Warriors fall to Deaf School

From: Muncie Star Press, IN - Sep 18, 2004

By TROY MEZERA
sports@thestarpress.com

GASTON - Wes-Del's losing streak hit 33 games as Indiana School for the Deaf took advantage of eight Warrior turnovers and beat Wes-Del 45-14 Friday night.

Deaf quarterback Jon Mowl threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the visitors.

After a scoreless first quarter in which Wes-Del lost two of its six fumbles on the night, Indiana School for the Deaf put points on the board when Mowl found Lucas VanDalen on a 51-yard pass. Four minutes later, Mowl took off on the third play of the drive to score from 86 yards away.

"We told the kids all week long that this team had athletes," Wes-Del coach Charlie Sims said. "Mowl and a few others could play on any team that we play. That kid (Mowl) was a great athlete."

At halftime, Wes-Del (0-5) trailed 13-0 but had moved the ball effectively throughout the first half. The Warriors racked up 13 first downs in the half but hurt themselves turning the ball over four times.

The Warriors closed to within seven, 13-6, when Mike Mosier ran 24 yards around the right side for the touchdown. His two-point coversion narrowed the gap to five.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Hoosiers' Bradley Pollard went 80 yards to break the Warriors momentum.

"That kickoff return was probably the biggest play of the game," Sims said. "Yeah, we turned it over about seven or eight times, but we were back in it, and he (Pollard) took us out of it."

In the fourth quarter, the Indiana School for the Deaf scored four touchdowns, including Snead's 44-yard interception return. It was his second touchdown of the night and Warrior quarterback Shea Johnson's sixth turnover (four fumbles, two interceptions).

Michal Snead also showed his versitility for the Hoosiers. Snead caught a 53-yard touchdown pass and later threw a 22 -yard touchdown to Sam Davis.

The Warriors scored their final touchdown when Nathan McGuire found a seam and caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Johnson.

Turnovers overshadowed a solid ground game from the Warriors. McGuire finished with 127 yards on 24 carries, while Mosier added 87 yards on 12 carries.

"I really don't have an answer for why we can't seem to execute," Sims said. "I just tell them that every week is another opportunity to win and make ourselves better. Hopefully that time comes soon."

Deaf School 0 13 6 26-45

Wes-Del 0 0 8 6-14

Second quarter

ISD - VanDalen 51 pass from Mowel (run failed).

ISD - Mowl 86 run (Plessis kick).

Third quarter

WD - Mosier 24 run (Mosier run).

ISD - Pollard 80 kickoff return (pass failed).

Fourth quarter

ISD - Anderson 1 run (Plessis kick).

ISD - Pollard 44 interception return (kick blocked).

ISD - Snead 53 pass from Mowl (Mowl pass to Pollard).

ISD - Davis 23 pass from Snead (run failed)

ISD WD

First downs 7 17

Rushes-yards 24-144 43-200

Passing yards 203 89

Comp-att 9-17 5-15

Punts-avg 4-26 2-34

Fumbles-lost 1-0 8-6

Penalties-yards 12-121 0-0

Individual statistics

RUSHING - Deaf: Gantt 9-56, Snead 3-(-4), Plessis 3-5, Mowl 9-86, Anderson 1-1. Wes-Del: McGuire 24-127, Johnson 4-(-20), Mosier 12-87, Lee 3-6.

PASSING - Deaf: Mowl 5-12-0-105. Wes-Del: Snead 4-5-0-98.

RECEIVING - Deaf: Snead 4-101, Pollard 1-13, VanDalen 2-66, Hawkins 1-1, Davis 1-22. Wes-Del: Mosier 3-33, Lee, 1-29, McGuire 1-27.

Copyright 2004 The Star Press.