No. 2 Kardinals too much for Houston to handle

Aug. 12, 2007

By ALAN WOOTEN/For the Frontiersman

One thing about posting shutouts - no matter what else you did, there's always a solid positive.

Kenai Central managed a better wherewithal to depth problems than visiting Houston and captured a 46-0 non-conference victory in a matchup of preseason top five state-ranked teams Saturday afternoon at Hollier Field.

A few hundred fans soaked up the sun but players labored against small roster numbers. The second-ranked Kardinals, after a slow start, eventually put together four consecutive scoring drives in the second half to break open a 19-point halftime lead.

&#8220The way we practiced, at least we won,” said Kenai head coach Jim Beeson. &#8220We wanted a shutout and to score some points. We're at a point where a win is a good thing.”

Hawks' head coach Norm Bouchard lamented six eventual starters not making the trip, but was pleased in several areas despite the lopsided score.

&#8220We were able to move the football,” Bouchard said. &#8220We didn't execute defensively. The depth is not there and that makes it hard to go through four quarters.”

The Kardinals chose to hammer for yardage with senior Bill Chimphalee and an offensive line of freshman center Richie Ziehmer, senior guards Jaron Dambacher and Travis Pierce, and senior tackle Kyle Gregg and sophomore tackle Donnie Dormady.

The fifth-ranked Hawks pecked away in the passing game, throwing underneath coverages and to the outside near the line of scrimmage.

Chimphalee ended the day with 312 yards rushing on 26 carries, scoring on third-quarter runs of 12, 35 and 17 yards. He also caught a 27-yard scoring pass from Daniel Gustkey, one of three in the first half by the senior quarterback.

Houston junior quarterback Jordan Webb threw for 198 yards, completing 23 of 34 passes without an interception. Junior Bryan Mason, one of six Hawks to make catches, caught eight balls for 103 yards. Junior Ryan Contreras (41 yards) and junior Jon Stinson (17 yards) had four catches each.

&#8220We decided to put the football in our quarterback's hands,” Bouchard said. &#8220The receivers caught the football and we were able to move the football but not able to score. That's our execution part.”

Kenai pressured Webb throughout the day, getting a pair of sacks from Pierce and one each by juniors Tyler Taplin and Brandon Hughes. Hughes registered 13 tackles and Chimphalee eight. Pierce and Dormady also nabbed fumble recoveries while Hughes and sophomore Billy Kiefer delivered fumble-causing hits.

The Hawks, 5-4 last year and a first-round playoff casualty, were turned away at the Kardinals' 13-, 5- and 9-yard lines. Their most impressive march went for 63 yards, with Webb converting 8 of 11 passes among the 14 snaps.

Kenai, 5-3 a year ago without a postseason trip, was steady in taking command. The Kardinals didn't score on their opening possession, but netted Gustkey touchdown throws on the next three to lead 19-0.

Gustkey threw 19 yards to junior Zach Rabung with 3:07 left in the first quarter, 27 yards to Chimphalee with 8:39 left before half and 28 yards to Kiefer four minutes later.

The second score was highlighted by Gustkey's 7-yard completion to Hughes on a fourth-and-7 play. The third score was set up by a botched punt snap deep in Houston territory.

Chimphalee broke loose for 181 yards after intermission. Senior Cody Booth's 19-yard kickoff return and a 33-yard burst by Chimphalee set up his 2-yard scoring run.

Chimphalee ran for 11 and 40 yards before dashing 12 yards into the end zone with 5:45 left in the third quarter, pushing the margin to 32-0. His 35-yard scoring run came one snap after Kiefer separated the ball from Houston's Contreras on a reception, and Dormady recovered.

Kiefer's 17-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter converted another Hawks' fumble, recovered by Pierce, into points.

&#8220We knew we had to find ways to get Bill the football, and we moved him around a little bit,” Beeson said. &#8220We ran the football at them and wore them down in the second half.”

The Kardinals, who visit Ketchikan next, yielded just 14 yards rushing but were penalized for 60 yards.

Houston,which travels to Eielson next week, saw its defense cracked for 480 total yards and only forced one punt. Junior Justin Crowley had the lone sack of Gustkey while junior Anthoney Origer had a fumble-causing hit. Senior Israel Morales the Hawks led in tackles with seven.

&#8220We had some mental mistakes and gave up some passes, some of them mine,” Chimphalee said. &#8220Our secondary needs work. But no points - that's good!”

Alan Wooten is a freelance writer from Nikiski.

KARDINALS 46, HAWKS 0

Saturday, Ed Hollier Field, Kenai

Houston 0 0 0 0 - 0

Kenai 7 12 20 7 - 46

1st Quarter

K - Rabung 13 pass from Gustkey (Gustkey kick), 3:07.

2nd Quarter

K - Chimphalee 27 pass from Gustkey (kick failed), 8:39.

K - Kiefer 28 pass from Gustkey (pass failed), 4:32.

3rd Quarter

K - Chimphalee 2 run (pass failed), 10:29.

K - Chimphalee 12 run (Gustkey kick), 5:45.

K - Chimphalee 35 run (Gustkey kick), 5:22.

4th Quarter

K - Kiefer 17 run (Gustkey kick), 9:08.

Houston Kenai

First downs 14 20

Rushes-yards 21-14 44-405

Passing yards 198 75

Passes 23-34-0 4-6-0

Return yards 0 6

Punts-Ave. 2-18.0 1-50.0

Fumbles-lost 6-2 5-0

Penalties-yards 1-5 7-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Houston: Morales 8-59, Whitear 6-(-6), Webb 6-(-35), Stinson 1-(-4); Kenai: Chimphalee 26-312, Booth 6-75, Kiefer 4-27, Gustkey 7-(-8), Creighton 1-(-1).

PASSING - Houston: Webb 23-34-0, 198 yards; Kenai: Gustkey 4-6-0, 75 yards.

RECEIVING - Houston: Mason 8-103, Contreras 4-41, Stinson 4-17, Morales 3-25, Origer 2-7, Marre 2-5; Kenai: Kiefer 1-28, Chimphalee 1-27, Rabung 1-13, Hughes 1-7.