Chargers Hang On To Beat West Allis Hale, 28-16

The football team used several long drives, including one of nearly seven minutes late in the fourth quarter, to hold off a late rally from West Allis Hale and beat the Huskies, 28-16, Friday.

“Our kids persevered and played hard,” said Hamilton coach John Damato. “I was really happy with the offense and that last drive. They punched it in on about an 80-yard drive and lasted about 6:45, so we needed something like that.”

They way the Chargers methodically marched down the field and erased time off the clock, one would have thought that they never would have needed another drive late to preserve the victory.

The opening drive saw the Chargers eat up nearly seven minutes of the first quarter with junior Nick Knoebel and sophomore Drew Patterson grinding the ball up the field.

Knoebel had a run of 24 yards and Patterson contributed a run of 36 yards. A few passes were thrown in for good measure, with one attempt by senior quarterback Matt Judson being aided by a pass interference penalty on the Huskies that brought the ball down to the 39-yard line.

After a few short runs took the ball down to the 10, Judson dropped back to pass and found Patterson open across the middle for a touchdown to open up the scoring.

Hale would answer right back with a drive of their own. Huskies junior Taylor Tomczak had two rushes of 15 yards each as he maneuvered the team downfield. However, the drive would stall and the Huskies would have to settle for a 28-yard field goal by junior Taylor Manz to cut the deficit to 7-3 to end the first quarter.

The second quarter saw both teams trade a couple of possessions that ended up in punts. One Chargers' possession saw them try to fake a punt on fourth down, only to see the play get botched by good coverage by the Huskies. Judson tried to run left, but when he saw there was nowhere to go, he tried to get off a punt. That effort was blocked and the Huskies recovered on the Chargers' 45-yard line. 

Hale came back with a three and out to give the ball back to the Chargers on their own 24-yard line. After a couple of short gains by Patterson, a pass by Judson was picked off by the Huskies Garet Morgenroth deep in Huskies territory. 

The Huskies would gain one first down on that drive before stalling and punting the ball back to the Chargers.

The first play of the drive saw the Chargers get a huge break when junior Corey Parris fumbled twice, but were able to recover the football both times. That set the stage for Nick Knoeble, who then rumbled down the sidelines for a 62-yard touchdown to put the Chargers up 14-3 to close out the first half.

The only score of the third quarter would come on a 23-yard pass from Judson to Knoebel to stretch the lead to 21-3. 

After trading possessions through most of the quarter, the Chargers would take over after the Huskies missed a 35-yard field goal attempt.

Patterson singlehandedly drove the Chargers downfield with long runs, including a 38-yard effort. That wold set the stage for Judson to hit Knoeble with a deep pass down the middle to make the score 21-3.

The Huskies would not give up that easily, especially on Parents Night. 

Hale would try a little trickery by moving senior wide receiver Dan Sotiros to pay quarterback. His first snap was a keeper, where he rambled for 37 yards. Sotiros would then be the recipient of a pass from senior quarterback Steve Kopet, taking the ball down to the one.  Kopet would sneak into the end zone on the next play to make the score 21-9. The extra point attempt failed. 

The Huskies had a golden opportunity, as they recovered a fumble by Corey Parris on the next play from scrimmage. It was Parris’ third fumble on the night, and this one would prove costly.

Taylor Tomczak scored on a 10-yard run to cut the score to 21-16 with just over nine minutes to play in the game.

The Chargers then did what they did best in this game. They kept both the clock and the chains moving as the marched down the field.  Patterson and Knoeble took turn rushing the ball downfield and moving the chains. A key play to the drive was Knoeble taking a reverse 29 yards, setting up Patterson to chew up the remaining 20 yards to paydirt.

Now leading 28-16, it looked like the game was out of reach. Hale took over on their own 31 yard line, but quarterback Steve Kopet was struggling throwing the ball. Early in the drive, Kopet had his pass intercepted by junior Dan Demier, only to have it called back by an interference penalty.

A pass of 15 yards and another one for 20 to Sotiros brought the Huskies down to the Chargers' 31-yard line. However, another pass from Kopet was picked off by Demier to seal the victory.

“They answered the call, so I’m happy to get out of here with the W,” said Damato. “The key to the game was just our kids hanging in there.  We had five turnovers to their one, so it was just the kids and their character that they composed themselves, stayed united.That was probably it. Good steady drives. I don’t think there was really any key moment to the game.”

Patterson led the way with 180 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown. Knoeble pitched in with 138 yards on 9 carries and two touchdowns, including the 62 yard touchdown run.

Knoebel also caught one of the touchdown passes from Judson for his third touchdown of the game. Judson was only 3 of 7 passing for 47 yards, but his two touchdown passes helped pave the way to victory.

With the win, Hamilton's record improves to 4-1, while Hale's record drops to 1-4. The Chargers take on Menomonee Falls at home on Friday.