ROCHESTER -- It was an impressive defensive effort for Randolph in its 14-6 victory over Dundee of Section V in the Class D Far West Regionals tonight at Marina Auto Stadium. More so considering the Scotsman had scored 76 points just two weeks ago in winning Class D in Section V. It was the third time Dundee had scored at least 70 points in a game this season.
Here's some stats that didn't make it into the game story ... Randolph gained 14 first downs to just six for Dundee. ... Total plays were 53-39 Randolph. ... Time of possession was 29:49-18:11, also in favor of the Cardinals. ... Defensively, Brandon Durnell led Randolph with nine tackles (six solo), two tackles for losses, a forced fumble and a sack. Matt Hettenbaugh (who rushed 29 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns) had five tackles and a big fumble recovery. Ben Fluent had three tackles for losses and two sacks. Brady Morrison had two tackles for losses and one sack.
A couple coaching strategies also paid off for the Cardinals. Instead of kicking off to Dundee senior tailback Steve Webb, who entered the game with nearly 2,000 yards and 32 touchdowns, Randolph just used squib kicks. The strategy worked, as the Scotsman had just 7 kickoff return yards on three chances.
Here's a few leftover quotes that also didn't make the gamer:
Head coach Pat Slater
On the defense: "Defense did pretty good didn't they? [Defensive coordinator Brent] Brown put the kids together and the kids just came out and they played hard."
On giving up a touchdown on the first drive: "It takes time to adjust to speed in the game and for the kids to settle down. They found a weakness quick and they exploited it real fast."
On the support his team is getting: "We're excited. The community is all here. Everybody's ready to go. It's just great."
Hettenbaugh
On the defensive gameplan: "That's all got to go to coach Brown. He spends I don't know how many hours each week just studying every team. He's got it down to a tee."
On the offensive line: "Our offensive line did a really good job tonight. We worked on it all week long. We knew these guys were big, but our guys did a real good job just opening up little creases so we could just get 4 yards a pop."
---Jay Skurski
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Football | Randolph
