Monserez Calls The Thunder, Brings The Lightning
SOUTH BEND – South Bend St. Joseph quarterback Matt Monserez took on the role of Zeus before Mother Nature could enact her mighty fist.
The senior gunslinger tore apart the Wawasee secondary to the tune of a 21-of-27 passing performance, 295 yards and three touchdowns in one half – yes, one half – as lightning served as an impromptu mercy flag in a 34-0 St. Joseph’s victory in one half of football played at Leighton Stadium.
As the two teams were in the lockerrooms at halftime, lightning and rain reached South Bend, forcing the athletic directors from both schools to call off the remainder of the game.
Monserez needed less than two minutes to march the Indians down the field in its first possession, connecting with Eric Mossey on a 24-yard touchdown strike for a quick 7-0 lead. Picking and choosing open receivers all game, Monserez found Jake Froelich wide open down the middle on a third-and-10 play for 17 yards and a score.
But possibly the most impressive show was St. Joseph’s hurry-up drill to end the half. After Wawasee stalled at the Indians’ 43-yard-line following a sack by Garrett Guttermuth on fourth down, Monserez went to work. Taking the offense down the field in 33 seconds, St. Joseph’s covered 57 yards, closing with a Monserez strike to Froelich for 25 yards with just seven seconds to go in the half. Monserez, who is said to be a possible recruit of several Big 10 and MAC schools, had a showcase night.
“He is a great quarterback, probably one of the best quarterbacks we have seen in three years, maybe for the next three years,” said Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich from the parking lot following the game. “You really have to give them credit. They had a great game plan and were very well-coached.”
St. Joseph’s (2-0) would also get rushing touchdowns from Tajah Smith (four yards) and Ryan Jankowski (16 yards), the Smith score capping a drive that spanned 75 yards. That drive began when Garrett Lukens intercepted a Gage Reinhard pass as the Warriors were putting together what would be its only substantial drive of the game.
“It all comes down to execution, and I’ll put that on my shoulders as far as not preparing the kids schematically or in toughness,” Ekovich said. “We need to focus on getting better every single day. The kids, you could definitely tell a big difference between Whitko and St. Joe. They have good D-lineman, seasoned D-lineman. We have to have a little more resolve on our offensive line to at least create a chance for our running backs.”
Reinhard ended up completing just 8-of-16 passes for 106 yards and the one pick. Sam Clark was the only Warrior receiver to catch more than one ball, taking in three for 48 yards. The St. Joseph’s defensive line were more than stout, holding Wawasee to 10 rushes for 18 yards.
The anemic showing by Wawasee (1-1), granted to a 4A No. 6 football team, didn’t sit well with Ekovich, who has some work to do with the 2-0 Northridge Raiders and coach Tom Wogomon waiting in Middlebury next week. A new sense of urgency ushers in a strange beginning to the weekend.
“Right now we just need to handle adversity a little better,” Ekovich said. “When things aren’t going our way, we just have to get better and more mentally tough.
“There were things that we did well at times. Our offensive line protected Gage pretty well. Our wide receivers ran crisp routes and we made a couple big plays. So there are things we can take out of this. But we really need to establish that running game a little better and handle the adversity better than we did tonight.”