Froelich brothers, Ekis propel Titans
Scott Froelich tied a school record in Westminster's 49-20 win over Grove City.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Any way you look at it, the Westminster College football team could be found "Froeliching" Saturday at Harold Burry Stadium.
Led by the Froelich brothers -- Scott and Tom -- along with Boardman native Brian Ekis, the Titans dismantled Grove City 49-20 in a Presidents' Athletic Conference match-up between two backyard rivals.
"I told my guys that I have been waiting for one like this for a long time," said Westminster coach Jerry Schmitt. "I took advantage of it by walking up and down the sidelines, shaking their hands and congratulating them and it has been a while since I have been able to do that."
Grove City coach Chris Smith and his team had to endure the bus ride home.
Froelich got on roll
"We made one of the biggest mistakes you can make in this game and that is to let a great running back get on a roll," said Smith of Scott Froelich. "We had one a couple of years ago [R.J. Bowers] and I said to myself, yeah, I remember that. When he gets going, he gets stronger and stronger."
Scott Froelich didn't waste any time setting the tone for the afternoon as he ripped off an 80-yard run for a touchdown on the first play of the game. For his record-setting day, Froelich rushed 26 times for 204 yards and four touchdowns, his four scores tying an all-time Westminster single-game mark.
"I improvised it a little bit," said Froelich of his path to the end zone. "I cut underneath the guard and behind a good block from [Brian] Ekis and fortunately I was able to go the distance."
As for his record-setting performance, Froelich admitted that it was probably one of the best of his entire career.
First four-TD game
"Never in college did I put together four touchdowns in a game," said the junior running back. "I just felt good running the ball out there. I got into a groove, saw the holes and ran hard. A lot of the credit has to go to the offensive line. Those guys up front were focused today and they just did a great job."
Those guys up front referred to by Froelich included Jim Chaney (Hubbard), Glenn Silvidi (Hubbard), B.A. Lambie (Connellsville), Aaron Detweiler (Poland), Phil Frye (Mineral Ridge) and Josh Bero (Poland).
While Scott made things happen on the offensive side, brother Tom did his thing on defense by blocking a conversion attempt before picking off a Sam Mowery aerial later in the game. The block was Froelich's fourth in the past five games.
"The first thing I did was look at how the wing was lining up," said Tom about his approach. "Depending on whether he is inside or outside changes what I do. They had the wing set out a little more than usual so I knew they had made an adjustment. The kid didn't touch me, I just dipped my shoulder down low and was able to get in there."
Ekis had good day
While Scott Froelich does his thing over land, Ekis makes it look easy getting the job done through the airways. For the game, the wide receiver finished with seven catches for 97 yards and a pair of scores.
"You have good days and you have bad days, and fortunately for me, this was a good one," said Ekis. "I seem to have a knack for finding holes in defenses and sometimes you have to improvise your route just a little bit to get in front of a safety. Sometimes you just have to go off the chalkboard and make a play."