Great Blocking Guides Terrence Hill to the End Zone
Terrence Hill’s first of three rushing touchdowns on the day was in large part the result of great blocking by the offensive line, who opened an enormous hole in the middle of the Augustana defense for Hill to run straight through for a 35-yard score.
“We ran counter here with a couple of pullers from the weak side and as you can see they all did their job,” described head coach Brad Spencer. “You can see Matt Robinson blocking all the way to the end zone. Credit to our offensive line, another day with over 500 yards rushing. I think we’ve got a pretty rare group out there including our tight ends and wide receivers blocking down field as well.”
Back-to-Back Sacks for Dan Gilroy
Senior defensive end Dan Gilroy seems to be getting better and better by the week as the playoffs approach, and that was exemplified by two sacks on back-to-back plays. First, Gilroy pushes the lineman blocking (or attempting to block) him into the quarterback, and then he spins past another two once again drop the QB to the turf.
“I give our athletic training and coaching staffs a lot of credit for managing him,” said Spencer of Gilroy, who has battled various muscle injuries over the last couple of years. “These fifth year seniors have played a lot of football, so before the year I told him ‘hey we’re gonna do the best we can to manage you guys, we want to play a long season’ and I think we’re starting to see that Dan is finally getting those reps that he needed and starting to play his very best football at the right time.”
Lehnen Scrambles to Find a Wide-Open Greenfield
Senior running back Ethan Greenfield had four total touchdowns on the days, with three on the ground including a 78-yard score. But his one receiving touchdown was the product of improvisation by both he and sophomore quarterback Luke Lehnen. The blocking of the offensive line held up long enough for Lehnen to buy time to eventually find a wide-open Greenfield.
“It’s a great job by our offensive line protecting in five-man pass pro,” Spencer said, again praising the big guys up front. “Luke scanned the field on his third read here it looked like a defensive lineman’s hand was in the way. So he scrambled out, found Ethan, our running backs are such threats in the passing game… then Ethan makes a nice catch along the sideline, breaks a tackle, and into the end zone he goes.
