Pulling away: Bucs ride strong finish to win over Mikes
Carmichaels鈥� Tyler Richmond intercepts a pass, stopping a Chartiers-Houston drive in the second half of Friday鈥檚 game. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Chartiers-Houston鈥檚 Zeke Watkins dives for the final yard of a 28-yard touchdown run that put the Bucs ahead of Carmichaels in the first half Friday. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Chartiers-Houston鈥檚 Zeke Watkins (17) tries to ward off Carmichaels defender Parker Hyatt (34) during the first half Friday. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Chartiers-Houston鈥檚 Jacob Mele (4) turns a second half kickoff return into a touchdown for the Buccaneers against Carmichaels Friday.
HOUSTON 鈥� Slow starts are becoming the norm for Chartiers-Houston in this early stage of the football season.
It鈥檚 a habit that Bucs coach Terry Fetsko hopes they break soon.
Even though last Friday night鈥檚 contest with Carmichaels began as slow as pond water, the host Bucs eventually found their footing and pulled away from the pesky Mikes to the tune of 27-12 win at Buccaneers Stadium.
Zeke Watkins, a freshman, paced the Buccaneers offense with 167 yards on 28 carries with two scores.
鈥淗e is really good for a freshman,鈥� Fetsko noted. 鈥淗e has really good vision. He sees the hole and is able to wait for his blockers. He鈥檚 going to be a really good one.鈥�
But it was the sluggish start for the Bucs (3-0) that has Fetsko a bit concerned as the season churns towards conference play.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been our M.O. all year,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what it is. We start real slow but finish real strong. We can鈥檛 keep doing that though.鈥�
Carmichaels coach Ron Gallagher felt his team had too many offensive lapses.
鈥淲e just struggled to find any consistency on offense,鈥� Gallagher said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a good football team we played and they were very tough along the lines of scrimmage. We have to get back to work to get better.鈥�
Both teams slugged through a scoreless opening frame. And it appeared the first half would end without a point scored on either side until Carmichaels (2-1) broke the ice on an errant snap to C-H punter Anthony Romano that rolled into the end zone. William White fell on the ball and gave the Mikes a 6-0 lead late in the half.
It was here the Bucs woke up and took control of the contest. Driving 57 yards in less than a minute, the Bucs assumed command when Watkins broke free for a 28-yard touchdown run with five seconds remaining in the half. Romano鈥檚 kick was good and unbelievably the Buccaneers led at the half, 7-6.
Jacob Mele, who suffered through a miserable first half in which he muffed one punt that Carmichaels recovered and another in which he was able to gather, made his presence felt out of the gate in the third quarter. Mele took the second-half kick 73 yards down the sideline and into the end zone for a touchdown. The point-after attempt was no good, leaving Chartiers-Houston鈥檚 lead at 13-6.
Mele struck again later in the quarter when he snatched a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Terry Fetsko. Romano鈥檚 kick pushed the lead to 20-6 midway through the third quarter.
鈥淭hat kick return was a big time play for us,鈥� Fetsko said. 鈥淚t really ignited us and we needed a lift at that time. Big plays for sure.鈥�
Carmichaels worked to get back into the contest when the Mikes marched 53 yards on their next possession after the Mele touchdown grab. White culminated the march with a 13-yard touchdown run around right end. The two-point play was stopped short, leaving the Buccaneers lead at 20-12 at the end of the quarter.
Watkins eventually sealed the deal for the hosts when he blasted for 35 yards to the Mikes鈥� five-yard line early in the fourth quarter. He scored on the very next play.
The Chartiers-Houston defense held firm much of the evening, sacking Mikes quarterback Alec Anderson four times and forcing two turnovers.