Chiefs hold Panthers to 14 points, improve to 2-1 in conference
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
It certainly wasn’t easy – like many games in recent memory – when the Big Foot football team traveled to Palmyra-Eagle Friday night.
But teams don’t get extra points for beauty, just for victories.
And that’s what counts.
Big Foot jumped out to a 19-7 first-half lead and held off a gritty Palmyra-Eagle squad for a 19-14 Rock Valley Conference victory. The win improved the Chiefs to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the RVC.
The key to the win pointed directly to the Chiefs’ defensive effort, Big Foot coach Greg Enz said.
“We were very productive in the first half offensively, but the key was a strong and consistent defense,” he said. “Holding them to 153 yards (with) 40 coming in the final drive was evidence of that.”
Big Foot got on the scoreboard first on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Zak Greco to Jackson Enz.
That lead was short-lived, however, as Palmyra scored off a Big Foot turnover and added the extra point to take a 7-6 advantage into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Big Foot got going a bit on the offensive side of the ball.
Greco scored on a 1-yard run at the 6:32 mark, followed by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Enz to Michael Heidenreich that gave the Chiefs a 19-7 halftime lead.
“We had good rhythm in the second quarter,” Enz said. “There was balance between our pass and run-game effectiveness. Consequently, we were able to play up tempo and move the ball.”
Palmyra put its final points on the board early with a fumble return for a touchdown on the opening play of the second half.
But that was all the offense Palmyra could muster against a stingy Big Foot defense that held the Panthers out of the end zone the rest of the night.
For the game, Greco completed five of 12 passing attempts for 125 yards. Olinh Craig had 22 rushing attempts for 80 yards, while Greco added 30 yards on 11 carries.
Enz and Heidenreich each caught six passes for 87 yards to lead the Big Foot receivers.
Defensive leaders for the Chiefs were Jacque Christman with nine tackles, Brennan Malone and Craig with eight and Mickey Setteducate and Beau Cary with seven.
At Parkview tonight
Next up for Big Foot is a road trip to Parkview Friday night to face the Vikings in a 7 p.m. RVC matchup.
Parkview fell to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play last week with a 33-8 loss to Brodhead-Juda.
But that record is deceiving, Enz said.
“Parkview, like Palmyra-Eagle, is very tenacious defensively, and with the talent gap between top and bottom of the league having closed, they will cause problems for us as they did for Brodhead-Juda,” he said.
The goals remain the same this week as they have all season, Enz said.
“We are focusing on taking care of the fundamentals of the game,” he said. “Tempo, blocking, tackling, executing calls and carrying out our responsibility (are the focus).
“The game is played by 11, not seven, so we need to continue to bring that message to our players on a daily basis. This is a key part of the season, as you are trying to refine what you are doing to be at your best in the final third of the regular season.”
