The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Coach Will Bavery
The Heat was on last Saturday at the football game in Arcola. Not only was the temperature and humidity high, but the level of play of the Heat football team was also at a high level. The team finally put together all facets of the game, and for the first time this year played as a good football team.
Using a strong running game to set up the passing game, the Heat rolled up 439 yards of total offense to put 42 points on the scoreboard. The big story of the game though, was the play of the Heat defense. The Heat carried out their assignments well and controlled a very talented Arcola Purple Rider offense.The Heat got on the scoreboard quickly as the defense turned the ball over to the offense by causing Arcola to fumble the ball. The offense then took over with Andy Chockley picking up both the touchdown and extra points from three yards out. The defense took the ball away from Arcola on their next possession with an Andy Chockley pass interception. The Heat went up 14-0 on a 31 yard scoring pass from Adam Corzatt to Darick Clark.
Arcola picked off a pass on the next Heat offensive possession and set up a short scoring drive to tighten the score to 14-6. That would be the closest the Purple Riders would ever be in this game. An 18 yard scoring strike from Adam Corzatt to Andy Chockley would give the Heat a 20 to 6 halftime lead.
The second half was a showcase for Heat football. Adam Corzatt added two more touchdown passes of 15 yards to Darick Clark and 31 yards to Ross Gullberg. Inbetween the touchdown passes, Abe Chockley squeezed in a beautiful 71 yard touchdown run. The Heat built a 42-6 lead before giving up a late touchdown in the fourth quarter.
What was really pleasing to me as a coach, was watching the defense carry out their assignments against a very complicated Arcola offense. I had called in Darrell Burrell this last week to work with the secondary as we put in our invert scheme. Darrell had coached with me at Southern, and I consider him the best secondary coach I have ever come in contact with. He really helped our team, and the play of our secondary was flawless. We had three pass interceptions and Arcola never had a receiver who was uncovered.
We had some changes this week to move Brice Jack and Chase Gray to offensive line to free up Cody Lane and Jerry Morris on the defensive side of the ball. The move paid off as all four individuals played very well. The Heat had big plays turned in all day, but I would like to single out some hits by some of the guys who don't get as much playing time as others, but were crucial to the high level of performance. Josh Hawk, Ryan Utter, Damon Ackland, and Mike Yeater all got big sticks on important kickoff coverage. On this beastly hot day the importance of all of our players was magnified.
This week the Heat will celebrate their first homecoming game by taking on Annawan. We always hope to improve on the level of play from the week before, and if we can keep focused in, I think the Heat fans are going to enjoy what they will see.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Total
West Central 14 6 14 8 42
Arcola 0 6 0 6 12
Rushing Arcola 139 WC 287
Passing A. 44 WC 152
Total Offense A. 183 WC 439
Passes intercepted A 3 WC 2
Penalties A. 45 WC 25
Individual Rushing
Abe Chockley 6 for 82, Andy Chockley 17 for 71, Darick Clark 10 for 89, Adam Corzatt 2 for 8,
Blender 1 for 1, Livermore 5 for 30, Bundy 3 for 8
Individual Passing
Corzatt att 15 completed 10 for 152 yards 4 TD 2 INT
Individual Receiving
Landers 1 for 12, Clark 5 for 70, Andy Chockley 2 for 35, Abe Chockley 1 for 4, Gullberg 1 for 31