St. Dominic Ground Game Gets Untracked as Crusaders Move to 5-0

After running over opponents in the first four weeks of the season, St. Dominic’s ran into something it hadn’t yet seen in 2011: A defense that wouldn’t get out of the way.

Visiting Kennedy held the Crusaders’ dominant ground game to under 100 yards in the first half on Friday night, perplexing a St. Dominic squad that went into halftime leading just 7-3. But a second half adjustment did the trick: the Crusaders’ O-line tightened up to spring tailbacks Grant Nickles and Jake Wilmes in the second half, together fueling their offense to three consecutive scoring possessions and a 28-9 win. The victory keeps St. Dominic undefeated at 5-0, while Kennedy drops to 2-3.

Miscues led both offenses to several missed scoring chances in the first half, but Kennedy was the first to draw blood with Steven Proctor’s 23-yard field goal with 4:18 in the second quarter. St. Dominic answered back with its first fruitful drive of the half, capping with a Wilmes a score from two yards out for a 7-3 halftime score.

Despite the frustration, the Crusaders’ held true to their ground game in the second half, not throwing a single pass and relentlessly attacking the middle of Kennedy with a double dose of Nickles and Wilmes. The two pushed St. Dominic 49 yards on six straight runs to open the second half, with Nickles scoring on an 11-yard run. After Kennedy was held to a three-and-out, Nickles and Wilmes traded off nine more runs for 55 yards and Nickles’ second touchdown, this time from five yards out, extending the lead 21-3.

Quarterback Jacob Mennemeier snuck in a score from the one-yard line to round out St. Dominic’s scoring with 11:22 in the fourth quarter, and Kennedy running back Joe Lawrence pushed in the Celts’ lone touchdown with 8.8 seconds left in the game.