Crusaders Roll to Shutout Victory Against Lutheran

The second drive for the went a lot better than the first. 

On the first offensive play of the game for the visiting Crusaders, forced, and recovered, a fumble deep in St. Dominic territory. The Cougars were unable to turn the turnover into points and St. Dominic had another shot to strike first. 

And strike was just what the Crusaders did. 

Facing a third and long, St. Dominic quarterback Jacob Mennemeier dropped back to pass. Looking to his left, Mennemeier saw a wide open Jonathan Knaust streaking down the sideline. Mennemeier unleashed a pass that fell perfectly into Knaust's waiting arms. With no Cougars in sight, Knaust took off for a 76-yard touchdown and an early St. Dominic lead.

"That was the planned play, but it's not the call, it's the execution of the players," St. Dominic head coach Jim Cook said.

The early score would propel the Crusaders (3-0, 3-0) to a 27-0 victory against Lutheran (0-3, 0-3). 

"I think we could have played a lot better, but as a coach I always think that," Cook said. "We took advantage of their mistakes."

The big pass was just the start of things for St. Dominic. Up 6-0, the Crusaders added seven more points later in the first quarter on a 20-yard touchdown run by Kyle Bazzell. Bazzell's score came almost immediately after the Cougars lost a fumble in its own territory. 

In quarter No. 2, St. Dominic kept things going. The Crusader defense once again scooped up a fumble, this time with five minutes left in the half and at the Cougars' 5-yard line.

The Crusaders' Jacob Wilmes pounded the ball in from three yards out to put St. Dominic up 20-0. 

With time dwindling in the half, the Crusaders struck again. St. Dominic marched 53 yards in two minutes to score with just five ticks left on the clock. The big play on the drive came on a 26-yard catch and run by Kevin Metz. The 6-foot-4 wideout caught a pass over the middle of the field and broke a few tackles before being hauled down at the 1-foot line. Wilmes pounded the ball in on the ensuing play to put the Crusaders up 27-0 at the half.

Lutheran started the game on a promising drive, but couldn't reach endzone. Starting at its own 35-yard line, the Cougars marched down the field to the Crusaders' 35-yard line. Once there, the offense stalled. After that, the Lutheran offense had trouble getting going.

"They just made the tackles when they had to make the tackles," Cook said. "When they needed the stop, they got the stop."

In the second half, neither team could get things going. The Crusaders emptied the bench to give reps to younger players, but couldn't add onto the lead. St. Dominic came close to scoring, but fumbled in the endzone and turned the ball over to Lutheran.

The second-half shutout could be a building block for the young Cougars.

"That's huge," said Matt Marty, the Cougars' first-year head coach. 

Marty is still looking for his first win for LHS.

"We knew that were going to be a tough team and they were going to be physical," Marty said. "But I'm just really proud of our team. With a lot of younger players playing, they came out and did their very best. ... We had a lot of really good things. Credit to Dominic—they took advantage of our mistakes."

Marty and the Cougars will get a chance for win No. 1 next Friday, Sept. 16, on the road against DuBourg. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

The Crusaders will try and remain perfect next Friday when it takes on St. Mary's. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.