Thursday, September 8, 2005 10:37 PM CDT
Glitter vs. girth: Apollo showdown promises contrast of styles
By RICK DAWSON, Staff Writer
NEWTON -- One of the most common views for defenders after two weeks of the prep football season has been Levi Richards' back side, not an ideal vantage point if you're an Apollo Conference defensive back.
As a member of Newton's track team, Richards finished sixth in the state in the Class A 100-meter dash last spring. As a wide receiver for Newton's 2-0 football team, he's the guy you would least like to get paired with in single coverage.
And he's just one sprinter troubling the Charleston coaching staff this week. On most area teams, Patrick Mendenhall, Ryan Britton, Clay Britton and Brian Bierman n all of them state-caliber track athletes — wouldn't be a mere backdrop, overshadowed by Richards. Where Newton's speed starts, it's difficult to tell where it ends.
"We basically time all of our kids in the 40s," Newton coach Bob Horst said. "We tried to build our team this year with our speed. We've got a lot of track kids. When you come to the game and see us we're not very big but we're very fast on both sides of the ball."
That's what makes today's matchup at Newton High School so enticing. On one side, it's blistering foot speed. On the other, it's massive size.
Charleston won't win a track meet with Newton. It may just pound the Eagles to the brink of exhaustion, however. Loaded as it is, Newton is a team whose largest defensive tackle is 20 pounds lighter than Charleston's starting tailback.
"Let's hope we bring plenty of bullets," Newton coach Bob Horst said. "We're doing what we want to do. It's just a matter of getting things squared away. You look at that score against Effingham (47-20), hopefully it's not a true indication of what we can do from the defensive side.
"We know this week with Charleston, it's a different style of football. They're pretty huge up front and have got the big running backs. We've got to be able to scheme them and find a way to shut them down. We've had pretty good ball games with Charleston the past couple of years."
If there is one concern for Charleston defensively, it's how to keep an opponent from breaking big plays. Paris' lone touchdown came on a 75-yard pass completion. In two games, Richards is averaging 24 yards per catch, Mendenhall 12.
"We're concerned with their explosiveness, their quickness, the fact the offense is wide open," Charleston coach Brian Halsey said. "It has big-play capability. The last couple of weeks, big plays have hurt us defensively.
"This is a test not only for our secondary but for our whole team. This is the first big game that we've had this year."
The final, and perhaps most important piece to Newton's puzzle, is quarterback Jake Semple. First introduced to varsity football two years ago in a loss to Charleston, Semple didn't fare well, getting intercepted twice on three attempts. Since then he has become a first-team all-conference quarterback and the leader of the team that shared the Apollo title with the Trojans in 2004.
"He's an excellent quarterback," Halsey said. "He threw for over 2,000 yards last year. He's off to a great start this year. He has command of the offense. In addition to being a great thrower, he makes excellent decisions with the football."
The Trojans may feature a nose-to-the grindstone, bulldozing rushing attack, but its top ball-carriers the past two weeks have been halfbacks Evan Stoltz and Justin Rardin. Quarterback Mike Peterlich and wide receiver Andrew Shick have hooked up for a pair of touchdown passes, a needed diversion from Charleston's typical clock-control strategy.
"I thought (Peterlich) made significant improvement," Halsey said. "His pocket presence and command was better. One of our two interceptions was a ball that was dropped.
"We did some good things last week but I felt we took a step back in some areas. But we also made some improvements. This caliber of a ball game we've got to bring our A game."
Contact Rick Dawson at rdawson@jg-tc.com or 238-6855.
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