Hard-hitting Moeller defense confused Hilliard with stunts
By Steve Blackledge
Dispatch Sports Reporter
DAYTON- Hilliard quarterback Steve Baird had blotches of blood on the bridge of his forehead and below his right eye. He groaned while leaning over the undress.
Known as a tough cookie, Baird showed signs of being crumbled yesterday after a 27-7 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati Moeller in a Division I state semifinal in Welcome Stadium.
“They just hit me from everywhere,” said Baird, who was held to 55 yards rushing and 55 yards passing. “They hit me from the side, the front, the back. They were physical. Real physical.”
Moeller gambled defensively aligning at least eight defenders within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage on every play leaving the defensive backs in man-to-man coverage.
“If Baird was going to beat us, we felt he was going to have to throw up field to do it,” Crusaders coach Steve Klonne said.
“He was far too dangerous as a runner for us to play a conventional defense on him. When a team has that kind of threat, you have to attack. We wanted as many guys up there as possible to limit his skills on those traps and draws. We feel our secondary is good enough to allow us to play that way.”
Hilliard tight end Bill Conley said he was fooled at times by Moeller’s irregular stunting.
“They threw a different formation at us, inside and outside, about every play,” Conley said. “I was very hard to predict what they were going to do.”
“We practiced against what we saw on film, and they sure showed more stunting and angling than we’d seen before.”
Ultimately, the Crusaders defensive quickness and aggressiveness got the better of Hilliard.
“We sure didn’t play against anybody that fast this year,” Baird said.
“They weren’t that big, but they sure were quick and tough.”
Conley said, “The people I blocked were definitely the quickest I faced all year.”
Hilliard coach John Sines said the Wildcats’ shortcomings boiled down to a lack of big plays rather than trickery by the Crusaders.
“We executed our game plan in a fairly decent manner, I thought,” Sines said. “We had our opportunities, but we just couldn’t seem to put the ball in the end zone.”
“When we needed breaks, we didn’t get them. We’re a big-play team that didn’t get any today.”
Moeller outgained Hilliard only 252-247 in yards, while the Wildcats racked up 15 first downs to 11 for the Crusaders, and controlled the clock nearly 28 minutes to 20.
A key stat, however, showed Hilliard was able to convent only 2 of 10 third-down plays.
“I thought we were mixing up what we do pretty well,” Conley said, “but they seemed to own us on third down. They always made those plays on us, and I can’t explain it.”
The Wildcats marched 61 yards on their first second-half possession but couldn’t score after having first-and-goal at the Moeller 7. Later in the quarter, Hilliard drove 60 yards from its 9 but ran out of downs.
“We kept going all the way down the field on them, and then they’d stop us,” Hilliard tailback Dax Madden said. “It’s almost like they knew what was coming from us.”
Klonne said the key was to keep Hilliard guessing.
“We mixed things up pretty effectively and blitzed from time to time,” he said. “It depended on the yardage they needed, but we got them in a lot of third-and-7s, and third-and 8s where we were able to do some things.”
Sines had Baird frequently calling audibles, but to no avail.
“It’s hard to do,” Sines said, “but I guess I just have to accept that we got beat because they were very physical and they handled us up front.”
Dispatch Sports Reporter
DAYTON- Hilliard quarterback Steve Baird had blotches of blood on the bridge of his forehead and below his right eye. He groaned while leaning over the undress.
Known as a tough cookie, Baird showed signs of being crumbled yesterday after a 27-7 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati Moeller in a Division I state semifinal in Welcome Stadium.
“They just hit me from everywhere,” said Baird, who was held to 55 yards rushing and 55 yards passing. “They hit me from the side, the front, the back. They were physical. Real physical.”
Moeller gambled defensively aligning at least eight defenders within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage on every play leaving the defensive backs in man-to-man coverage.
“If Baird was going to beat us, we felt he was going to have to throw up field to do it,” Crusaders coach Steve Klonne said.
“He was far too dangerous as a runner for us to play a conventional defense on him. When a team has that kind of threat, you have to attack. We wanted as many guys up there as possible to limit his skills on those traps and draws. We feel our secondary is good enough to allow us to play that way.”
Hilliard tight end Bill Conley said he was fooled at times by Moeller’s irregular stunting.
“They threw a different formation at us, inside and outside, about every play,” Conley said. “I was very hard to predict what they were going to do.”
“We practiced against what we saw on film, and they sure showed more stunting and angling than we’d seen before.”
Ultimately, the Crusaders defensive quickness and aggressiveness got the better of Hilliard.
“We sure didn’t play against anybody that fast this year,” Baird said.
“They weren’t that big, but they sure were quick and tough.”
Conley said, “The people I blocked were definitely the quickest I faced all year.”
Hilliard coach John Sines said the Wildcats’ shortcomings boiled down to a lack of big plays rather than trickery by the Crusaders.
“We executed our game plan in a fairly decent manner, I thought,” Sines said. “We had our opportunities, but we just couldn’t seem to put the ball in the end zone.”
“When we needed breaks, we didn’t get them. We’re a big-play team that didn’t get any today.”
Moeller outgained Hilliard only 252-247 in yards, while the Wildcats racked up 15 first downs to 11 for the Crusaders, and controlled the clock nearly 28 minutes to 20.
A key stat, however, showed Hilliard was able to convent only 2 of 10 third-down plays.
“I thought we were mixing up what we do pretty well,” Conley said, “but they seemed to own us on third down. They always made those plays on us, and I can’t explain it.”
The Wildcats marched 61 yards on their first second-half possession but couldn’t score after having first-and-goal at the Moeller 7. Later in the quarter, Hilliard drove 60 yards from its 9 but ran out of downs.
“We kept going all the way down the field on them, and then they’d stop us,” Hilliard tailback Dax Madden said. “It’s almost like they knew what was coming from us.”
Klonne said the key was to keep Hilliard guessing.
“We mixed things up pretty effectively and blitzed from time to time,” he said. “It depended on the yardage they needed, but we got them in a lot of third-and-7s, and third-and 8s where we were able to do some things.”
Sines had Baird frequently calling audibles, but to no avail.
“It’s hard to do,” Sines said, “but I guess I just have to accept that we got beat because they were very physical and they handled us up front.”