Westminster Christian rolls over Mooseheart
With only 19 players, Westminster Christian's football team hasn't been able to practice 11-on-11 at any point. The Warriors' first chance at a "live look" came in Saturday's season opener against Mooseheart.
The Warriors looked like they hadn't missed a beat. Westminster led 35-0 after one quarter and cruised to a 60-0 win in the Northeastern Athletic Conference opener in Elgin.
"There's a few things that we've got to tweak out as a result of our never having 11," said Westminster coach John Davis.
Scotty Graziano scored 5 touchdowns and the Warriors outgained the Ramblers 463-78.
Graziano ran for 3 touchdowns, caught a 20-yard pass from quarterback Tannor Park, and returned a punt for another score in a bizarre play. Mooseheart players apparently thought that the kick had rolled dead but neglected to down it. Graziano alertly picked up the ball and ran untouched into the end zone.
"He's a beast," said Davis. "We can do a lot of things with him. He can run, he can catch, he can throw, and he can kick."
Graziano had 127 of the Warriors' 406 yards on the ground. Park added 90 yards and a touchdown, and Xavier Brown ran for 70 yards and a score. Noah Anderson also ran for a touchdown.
The Warriors wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Bobby Scott returned the opening kickoff 95 yards. Graziano scored twice, and Park and Brown scored, all before the first quarter ended.
Park finished 5-for-8 passing for 57 yards.
Westminster's defense was also dominant. Brown had 2 of the Warriors' 4 interceptions against 3 Mooseheart quarterbacks, and the Warriors held the visitors to 6 first downs and less than 100 total yards.
The Ramblers run a unique offense, with Tarry Johnson and Ryan Young lining up together in the backfield, both players calling signals, and both players receiving direct snaps. But the Warriors so dominated the line of scrimmage that whichever player got the ball was often swarmed under before getting back to the line.
Young finished with 39 yards rushing and added another 25 passing for the Ramblers.