By CHRIS RANDAZZO
of The Gazette
The statistics line for Pacelli's (3-0 overall, 1-0 in the CWC large school division) 47-0 blow-out win over Shiocton on Friday, Sept. 7 is full of impressive individual performances.
Receiver Jake Owens had a career-day, catching four passes for 123 yards, including a pair of long bombs. One, a 42-yarder, set up a two-yard TD run by Ahren Cashin, while Owens took the other, a 58-yarder, into the end zone himself. He also scored on a long punt return.
"He's a natural athlete, we're starting to expect things like that from him more and more," Pacelli coach Bob Raczek said.
Quarterback Brad Heeg was impressive as well, completing 6 of 7 passes for 132 yards, and scoring on a 12-yard quarterback keeper.
In addition to his touchdown run, Cashin averaged seven yards a carry on the day.
The defense did its part too, with Logan Riordan and Drew Roblewski spending nearly as much time in the Shiocton backfield as the opposing QB. The Cardinals had four sacks in the first quarter alone.
"We've got some quickness, we do a lot of stunting to free up our guys," Raczek said.
Adding insult to injury, Cardinal defender Nate Domazek (who also scored on a Heeg pass) ended Shiocton's only real hope for scoring by intercepting a pass on the Pacelli 2-yard line and running it in for a touchdown. That 98-yard return was a new record for the Cardinals.
Still, even with all the impressive individual performances, Raczek emphasized the importance of team over the individual. "Football is never a one-man game. If a player is open that means the line is doing a good job of blocking. If he scores on a punt return it means the special teams are doing their job. Football is a team game," he said.
He also downplayed the win a bit because of the level of competition. "It was a good ballgame to have in the schedule. They (Shiocton) aren't as tough as some of the teams we will be facing in the next few weeks," Raczek said.
In order to continue to win, Raczek said the team will need to improve in some areas. "We need to improve our run game, we're just not blocking well," he said. "Once we get into the next four weeks, we're going to need a ground game to compliment our pass game."