Team to battle for playoff berth tonight
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
In past seasons, a game on the schedule against Parkview meant fairly smooth sailing for the Big Foot football team.
That certainly wasn’t the case last week, as the Vikings gave the Chiefs all they could handle.
But in the end, the result was just the same.
Big Foot trailed by a point at halftime but outscored the host Viking 22-6 the rest of the way to pick up a hard-fought 29-14 Rock Valley Conference victory.
The win improved the Chiefs to 3-1 in the RVC and 4-2 overall.
“Parkview is a much-improved team from a year ago,” Big Foot coach Greg Enz said. “It was evident on film against Turner and Brodhead. Both teams had to work hard for every point they got.
“A big difference in those games to ours was Parkview didn’t turn the ball over against us. You have to win close games or games that stress you in some way. It builds character and teaches you how to overcome adversity.”
Senior quarterback Zak Greco put the Chiefs in front to stay with a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Jackson Enz added the two-point conversion to give Big Foot a 15-8 lead
Enz followed that with a 2-yard touchdown, and after Greco’s extra point, Big Foot finally had a bit of breathing room at 22-8.
But again, Parkview refused to go away, as the Vikings ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run to pull back within eight points at 22-14.
Greco put his third touchdown of the night on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, however, to finally put the game out of reach.
For the game, Greco completed seven of 15 passes for 132 yards and also rushed 17 times for 56 yards.
“Zak really stepped up at times in the second half,” Enz said. “His ability to regain his touch in the pass game helped us move the ball more effectively.”
Vikings strike first
A 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave Parkview an early 8-0 lead it would hold until after halftime.
Greco cut the lead to just a point when he scored on a 2-yard plunge of his own, and then added the extra point.
Big Foot had trouble getting going offensively in the opening half, Enz said, as the Chiefs had just three total possessions.
Even so, Big Foot had its chances.
“We moved the ball, but we were very inefficient on third and fourth down,” Enz said. “We began the game (one for eight) throwing the ball.
“Parkview has to get a lot of credit for how they moved the ball well on that (opening) scoring drive. They were patent and executed very well on the entire drive. This put us on our heels for a while.”
Olinh Craig led the rushing attack with 66 yards on 18 carries, while Enz added 38 yards on eight attempts. Michael Heidenreich grabbed 10 receptions for 153 yards.
Defensive leaders included Mickey Sededucate with 11 tackles, Jacque Christman with 10 and Brennan Malone with nine.
All three were among several on that side of the ball who played well, Enz said.
“(Jacque) has filled in admirably for Ben Bauer at linebacker, and his effort Friday night was a benefit for the team,” he said.
“Mickey and Brennan have been fairly consistent of late and benefit from a defense that works more in concert with one another.”
Other leaders included Thallin Baker and Greco with six tackles and Heidenreich, Sam Ritchey, Greg Kovarik and Mark Schauf with five apiece.
Clinton up next
The Chiefs, who need one more win to clinch a WIAA post-season berth, host Clinton Friday night in a 7 p.m. RVC contest. The Cougars fell to 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the RVC with a 42-34 setback to South Division leader Brodhead-Juda last week.
Enz has been impressed with what he’s seen from Clinton so far this fall.
“Clinton is young and very fast,” he said. “They are rather interesting on offense with some good concepts that they have brought this year from last (year).
“They will be a tough opponent to say the least and should be a great game. We will have to be able to do what we have been doing, which is running the ball with balance from the pass game. Defensively, we will have to be very sound in our assignments and technique.”
