Andale uses many weapons to beat McPherson

There has been a misconception, albeit an understandable one, that in order to shut down Andale’s offense, a defense has to be able to shut down senior tailback Hunter Knoblauch.

It makes sense, as Knoblauch returns as an all-state talent every bit as good as his scouting report indicates.

Maybe after Andale’s second game, and second win, a 42-21 romp over McPherson (0-2), the game plan against the Indians will change because Knoblauch isn’t the only runner shredding defenses.

This is where defenses should become accustomed to senior Hank Eck, who turned 10 touches on Friday evening into 195 total yards and two touchdowns against McPherson.

“Everybody knows about Hunter,” Andale coach Gary O’Hair said. “Now they’re finding out how good Hank is too.”

McPherson made its intentions so clear in stopping Knoblauch, it led to the Indians, traditionally a running team, to throw the ball (seven times) more than run it (five) in the first quarter.

In fact, Knoblauch had just one carry in the first quarter.

“It was just not what they’ve been doing,” McPherson coach Tom Young said. “It was a little bit of a surprise.”

McPherson remained competitive for the first half, looking its strongest on a 12-play, 6-minute scoring drive where quarterback Kyler Kinnamon completed all five of his passes, including a 6-yard touchdown to Jason Anderson, that cut Andale’s lead to 14-7.

That’s when Andale returns to its roots, giving the ball to Knoblauch. And when it ran its signature play, the toss sweep with Knoblauch, he delivered a 44-yard score to push Andale’s lead to 21-7 just before halftime.

But it was Knoblauch’s next touchdown run that was the most electrifying of the night. It began innocently, as the middle was bottled up. Knoblauch bounced the run to the outside, beat the defenders to the sideline and after two juke moves he was sprung for a 90-yard touchdown.

“It was just all plugged up in the middle and it seemed like they had 11 guys in the box,” said Knoblauch, who ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns. “Then it just came to me to crack it out wide. When I got through, my adrenaline was what kept me pumping.”

McPherson’s overload strategy did work for the most part, keeping Knoblauch to 34 yards on his 10 other carries. When the Bullpups thought they had one cog shut down, Eck would bust through the line untouched for devastating yardage.

That’s what occurred on both of Eck’s touchdown runs, which came from 44 and 76 yards out. Both were dive plays that Eck shot right through the middle of the line and ran untouched through the heart of a McPherson defense that was no doubt preoccupied with Knoblauch.

“It feels really good, but it’s kind of scary when you break one like that,” Eck said. “You never know who’s coming behind you. You just have to turn on the wheels.”

Once Andale went up by two touchdowns, its lead never dwindled. The Indians’ defense executed a game plan that bottled Kinnamon up, keeping him to just 10 yards on 11 carries, although tailback Nathan Nutter did squirt loose for 109 rushing yards.

After the game, Young was asked what makes the 2-0 Indians so good.

“Number eight (Knoblauch),” he responded, before pausing to think. “And you’ve got to credit that number five (Eck), he’s a tough runner, too.”

Respect will come slowly, as Eck is finding out. But accounting for nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns this season is a good start.

“It was good to see Hank break loose,” O’Hair said. “He’s worked hard and he’s a good kid. He’s just a good football player.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Andale uses many weapons to beat McPherson."