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AURORA – Taylor Glenn's blocking paved the way to Alden-Hebron's opening score on Friday night, but it was the senior's own rushing that helped break the game open late in the first half of what ended up being a 36-6 Northeastern Athletic Conference win for the Giants at Mooseheart.
On the game's opening drive, the Giants' backfield of Mason Mindham and Justin Strand marched 80 yards down the field, usually behind the left-side blocks of Glenn, before Strand punched in the first touchdown.
By the end of the first half, however, with coach John Lalor frustrated by Strand and Mindham, he turned to Glenn himself.
“He told me just run people over, don’t stop, and I did,” Glenn, typically an offensive lineman and linebacker, said. “I was dragging people all the way through there.”
It began with a 7-yard fullback dive. Later in the drive, facing third-and-15 at the 43, Glenn took a toss left for 18 yards and followed with 21 yards on a toss right. On the next play he smashed 4 yards up the middle for a touchdown.
Glenn carried just those four times for 50 yards but the score, with five seconds left before halftime, gave the Giants a 24-6 lead and a spark headed into the break.
“It just needed a change of pace," Lalor said. "You could see our two smaller backs, the longer the game goes on, the straighter up and down they get, the less fast they hit the hole. It was like, ‘Do you see the different dynamic? Look at him run, he’s going to go run somebody over, you guys are dancing around looking for a hole.’ Sometimes the hole’s not always there, you’ve got to make it a little bit.
"I think that helped. That even helped pick them up because then in the second half Mason ran a little harder, a few less carries, and Justin ran a little harder. Here again, competition’s a great thing, even on a small team. Even on a small team, when you challenge somebody, hey he’s taking carries away from me, I’m going to run harder the next time. I would say that’s the biggest positive out of all of it tonight."
Mindham ended up leading the Giants (2-1 overall, 1-0 NAC) with 143 yards on 19 carries and got a touchdown in the third quarter. Strand also broke 100 yards, gaining 104 on 14 carries.
“Our tackles and guards were making holes and then when that was starting to work they would collapse in and you could just bounce it outside and holes were open everywhere,” Mindham said.
Sophomore quarterback Brad Judson marked his first varsity start by connecting with senior Austin Strauss for two passing touchdowns.
Defensively, the Giants held Mooseheart (1-2, 0-1) to 12 total yards and forced two turnovers. Mindham had three solo tackles, seven assists and a fumble recovery. Glenn had two solo tackles, assisted on 14 more, forced a fumble and blocked an extra point attempt. David Reiter also recovered a fumble.
UNSUNG HERO
Brad Judson, Alden-Hebron, So. QB
Judson completed three of four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns in his first varsity start.
QUICK STATS
Alden-Hebron 36, Mooseheart 6
Alden-Hebron 8 - 16 - 12 - 0 - 36
Mooseheart 6 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 6
First quarter
AH- Strand 2 run (Mindham run), 5:55
M- Johnson 12 run (Ndayishimiye kick blocked), 0:01
Second quarter
AH- Stauss 26 pass from Judson (Strand run), 6:51
AH- Glenn 4 run (Strand run), 0:05
Third quarter
AH- Mindham 5 run (Boehlen kick failed), 3:39
AH- Stauss 41 pass from Judson (Boehlen kick failed), 1:17
Individual Statistics
RUSHING- Alden-Hebron: Mindham 19-143, Strand 14-104, Glenn 4-50, Oman 3-24, Judson 8-12, Stauss 1-5, Conner 1-minus-2. Totals: 50-336. Mooseheart: Johnson 12-37, Doe 7-12, Redmond 1-minus-2, Lowe 1-minus-7, Geddes 2-minus-12, Wah 5-minus-16. Totals: 28-12.
PASSING- Alden-Hebron: Judson 3-4-0-69. Mooseheart: Johnson 0-3-0-0.
RECEIVING- Alden-Hebron: Stauss 3-69.
TOTAL TEAM YARDS: Alden-Hebron 405, Mooseheart 12
AND ANOTHER THING...
“This was pretty important, we need all the wins we can get for playoffs," senior Taylor Glenn said. "Coach John (Lalor) has had a pretty long legacy of getting to the playoffs many times and I don’t want to be one of the teams that doesn’t make it.”
