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Whew! Irish Survive Another Last-Minute Surge

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Day
14
Month
October
Year
1968
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16 The Ann Arbor News, Monday, October 14, 1968

Whew! Irish Survive Another Last-Minute Surge

Foe Stopped at Six-Yard Line

By Tom Rowland

WYANDOTTE — Someday, somewhere, a magical genie is going to pop out of a football and offer St. Thomas Coach Leo Wagner a nice. 49-0 half-time lead and relaxing runaway victory.

Until then, the Irish are going to have to settle for their usual Sunday afternoon fare of nightmarish fourth quarters, come from behind touchdowns, and last-minute ulcer-forming defensive stands that have brought the Green and White three wins, a loss, and tie so far this fall.

Yesterday was no exception. Wagner's charges beat Wyandotte Mt. Carmel 13-8, but not until Irish defensive back Tom Schwind put an end to a wild, wild final period by dropping Comet halfback Niebrzydowski just six yards short of the St. Thomas end zone as the final horn sounded.
 
For Mt. Carmel-called "as good as any team we've faced," by Wagner-it was a fourth straight league defeat.

The Irish, leading, 7-6, going intot eh fourth quarter, looked like they had things pretty much sewed up when Gino Trigg picked off a wayward Mt. Carmel aerial and scampered unmolested for 42 yards to score with two minutes remaining.

But Mike Wagner's attempted boot for the extra point was blocked, and the Comet offense charged back after quarterback Bryane Kowalerski returned the kickoff to the Irish 48.

Kowaleski fired an aerial bullseye to end Gary Lybik at the 32, and then found halfback Jim Burlenski open crossing the 20. Burlenski hauled in the pass but lost grasp of the pigskin when jarred by David Hieber's tackle, and Schwind recovered at the St. Thomas 18.

Kowaleski ran back Pat Ryan’s kickoff to the St. Thomas 42, and with 28 seconds on the clock and the winning goal-line in sight, the Comets went to the air. Substitute signal-caller Bob Toboy pitched Lybik a spiral at the 12-yard line, and then with four seconds to go whipped a quickie to Niebyzydowski, only to have Schwind bring down the curtain with his game-saving tackle at the six.

“We were worried about a possible short kick or even having the punt blocked," was Wagner's explanation for the gift safety. “I think it was a good call, and I’d do It again in the same situation. As It turned out it almost cost us the ball game.”

Wagner put his ground-based offense to the supreme test, hitting the Comets head-on against the strength of their beefy, Goliath-like forward wall. But the Mt. Carmel defense, for which block and tackle means a mechanical device for getting interior linemen onto the team bus rather than a pair of football fundamentals, was unable to intimidate the Irish running assault.

Quarterback Wagner managed to launch only two aerials while directing St. Thomas to a net 200 yards rushing —the bulk assigned to fullback Schwind who topped the Irish with 101 yards in 20 carries.

The St. Thomas offense only trespassed beyond mid-field once in the first half when Wagner engineered an 80-yard touchdown drive the second time the Irish had the ball. Fifteen running plays brought the ball to the Comet one-foot line, where halfback Louie Richard bulled his way for the six points.

The Mt. Carmel offense bounced back to hit the scoreboards on a march from their own 40 in the third period. The drive almost ground to a halt at midfield with a fourth and one situation, but a roughing-the-kicker infraction gave the Comets new life at the St. Thomas 36.

A Kowalewski-to-Lybik aerial combo put the ball at the Irish 24, and two plays later the Comet quarterback spied Bob Dugas alive and hiding out in the Irish secondary, firing a strike to him at the five. Dugas outfought Schwind and Wagner for the ball and chugged into the end zone.

Heiber broke in to block Lybik’s point-after kick.

Trailing by a point, the Comets moved to a "shotgun’' formation in the fourth period and started shelling the Irish secondary. It was second and 17 at the Mt. Carmel 33 when Trigg filched Kowalewski's pass intended for Lybik and raced for the winning margin.

Trigg, who nailed nine I tackles in his first starting role, moved into the defensive halfback spot last week when Hieber took over injured Bob Hurtubise’s linebacker post.

Richard—when he was in the game—tackle Jim Birmingham, and co-captain Bill O'Neill led the Irish defensive charge as usual.

STATISTICS

First Downs ST 12 MC 10

By Rushing ST 11 MC 2

By Passing ST 0 MC 5

By Penalty ST 1 MC 3

Yards gained rushing ST 208 MC 72

Yards lost rushing ST 8 MC 12

Net yards kick returns ST 45 MC 101

Kickoffs ST 40 MC 74

Punts ST 5 MC 27

Passes attempted  ST 2 MC 25

Passes completed ST 1 MC 0

Passes intercepted by ST 1 MC 0

Yards lost attempting to pass ST 11 MC 17

Net yards gained passing ST -9 MC 126

Fumbles ST 2 MC 2

Fumbles lost ST 2 MC 2

Punts ST 4 MC 6

Average punt yardage ST 39 MC 35

Penalties ST 3 MC 3

Yards lost by penalty ST 45 MC 15

Scoring

St. Thomas 7 0 0 6-13

Mt. Carmel  0 0 6 2-8

Touchdowns: ST. THOMAS-Richard, Trigg. MT. CARMEL-Dugas.

EXTRA POINTS: ST. THOMAS-Wagner (kick).

OFFICIALS: Bud Neale, Jim Labra, Dick Pearson