Hubbard vs Akron St. Vincent

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Hubbard vs Akron St. Vincent

By John Bassetti

bassetti@vindy.com

Hubbard

Hubbard didn’t end its season with a bang or a whimper but, rather, with four incomplete passes before losing to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, 27-19, in a Div. III, Region 9 quarterfinal Saturday night.

After controlling the ball all but seven plays in the fourth quarter, Hubbard (8-3) had four pass incompletions before giving up possession to St. Vincent-St. Mary’s for the final 40 seconds.

Along with its stalled momentum in the end, the Eagles were stung by big plays throughout from both running back Doran Grant and quarterback Kevin Besser, and the Irish (7-4) had 344 yards. Sae’von Fitzgerald picked up 88 yards on the ground, while Besser had 83 rushing.

Three of Grant’s four pass receptions were for touchdowns, and the 5-11, 185 senior caught four passes totaling 132 yards.

“That’s probably the first time all year our defense didn’t carry us,” SVSM coach Dan Boarman said. “Our offense came alive and did a nice job. Obviously, it’s hard to stop Doran Grant. It’s about time the offense did its part.”

Boarman said he wasn’t pleased that his defense gave up a couple big plays to Hubbard, the most notable of which was Tyler Duez’s 68-yard TD reception from Mike Lopuchovsky.

Another shortcoming of the Irish defense was not being able to get enough pressure on Lopuchovsky.

“We weren’t able to get a lot of pressure and that made it harder to cover their guys,” said Boarman, who also noted that five penalties for 48 yards hurt his team.

Boarman made a switch to start Besser in SVSM’s ninth game, against Mooney.

“We thought it was time, and we made the switch and it worked out,” Boarman said of the 6-3 junior. “Besser is more athletic. We brought him in at halftime of the Mooney game and we’ve been with him ever since.”

Hubbard coach Brian Hoffman said that Grant was the difference.

“He made big plays at crucial moments. We had a nice momentum swing to offset their first touchdown, then they cracked a big play right after that,” Hoffman said of a 50-yard run by Besser that set up Grant’s second TD.

“Our kids battled, and we were in the game until the end. We had a shot to tie it up, and I’m proud of our senior class. Those kids, for three straight years, had opportunities to play in playoff situations, and it’s a tribute to their effort.”

The first quarter ended in a 7-7 tie with SVSM getting on the board first via Besser’s pass to Grant, a play that covered 61 yards.

To cap a sustained 73-yard drive, Duvall ran 6 yards for a score, and Lopuchovsky’s PAT pulled Hubbard into a 7-7 tie. The Eagles took advantage of a personal foul assessed against the Irish that gave the Eagles possession with 1st-and-10 just 18 yards from the end zone.

SVSM struck quickly at the outset of the second quarter. Following Besser’s 50-yard run after a good fake to Mike Pruiett, Besser and Grant hooked up for a 16-yard TD pass at 11:52. Chris Motley’s extra point put the visitors up, 14-7.

Tyler Bischof’s interception of Lopuchovsky’s pass led to Fitzgerald’s 2-yard TD run at 8:10, but only after Fitzgerald ripped off a 37-yard run.

Mob tackling was a factor throughout the first half, with St. Vincent-St. Mary’s getting its mass of humanity to the ball carrier frequently.

On offense, SVSM’s beef, bulk and blocking enabled Div. III, Region 9’s seventh-ranked Irish to outgain Hubbard, 235-80, in the first half.

The teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter after which SVSM still led, 27-13. Hubbard pulled within eight points, 27-19, after Duvall’s 11-yard run with a lateral from Duez, who first caught a 5-yard pass from Lopuchovsky.