WEEK 8: Carrollton vs. St. Charles

**Carrollton's Robert Essex**
**St. Charles' Marshall Davenport**
**Carrollton's Zach Palmreuter**

St. Charles- The story line was simple but still a classic. Both teams came in with 8-0 records and the winner would head home with the TVC-West crown. To add to the drama filled game, Carrollton is having their best year is school history by qualifying for the playoffs for the first time ever. Both teams are also led by first year head coaches in Greg Wasmer for the Cavs and Brady Lake for St. Charles.

The Cavs walked into Bulldog Stadium and threw the first punch by taking a 7-0 lead on the game's first possession. Carrollton picked up 34 yards on fullback J.J. Perry's run up the gut while tailback Robert Essex capped the drive with a 5 yard burst.

St. Charles tied the game up with 8:23 left in the second quarter on Marshall Davenport's 18 yard run. St. Charles runs the wing-T, an offense that uses four backs and not a true quarterback under center. So the Cavs defensive game plan was to stack the box with 5 linebackers, trying not to get fooled with the constant ball fakes. St. Charles adjusted by going to the air to loosen up the Cav's defense. The reward for the Bulldogs was a 73 yard touchdown from Dugan Roosa to Davenport, on a simple slant route, to give St. Charles a 14-7 lead.

St. Charles had one more possession before the half and had first shot coming out of the half but both times the Bulldogs left points on the field. St. Charles drove 60 yards but with time running out in the second quarter the Bulldogs attempted a 38 yard field goal that fell short. In the third quarter the Bulldogs again drove 60 yards but stalled inside the 10 yard line but the chip shot field goal was blocked by Carrollton's Calvin Jackson.

Carrollton took over from there! Facing a 4th-and-4 near midfield, the Cavs gambled and threw a screen pass to Essex for a 15 yard gain. Three minutes later quarterback Zach Palmreuter dove into the endzone from a yard out. Justin Elliot's extra point tied the game at 14-14 with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

St. Charles started to drive again and looked like they were heading right towards paydirt but the Bulldogs coughed up the ball on their own 40 yard line, giving the Cavs a short field. Essex used a handful of rushes to take the ball inside the 5 yard line and Palmreuter finished the drive with a bootleg run to give the Cavs a 21-14 lead with 4:10 to play.

St. Charles had one more shot and made the game real interesting as they advanced the ball inside the redzone with less than a 30 seconds to play. While facing a fourth down, the Bulldogs pass fell incomplete but a pass interference penalty gave St. Charles a first down. Carrollton made three more penalties in the closing seconds to put St. Charles one yard away from tieing the score but with no time left on the clock the Bulldogs were stuffed.

BREAKDOWN

Carrollton- allot of the success that the Cavs have received this year is going to Robert Essex, and deservingly so! But the Cavs O-line has to be credited as well. I was very surprised to see how the Cavs just manhandled St. Charles in the trenches. They physically controlled the line and gave Essex plenty of running room between the tackles.

St. Charles- the Bulldogs left plenty of points on the field and they were driving with ease until they fumbled the ball after a 10 yard pick up late in the fourth quarter. Good news for the Bulldogs is that it looks like they will get a rematch against Carrollton in the first round of the playoffs.

GAME MVP- Robert Essex, Carrollton- Essex ran 30 times for 156 yards and a TD. An average day at the office for the junior speedster who is creeping up on 2,000 rushing yards. While Essex is smaller and has break away speed he does most of his damage between the tackles. Essex also lines up at corner for the Cavs.

Marshall Davenport, St. Charles- the running back, receiver, and safety could be very successful at the D-2 level. He stands about 6-2 with good strength and speed. He scored both of St. Charles TD's.