Maize South shuts down Eisenhower
MAIZE It was a bittersweet Friday night for Maize South football coach Brent Pfeifer.
The Mavericks turned in a nearly flawless performance in a 41-0 home dismantling of Goddard Eisenhower, but the game revived memories of three seasons ago when Pfeifer led a first-year program just like Eisenhower.
He remembered the glum after the beatdowns. He remembered games like Eisenhower had on Friday, where it finished with negative-20 yards for the game. But most of all, he remembered what it did for Maize South.
“I don’t sympathize with them, I’m proud of them,” Pfeifer said of the Tigers. “Looking back on our first year, I wouldn’t change a minute, even those 40-point losses. They made us what we are right now. I know it’s hard for those kids right now, but I’m proud of them because this is only going to make them better.”
The first quarter quickly identified that Eisenhower was out-classed across the field. The Tigers kept the ball with quarterback Trevor Hughes and gambled they could beat Maize South to the edge. They could not, as 14 of Hughes’ 23 carries went for losses and he finished with negative-36 yards.
Eisenhower’s first 12 drives netted 10 three-and-outs and lost 63 yards on 36 plays.
“It makes you humble real quick,” Eisenhower coach Charlie Nally said. “Our kids have to get back up and learn from this. But the thing was, we weren’t griping at one another. If we can hold it together as a family, then we are going to recover.”
For Maize South seniors, who were freshmen during the Mavericks’ inaugural season, it provided a stark contrast. In their four-year careers, they had gone from taking the thrashings to now giving them.
“I can feel for them,” Maize South senior Nevada Harlan said. “There is a pain. It was always a sad bus ride home. But this is going to make them better.”
After turning the ball over on its first two possessions, Maize South scored on six of its next eight possessions. Jesse Rogers led the Mavericks with 185 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
For the second straight game, Maize South’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown.
“You have to congratulate our defense,” Rogers said. “They stepped up and got us that field position. It was easy to punch it in after they got us the ball in good field position.”
| Eisenhower | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Maize South | 20 | 7 | 14 | 0 | — | 41 |
MS — Rogers 54 run (Mormando run failed)
MS — Orth 23 run (Galliher kick)
MS — Rogers 6 run (Galliher kick)
MS — Bell 1 run (Galliher kick)
MS — Rogers 73 run (Galliher kick)
MS — Rogers 5 run (Galliher kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Eisenhower, Thompson 4-7, Damon 6-0, Young 1-0,, Ramey 3-(-2), Richardson 4-(-6), Hughes 23-(-36); Maize South, Rogers 19-185, Orth 6-35, Bell 8-34, Weinlood 5-15, Phillips 1-9, Koehn 2-3, Mormando 4-(-4).
Passing — Eisenhower, Hughes 2-4-17-0; Maize South, Bell 2-4-15-1.
Receiving — Eisenhower, Stemple 2-17; Maize South, Orth 2-15.