Championship Challenge

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
It was a sullen and disappointed bunch of Bluejays who took a knee around Coach Tim McCarty to hear his traditional post-game comments moments after their 24-14 loss to Ottawa Saturday afternoon.



The mood, dark as it was, shed a revealing light on just how far the Tabor football program has come this season.



Putting up a close, well-fought battle against the country’s 10th-ranked NAIA team wasn’t anything to cheer about.



Playing tons closer than last year’s 81-6 humiliation was of little consolation.



That the Braves, motivated by the opportunity to clinch the conference title on their home field, had their hands full all afternoon was no cause for celebration.



That the Bluejays did it with only 13 juniors and seniors on their roster compared to Ottawa’s 44 didn’t appear to register.



Instead, this Bluejay team wanted to win this game and, maybe more important, felt it could have.



KCAC schools take note: Moral victories are no longer enough at Tabor College.



“I’m so proud of this team,” an emotional McCarty said afterward.



A week earlier, after his team’s 54-13 win over St. Mary, McCarty promised the Jays wouldn’t hold anything back against the Braves.



And they didn’t. Whether it was running two fake punts and two trick passes on offense, or the no-quit hustle on defense, the Jays came to win, not just compete.



“They didn’t leave anything today,” he said. “It was tough, but when you give everything and you leave it on the field, you feel it.”



The first quarter belonged to the Braves, though. On their first drive, they got a gift 37-yard field goal when Bob Lamoreaux’s kick hit the right upright and bounced through.



After trading possessions, the Braves got the ball at the Tabor 45 when the Jays failed to convert their first fake-punt attempt.



Eight plays later, on the first play of the second quarter, the Braves’ Mason Linden broke the plane of the goal line by a whisker on fourth-and-inches. Lamoreaux’s kick made the score 10-0.



After the Jays went three-and-out following the ensuing kickoff, Nunnie Booker swept the left end on the second play of Ottawa’s next possession and raced 38 yards for the score. Lamoreaux’s kick gave the Braves a 17-0 bulge with 12:37 left in the half.



The game was on the verge of entering the blowout zone, but the Bluejays’ defense refused the invitation. From that moment until three minutes were left in the game, Tabor shut down the KCAC’s top-rated offense with consistent pressure from the front line and solid tackling from the linebackers and the secondary.



The complexion of the game changed dramatically.



In the first quarter, Jay Alexander, arguably the best quarterback in the KCAC, had completed seven of his first 10 passes for 81 yards. For the rest of the game, he was a paltry 4-for-12 for 26 yards.



Meanwhile, C.J. Hill, a freshman defensive back from Hillsboro, had a monster game, registering 12 tackles, one assist, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for Tabor.



Right behind him was freshman linebacker Andy Froese, who added 10 tackles, one quarterback sack and a second tackle for a loss.



The Braves finally broke through in the fourth quarter, putting together an 11-play, 64-yard drive that culminated in a three-yard touchdown run by Troy Thomas. The PAT from Lamoreaux made the score 24-7 and all but ended any chance of a miraculous Tabor comeback.



Still, the Bluejays refused to quit. This time the offense stepped up.



Frustrated most of the day by a blitzing Ottawa front line, Tabor quarterback Travis Davis connected with Nathan Funk for 10 yards, Henry Cantu for 17 yards, and Tyson Ratzlaff for 13 yards to put the ball on the Braves’ 17-yard line.



After Funk’s trick-play pass to Cantu fell incomplete, Davis came back on the next play and hit Funk for a 17-yard touchdown strike just inside the goal-line pylon with 1:55 to play.



The Davis-Funk combination accounted for Tabor’s first score on almost an identical play at the opposite end of the field. The 6-3 junior from Hillsboro hauled in a 16-yard pass from Davis at the same spot to put the Bluejays on the board with 55 seconds left in the first half.



Dylan Pohlman kicked both extra points for Tabor.



The Jays’ only other serious scoring threat came with two minutes left in the first half when Pohlman attempted a 51-yard field goal. But the junior didn’t kick the ball cleanly and it fell far short of the mark.



The Braves’ front-line pressure probably saved the game for Ottawa, forcing Davis into numerous hurried, off-target throws and three interceptions.



The Wichita freshman, who came into the game ranked 11th nationally in passing, finished the day completing 19 of 43 throws for 166 yards. He was sacked four times.



“Travis really takes those (sacks) personally,” McCarty said. “He’s a winner. He isn’t 11th in the country for nothing.”



McCarty’s 2-7 team has a good shot at winning their third game of the year as they complete their season at home against 1-7 McPherson. Game time is 1:30 p.m.

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