Takin’ Care of Business
Spartans Celebrate Homecoming, Crush Raiders 48-20
Anyone who has listened carefully to the lyrics of Randy Bachman’s 1973 classic rock anthem knows that the song is about anything but hard work. (Don’t tell the kids this little known fact.)
But faced with this week’s challenge of getting emotionally ready to play a team that hadn’t mustered up a win over Stratford since 1990, the Spartans indeed got up every morning to their alarm clock’s warning and went to work. And by Friday night, the good guys were taking care of business, every way, pounding the Northbrook Raiders 48-20 before a big homecoming crowd at Tully Stadium.
The Spartan defense got the night off on the right foot by forcing the Raiders to go three-and-out on their opening possession. Shortly thereafter, the Spartans got on the board first at 8:22 of the first quarter when junior RB Rodney Anderson brought in an Andrew Luck pass at the 5-yard line, neatly sidestepping a defender before hustling into the end zone to complete a 33-yard scoring play.
Less than three minutes later, after another defensive stop, the offense marched ____ yards on ____ plays, Luck covering the final nine yards on an improvised scramble to the left goal line pylon. Doug Millar’s PAT stretched the lead to 14-0 midway in the first stanza.
But Northbrook’s speedy John Sessions returned Sam McMullen’s ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, evading four would-be Spartan tacklers in the process. The Raider defense then forced a Spartan punt, and then with two minutes remaining in the first period, Northbrook QB Jose Maldonado found Derek Rainey all alone in the Spartan secondary for a 37 yard TD pass. Sergio Sifuentes’ PAT closed the Spartan lead to 14-13.
Stung by the momentum shift, the Spartan offense got it back turning in overdrive in the second quarter. Sophomore RB Todd TenHave, who seemed to survive emotionally intact despite the evening-long butchering of his name by Tully Stadium’s PA announcer, scored on a three yard run on the first play of the second half to push the lead to 21-13. Capitalizing on Trevor Grall’s interception and 26-yard return of a Maldonado pass, Luck scrambled for 19 yards and his second rushing touchdown at 11:03 of the second quarter to extend the lead to 28-13.
On the Spartans’ next possession, Luck found TenHave all alone in the left side of the end zone for an 18-yard TD pass, and then just before the half Doug Millar added a 25-yard field goal to give the Spartans a 38-13 halftime lead.
The Spartan Marching Band got to work by nine, making sounds loud and mellow, as six members of the homecoming court did more than try to look pretty. Thamer Favor took home the tiara as Stratford High School’s 34th Homecoming Queen. (*This calculation assumes that in 1974, Stratford’s first year of existence, a “homecoming” was observed despite the fact that, at the time, there was no such thing as a Stratford alumnus.)
There was no working overtime for Stratford’s first teamers, as Anderson’s 22-yard scoring dash through the middle of the Raider defense stretched the lead to 45-13 less than two minutes into the third quarter, giving coordinators Jeff Greene and Jay Wigginton almost a full half to play reserves. Reserve play was highlighted by interceptions by Hunter Ball and Andrew Holland, Walker Colt’s four receptions, and TenHave’s running behind Stratford’s #2 offensive line. The #2 offense generated a drive which set up Millar’s 42-yard field goal with 4:28 remaining in the game to close the books on a 48-20 victory.
When the whistle up above mercifully signaled the end of the game, the Spartans had outgained the Raiders 490 yards to 218, and controlled the clock with 22 first downs to Northbrook’s 14.
Luck made it look easy as fishin’, completing 20 of 27 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns. The big night brought his season totals to 116/206, 1,683 yards, 11 touchdowns. Senior QB Will King played most of the second half, completing his only two passes.
Luck managed to get in with the right bunch of fellows as nine different Spartan receivers caught passes, led by Walker Colt (four catches, 54 yards) and Rodney Anderson (4/73). BJ Griffin, Nick Moore and Todd TenHave caught three each, Louis Njenge hauled in two receptions, and Daniel Janes and Josh White had one reception apiece.
The people pushin’ people shovin’ up front cleared holes all night for the Spartan running game. Seniors Brian Hines, Will Swenson, Miles Flanagan, Jonathan O’Neal and Brett Neal, and sophomore Michael Gibson controlled the line of scrimmage, enabling RBs Rodney Anderson (seven carries, 90 yards, one TD) and Todd TenHave (thirteen carries, 56 yards, one TD) to have success on the ground. QB Andrew Luck added another 41 yards on six carries and two rushing TDs.
Around the district, unbeaten Eisenhower is in first place, having fun, just a-lying in the sun, needing only a win over either Aldine or MacArthur in the next two weeks to clinch at least a co-championship in District 19-5A. Stratford needs two wins against Nimitz and Memorial, plus an Ike loss in one of their two remaining games, to gain a share of the district title. Stratford only needs one win to assure itself of the top seed from 19-5A in the D2 playoffs (putting the Spartans on the “Cy Falls” side of the Region 3 bracket rather than the “Katy” side of the bracket). Two losses in the final two games would throw Stratford’s playoff picture into chaos, and in such a situation there are more permutations than can be calculated without a degree in mathematics -- five schools potentially competing for three remaining playoff slots.