball down the field real well. We got down near the end zone and we had mental mistakes.

“When you have first-and-goal on the one and you’re going backwards without doing anything wrong, that hurts.”

Three and a half minutes later, quarterback Mike Mann blasted through the line for a 1-yard touchdown run. The drive included Rib Lake/Prentice’s first down. Cody Loertscher’s kick made it 7-0.

The tide continued to turn the Hawks’ way after taking the opening drive of the second half for a touchdown. Gary Isaacson ran around the end for a 19-yard touchdown run.

“We figured we would go to our option game. Take care of it from there. Michael (Mann) made some real good reads and we took off from there,” Hawks co-coach Jerry Shoup said.

McDonell, with fewer players to rotate in as John Rider, Jarrod Martell, Aaron Heimann and Rydland are hurt, was able to draw the game to within a touchdown when Heath Krejci snagged a fumble out of the air and raced 78 yards for a touchdown.

“Injuries can’t be an excuse. Other kids came in and stepped up,” Brown said.

“We’ll come back from it. ... We really can’t afford to have more than this.”

On Rib Lake/Prentice’s very next possession, Nate Dahl recovered another fumble, but the fourth interception of the game ended the threat.

The defense for McDonell continued to thrive as the clock waned. Dahl recovered his second fumble in the fourth quarter and, a handful of players later, the Macks had the ball back on downs.

With 2:15 showing on the clock, McDonell began a march at its own 15-yard line for the potential tying touchdown.

“That was a real positive. Because, they know. They know they should have won this game,” Brown said.

Instead, five plays later, Ethan   intercepted a pass and returned the ball 24 yards for a Hawks touchdown.

“We can play with teams in this conference,” Brown said. “The biggest thing is if we clean up the mental mistakes, the turnovers obviously, we’ll be right there.”