El Modena Gets Kicks in Victory Over Loara

Loara’s Mike Boomsma stood frozen at the 20, hands on hips. A few yards away, Daniel Gusman threw himself onto the ground, then pounded his helmet into the earth. In the end zone, Denis Dawson walked around aimlessly.

When you get beaten at the buzzer by a guy who doesn’t even take part in contact drills all season, what are you supposed to do?

Seconds earlier, they watched El Modena’s Kevin Ketchum knock a 34-yard field goal between the uprights, and now the Glover Stadium scoreboard read 16-14, in El Modena’s favor, and there was no more football to be played on this Friday night.

A lousy field goal.

Three of them. El Modena only managed one touchdown, in the first quarter, and then the Vanguards turned it over to their 6-foot, senior kicker.

By the time he lined up for attempt No. 3, with only three seconds left and El Modena behind, 14-13, a smile was beginning to creep across his coach’s face.

“There was no doubt in my mind he was going to make it,” Coach Steve Howard said. “Honest to God. If we get the snap and don’t let them penetrate, he was going to make it.”

Only one thing--one word--was sailing through Ketchum’s mind as he lined up.

“Straight, straight, straight,” he said.

The game winner made up for a lot. El Modena (4-1) lost four fumbles and one interception. But Loara (2-2-1) lost three fumbles and an interception to even the score.

Loara’s offense was ineffective. Take the second quarter: The Saxons’ possessions ended fumble, fumble, punt, halftime.

The fumbles came courtesy of Dawson, the senior running back, who dropped the ball at the El Modena 26 early in the second quarter and again at Loara’s 38 with 6:33 left before halftime.

Dawson, who finished with 155 yards, was granted a reprieve after the first fumble when Gusman got his big paw up in the air to block Ketchum’s 29-yard field goal attempt. However, Ketchum boomed a 36-yarder after Dawson’s second fumble.

Tacked on to Dave Martinez’s one-yard push into the end zone in the first quarter, that made it 10-0, El Modena.

Another Loara turnover on its first second-half possession dug the trench even deeper. Quarterback Jim Kirkland’s pass on second-and-16 from the El Modena 44 was picked off by Bret Randel and, four minutes later, a 27-yarder from Ketchum made it 13-0.

Loara scored twice in a two-minute third-quarter span when Floyd Talley hauled in an 11-yard pass from Kirkland and then, after a fumble, Dawson peeled off a 55-yard run.

But the Saxons couldn’t keep up with Ketchum’s leg.