Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008

Mascoutah, Mater Dei may pile up the points

Knights won their last playoff meeting 7-0 back in 2006

MASCOUTAH -- Don't count on a replay from 2006 when Mascoutah plays host to Mater Dei in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs at 1 p.m. today.

Two years ago in the semifinals, the host Knights outlasted Mascoutah 7-0 on Colin Detmer's 70-yard touchdown pass to Joey Bauer in the second quarter. Mater Dei's defense did the rest, holding the Indians to 177 total yards.

Points should be more plentiful this time around. Mater Dei (11-0) has scored at least 40 points nine times and has amassed 506 this season for an average of 46 a game. Mascoutah (8-3) has averaged 41 points in its last four victories and has scored 34 or more seven times.

"We were really a pound-it-out, play-defense type of team," Knights coach Ray Kauling said of 2006. "We were a team that needed field position, basically, to get the ball up the field a little bit and have a chance to score. That's what we did in that run there to get to the title game. We just played great defense and scored just enough to win.

"This is kind of the exact opposite. Our offense has been leading us the whole year. Even the game against Newton when we only scored 25 points, we still had like 480 yards of offense that night. Once we got in the red zone, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times."

Mater Dei is about as balanced as a team can be. Senior quarterback Justin Vonder Haar has thrown for 2,801 yards and 37 TDs, including 17 to senior Aaron Fuehne, who leads the Knights with 55 catches for 1,078 yards. Junior Lucas Hemann has kept the ground game churning with 1,071 yards and 12 TDs.

"They've got a great team. Coach Kauling's done a great job over there," Mascoutah coach Terry Moeller said. "They've got good athletes and they have good team speed. Obviously, if they can throw the ball, it's going to be a difficult task for us to try to man up with them and try to match up with them in different types of coverage. They're pretty darn good. That's why they're 11-0. That's why they're in the situation they're in now."

Mascoutah's not without weapons of its own. Senior Melvin Banks has elevated his game in the postseason, racking up 354 yards and four TDs on 38 carries. Banks leads the Indians with 1,082 yards and 26 TDs, 17 coming on runs.

Senior quarterback Austin Givens has proved versatile, rushing for 770 yards and 12 TDs and passing for 1,378 yards and 14 TDs. Junior Matt Milton has a team-leading 35 catches for 724 yards and five TDs.

"That run game is pretty good," Kauling said. "The Banks kid can beat you at any time and the quarterback, Givens, can beat you at any time. And they still have the Milton kid out wide. He's a pretty good threat as well. They do some things that definitely concern you as a coach going into the game."

Depth could be the difference in the outcome of the game. Kauling is confident that if his top playmakers are negated, somebody else will step forward.

"Everybody looks to take away Aaron or Lucas or even Justin running the ball," Kauling said. "Then the next thing you know, Tyler (Detmer) or John (Huelsmann) or Alec (Kuhl) are going to hurt you. So it makes (opponents) play a different type of defense than what they're used to playing usually. We don't always see the same thing that we've seen on film."

Whatever defense the Indians employ, Moeller knows it will be tested.

"If we can hold them to anything reasonably less than that 46 points (they average), it would be a great effort by our kids," Moeller said. "I'll never sell my kids short. Our kids have a great work ethic. They will give everything they've got on the football field. If Mater Dei beats us, it will be because they're a better team."

Contact reporter David Wilhelm at dwilhelm@bnd.com.