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PrintBlue Streaks finish on high note
With playoffs hopes dashed the previous week by a tough loss to Huntley High School, one might wonder what the Woodstock High School varsity football team had to play for in its last game of the season Oct. 19 against Johnsburg High School.
The Blue Steaks (4-5 overall, 3-3 Fox Valley Conference, Valley Division), however, took the game as an opportunity to show they could play an almost perfect game as they defeated the Skyhawks 35-7.
WHS head coach Steve Beard said his team wanted to end the season on a positive note. .jpg)
“Our goal tonight was ‘how do you want to remember your last game of the 2012 season?’” Beard said. “And we wanted to remember it going out with no turnovers, limit our penalties and our defense is going to hit and our offense is going to block and we did that tonight. No matter who our opponent was.
“We tried to do that last week. Tonight we were a better football team. We didn’t play sloppy. Our players came and played how we coached them to play.”
The Streaks set the tone early, scoring on the third play of the game, a 50-yard touchdown run by junior Nick Rogers. By halftime they had a 21-0 lead and led 35-0 after three quarters.
The Streaks piled up 404 yards of offense which included 248 yards on the ground. Junior Mike Santucci rushed 15 times for 85 yards and a 1-yard touchdown; senior Brad Bertram rushed 13 times for 55 yards and a 5-yard touchdown; and Rogers rushed eight times for 79 yards.
In the air, junior quarterback Alan Hafer completed six of nine passes for 156 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown pass to junior Mitch Kohley.
Beard said he felt the team was better than its final record and was proud of how his players competed all year.
“It’s been a competitive season this year,” Beard said. “We’ve been very competitive this year, and unfortunately, we were one game away from being 5-4 and being in the playoffs.
“I told the players after the Huntley game, I was very disappointed that we didn’t make the playoffs because I really thought we were a 5-4, 6-3 team. … This is a good team to coach. They went 4-5, and they should be proud of that. They competed in every game this year.”
Bertram agreed with his coach and said he hopes next year’s team can build off the win.
“I felt like we finally pulled it together,” said Bertram. “We should have had more games like that. … It feels good to pick it up this last game. We fell short of our goal of making the playoffs, but we set the tone for next year.”
Junior wide receiver Anthony Martys, who had two catches including a nifty one-handed grab on the sidelines and an 11-yard reverse for a touchdown, said he believes the team can use the win as motivation next year.
“The win will help us be motivated in the offseason to get ready for next year, get pumped for next year, because we want to make the playoffs,” said Martys.
Beard said he is now looking forward to next season.
“This is a win that takes us in the 2013 season,” Beard said, noting the sophomore team finished 7-2. “This is how I want to remember 2012 going into 2013.”
