Isn’t there an old saying about great coaching and halftime adjustments? If so, they may have been talking about the BDS tandem of Mark Rotter and Chris Ardissono.
Last week against then-Class D-2, fourth-ranked Giltner, the Eagles broke a 36-36 halftime tie with a 38-point third quarter for an 82-36 win. On Friday night against High Plains, the Eagles led 28-22 at the half.
And, then, the adjustments. And, a 68-44 win over the Storm.
After playing most of their first half in their spread, Rotter’s offense went under center and from a formation that was unbalanced to one side or the other — either with a split end or tight end — and ran option and power football. On the third play of the third quarter, Kale Kleinschmidt went 71 yards for a touchdown.
“We are kind of like a basketball team, I guess,” Rotter said. “We like to do some things in the first half and then change it up a little bit after halftime. Like a basketball team would do with a press.”
On defense, it was making an adjustment to big HP tight end Kyler Van Housen who ripped the Eagles for seven catches and 112 yards in the first half. He scored once and then set up Thomas Young’s 1-yard plunge that accounted for the score at the break after BDS was up 28-6.
After halftime, he had just one catch.
“We just made a few tweaks here and there,” Ardissono said. “But, the biggest one was finding him. He really hurt us in the first half.”
After a three-week stretch that has seen the Eagles play second-ranked Blue Hill, Giltner and HP — who last week beat Blue Hill, 43-40 — BDS is ready for a break. They’ll be off this week.
For High Plains, who must have upset someone at the NSAA office, the gauntlet continues. Their first three games were against three pre-season ranked teams in Class D-1. Their fourth is against fifth-ranked Heartland, now 3-0 after a 50-32 win over Blue Hill last night.
But, coach Greg Wood didn’t seem discouraged.
“BDS is just a really good team,” Wood said. “We had to have some young kids go in and step and play for us and I thought they did a really good job. I love our seniors. They are leading and vocal and doing a great job. I love how we are supporting each other.”
The football was fantastic, if you were there or watched. The two teams combined for 875 yards, but BDS quarterback Grant Norder was again at his finest. He ran for 193 yards and passed for another 221 and accounted for six scores (three rushing, three passing).
Let’s rewind…
Central defense sparks 20-10 win over Burke
Class B, No. 3 McCook survived Sidney. But can anybody beat Omaha Skutt?
Pius holds York to 12 second-half plays, edges Dukes 14-10
Class C1, No. 1. Boone Central rolled past GICC, 48-19
In another C1 showdown, Kearney Catholic powered past Cozad
Humphrey St. Francis scored an improbable win over CWC
Parting shot…
I’ll be curious at the lights in Grand Island next Friday. The fourth-ranked Islanders topped Columbus 56-19 last night and face Omaha Westside, now 2-2 after losing their first two. Most GISH players will tell you their game against Westside last year was the low point of a semifinal season.
