Published: October 19, 2009 06:47 am      

Fulton comeback falls short

By Brad Seward

For the Herald

PERU, Ill. — The opportunity to seize control of momentum does not come along many times in a football game. The Fulton Steamers twice had the chance to grab control of their game Saturday at Peru St. Bede but were not able to capitalize on those opportunities, which led to a 26-20 loss.

“We left some plays and we left some points out there on the field,” Fulton coach Pat Lower said.

Fulton's first chance to take control came early. Senior quarterback Tyler Renkes completed a pass up the middle to Brian Zahnle. The junior receiver weaved through a couple of linebackers and then broke free on the play for a 62-yard touchdown. After a missed point after it was 6-0 Steamers.

Fulton had other early chances. On the ensuing kickoff, the Steamers (2-6) recovered an onside kick. However, Fulton could not score. Then Fulton recovered a fumble and could not score on that first-quarter drive.

After those failed opportunities by Fulton, Peru St. Bede (3-5) found the end zone in the second period. Kevin King took an end-around play 11 yards in for a touchdown for the Bruins, tying the score at 6.

The Steamers and Bruins then traded scores during the final moments of the first half. A long Fulton drive resulted in a 2-yard scoring pass from Renkes to Zach Ryder. With the extra point, Fulton led 13-6 with 1:21 left in the period. However, King scored again with 27 seconds left to get St. Bede within one point at the half.

St. Bede did not waste any time in the third quarter. Senior running back Adam Schweickert rumbled 58 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the quarter. A two-point conversion put the Bruins up 20-13. Schweickert scored again early in the fourth quarter. With a failed conversion, St. Bede led 26-13.

Fulton got another great opportunity to seize the momentum after the St. Bede score. Senior Brandon Schneider ran the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards for a touchdown. The extra point cut the Bruins lead to 26-20.

“He (Schneider) has a knack for being in the right place at the right time,” Lower said. “He kept his eyes up, he kept his head up, saw the hole and just exploded.”

After a stop during the final five minutes of regulation, Fulton appeared to be heading for the tying and potentially go-ahead points. However, the Steamers' drive stalled out after a few near misses. Peru St. Bede then got the football back and ran out the clock.

“We had a drop of a touchdown pass, we had a couple of dropped first downs on our last drive and it's just a tough way end that game,” Lower said.

Fulton wraps up its season at home next week against long-time rival Morrison in the annual Wooden Shoe Bowl. Morrison comes into the game ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and undefeated.

“It's going to be a huge, ginormous task for us, but we have a good week of practice, we'll have a game plan and we're going to treat it with the respect it deserves,” Lower said. “We're going to come at them with everything we've got and see what we can do.”



Scoring by quarters

Fulton 6 7 0 7 — 20

Peru St. Bede 0 12 8 6 — 26

First quarter

F — Zahnle 62 pass from Renkes (kick failed), 11:01

Second quarter

SB — King 11 run (pass failed), 5:27

F — Ryder 2 pass from Renkes (St. Ores kick), 1:21

SB — King 11 run (run failed), :27

Third quarter

SB — Schweickert 58 run (two-point pass), 11:49

Fourth quarter

SB — Schweickert 31 run (run failed), 10:12

F — Schneider 85 kickoff return (St. Ores kick), 9:59

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Fulton (15-minus-26), Ryder 6-4; Zahnle 1-1; Renkes 8-minus-31. Peru St. Bede (63-323), Schweickert 24-177, Shipp 11-61; King 5-35, Hueneburg 5-33, Denis 6-10, Burgess 1-7.

PASSING — Fulton, Renkes 24-38-2, 327 yards. Peru St. Bede, Denis 0-4-0.

RECEIVING — Fulton, Zahnle 8-35, Ryder 7-66; Carber 4-78, Hutton 2-25; Wherry 2-14; Schneider 1-9. Peru St. Bede, None.