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Printer-Friendly ModeCardinals win big on senior day
November 13, 2006 —
Randy Awrey and Chris Dougherty did not want to play the "what if" game Saturday, but it would have been easy to do so.
Dougherty, the Cardinals' junior quarterback, completed his first 12 passes and went 25-of-28 for 275 yards and three touchdowns in SVSU's 46-30 win over Hillsdale.
It was Dougherty's second consecutive strong game, as he came back from a three-week injury absence a week before and tied a school record with five touchdown passes in a loss to Grand Valley.
When asked after Saturday's win if there was any sense of "what if" after the two high-quality performances, Dougherty shook his head.
"It's over," he said. "It's done. We just gotta get ready for next year. I'm looking forward to it."
The win pushed the Cardinals' season record to 6-4, or one game off the pace of third-place Ferris State, which just missed out on the Division II playoffs this season.
SVSU lost to the Bulldogs in the third week of the season, fumbling away a potential touchdown on fourth-and-goal with just seconds remaining in the game, and Dougherty was hurt for a 20-7 loss at Michigan Tech in October.
"We were maybe a handoff away from going to the playoffs," said Awrey, who noted that a 6-4 record would make the Cardinals bowl eligible in Division I-A. "But it just wasn't meant to be."
On a day when 14 seniors played their last game for SVSU, it was Dougherty and another junior, receiver Ric Cottengim, who shined brightest.
The two picked up where they left off from the loss at GVSU, where they connected 11 times for 149 yards and four scores. This time, Cottengim caught 10 balls for 133 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his season total to 13.
"We had some confidence coming in," Dougherty said. "It just carried over to (Saturday). It was nice to start out with a big play like we did, too."
On the Cardinals' first play of the game, Dougherty found Cottengim deep for a 41-yard pass. He would find him twice more on the drive, including a five-yard touchdown with 6:04 left in the quarter.
After the Cardinals forced the Chargers to a three-and-out, Dougherty found the end zone again, this time on a nine-yard pass to senior Bob Awrey.
With the strong wind at his back, Dougherty finished the quarter 9-of-9 for 112 yards and the two scores as the SVSU offense gained 146 yards on 16 plays.
Hillsdale would begin its comeback there, though. The Chargers capitalized on a fumble by sophomore Brandon Emeott and took over at the Cardinals' 39 and scored eight plays later on a 23-yard field goal by Mark Petro.
On the ensuing kickoff, SVSU was flagged for an illegal block and forced to start at their own seven-yard line. The Chargers forced a three-and-out and proceeded to block freshman Kurtis Fournier's punt, and junior Cody Calligan fell on the ball in the end zone to pull Hillsdale within four at 14-10.
Sophomore Matt Black took back the momentum immediately, though, taking Petro's kickoff 85 yards for the Cardinals' first kickoff return touchdown since 1998.
The Chargers scored with 47 seconds left in the half on a 31-yard screen pass from junior Mark Nicolet to senior running back Brett Neller, but Petro's kick missed, leaving the score at 21-16 at the half.
Dougherty would misfire on a swing pass to Emeott with just over 30 seconds left in the half, ending his streak of 12 completions to start the game.
The Cardinals utilized a bend-but-don't-break defense in the half, allowing the Chargers to control the ball for nearly 19 minutes and gain 173 yards on 35 plays.
Hillsdale would take the lead early in the third after Fournier was unable to convert a fake punt on fourth-and-three at the Chargers' 46-yard line. The Chargers marched 55 yards in just five plays and scored on a 10-yard run by senior Phil Martin, but were unable to convert on a two-point conversion attempt to push their lead to three.
It looked as if Black would swipe the momentum once again, as he returned Petro's kickoff to the Chargers' 23. A holding penalty negated the return, though, and left the Cardinals at their own 14.
The two teams traded possessions before Dougherty led a drive that put the Cardinals ahead for good. Dougherty went 4-of-4 on the drive for 59 yards, 42 of which went to Cottengim. Emeott ran for a seven-yard score on the eighth play of the drive, and Dougherty found his brother Joe in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion to put the Cardinals ahead by a touchdown.
The Chargers drove right back down the field, but a pass from Nicolet was tipped by a Hillsdale receiver and was intercepted by junior Mark Miller, who raced 80 yards down the sideline to put the Cardinals up 36-22.
Dougherty found Cottengim for a seven-yard touchdown on the Cardinals' next possession to increase the lead to 21, and senior Bobby Belmonte converted on his final field goal attempt of his career to close out the scoring for SVSU.
Nicolet added a late touchdown to Neller, but Petro's ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Cardinals, who ran out the clock.
The Cardinals finished the game with 388 yards on offense, while Hillsdale gained 365. The difference came in the return game, with Black and Miller both scoring for the first time this season.
"We got some big plays," Awrey said. "But we also had some miscues and gave up some big plays. We kept them alive for awhile there."
The four losses are the most for an SVSU team under Awrey since his first season, when the Cardinals went 4-6.
But with just 14 seniors losing their eligibility, Awrey does not seem worried about next year.
"We have a lot of young guys with experience," he said. "We played a lot of freshman that I didn't necessarily want to, but we had to. The future of this program is very solid. I think we're gonna be all right the next couple of years.”