AURORA – Taylor Glenn's blocking paved the way to Alden-Hebron's opening score on Friday night, but it was the senior's own rushing that helped break the game open late in the first half of what ended up being a 36-6 Northeastern Athletic Conference win for the Giants at Mooseheart.
On the game's opening drive, the Giants' backfield of Mason Mindham and Justin Strand marched 80 yards down the field, usually behind the left-side blocks of Glenn, before Strand punched in the first touchdown.
By the end of the first half, however, with coach John Lalor frustrated by Strand and Mindham, he turned to Glenn himself.
“He told me just run people over, don’t stop, and I did,” Glenn, typically an offensive lineman and linebacker, said. “I was dragging people all the way through there.”
It began with a 7-yard fullback dive. Later in the drive, facing third-and-15 at the 43, Glenn took a toss left for 18 yards and followed with 21 yards on a toss right. On the next play he smashed 4 yards up the middle for a touchdown.
Glenn carried just those four times for 50 yards but the score, with five seconds left before halftime, gave the Giants a 24-6 lead and a spark headed into the break.
“It just needed a change of pace," Lalor said. "You could see our two smaller backs, the longer the game goes on, the straighter up and down they get, the less fast they hit the hole. It was like, ‘Do you see the different dynamic? Look at him run, he’s going to go run somebody over, you guys are dancing around looking for a hole.’ Sometimes the hole’s not always there, you’ve got to make it a little bit.
"I think that helped. That even helped pick them up because then in the second half Mason ran a little harder, a few less carries, and Justin ran a little harder. Here again, competition’s a great thing, even on a small team. Even on a small team, when you challenge somebody, hey he’s taking carries away from me, I’m going to run harder the next time. I would say that’s the biggest positive out of all of it tonight."
Mindham ended up leading the Giants (2-1 overall, 1-0 NAC) with 143 yards on 19 carries and got a touchdown in the third quarter. Strand also broke 100 yards, gaining 104 on 14 carries.
“Our tackles and guards were making holes and then when that was starting to work they would collapse in and you could just bounce it outside and holes were open everywhere,” Mindham said.
Sophomore quarterback Brad Judson marked his first varsity start by connecting with senior Austin Strauss for two passing touchdowns.
Defensively, the Giants held Mooseheart (1-2, 0-1) to 12 total yards and forced two turnovers. Mindham had three solo tackles, seven assists and a fumble recovery. Glenn had two solo tackles, assisted on 14 more, forced a fumble and blocked an extra point attempt. David Reiter also recovered a fumble.
UNSUNG HERO
Brad Judson, Alden-Hebron, So. QB
Judson completed three of four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns in his first varsity start.
QUICK STATS
Alden-Hebron 36, Mooseheart 6
Alden-Hebron 8 - 16 - 12 - 0 - 36
Mooseheart 6 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 6
First quarter
AH- Strand 2 run (Mindham run), 5:55
M- Johnson 12 run (Ndayishimiye kick blocked), 0:01
Second quarter
AH- Stauss 26 pass from Judson (Strand run), 6:51
AH- Glenn 4 run (Strand run), 0:05
Third quarter
AH- Mindham 5 run (Boehlen kick failed), 3:39
AH- Stauss 41 pass from Judson (Boehlen kick failed), 1:17
Individual Statistics
RUSHING- Alden-Hebron: Mindham 19-143, Strand 14-104, Glenn 4-50, Oman 3-24, Judson 8-12, Stauss 1-5, Conner 1-minus-2. Totals: 50-336. Mooseheart: Johnson 12-37, Doe 7-12, Redmond 1-minus-2, Lowe 1-minus-7, Geddes 2-minus-12, Wah 5-minus-16. Totals: 28-12.
PASSING- Alden-Hebron: Judson 3-4-0-69. Mooseheart: Johnson 0-3-0-0.
RECEIVING- Alden-Hebron: Stauss 3-69.
TOTAL TEAM YARDS: Alden-Hebron 405, Mooseheart 12
AND ANOTHER THING...
“This was pretty important, we need all the wins we can get for playoffs," senior Taylor Glenn said. "Coach John (Lalor) has had a pretty long legacy of getting to the playoffs many times and I don’t want to be one of the teams that doesn’t make it.”