 
FHSC @ Steelers
Sunday, Nov 16
Lost 17-20
As of: end week 15
 |
| Standings |
W |
L |
T |
| Sonora |
11 |
3 |
0 |
|
| New Orleans |
10 |
4 |
0 |
|
| Atlanta |
7 |
7 |
0 |
|
| Tampa Bay |
7 |
7 |
0 |
|
|
 |
| 
| WEEK 15 -- FHSC at Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Sonora's defense gets rolled over by the bus |
 | Bettis plows through the Sonora secondary |
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Pittsburgh, PA - With the old veteran Jerome Bettis second in the league in rushing yards behind rookie sensation Ian Thorpe coming into week 15, the game between the Steelers and the FHSC was sure to be a knock-down drag-out affair. The 65,000 screaming fans in Pittsburgh certainly got their money's worth.
It took the two teams a while to get warmed up on offense as Sonora's number one ranked run defense caused a lot of trouble in the Pittsburgh backfield. By the end of the first quarter, the Steelers had managed a field goal, but a missed Messer attempt from 48 yards was as close as the FHSC could get to scoring.
Then, in the second quarter it was the leagues leading rusher who drew blood first. Thorpe carried the ball off the left tackle and then broke back into the middle of the field on his way to a 66-yard score. Later in the quarter, Thorpe scored again, this time to cap a long FHSC drive, giving Sonora a 14-3 lead and giving Thorpe a league leading 22nd touchdown.
With just over a minute to play in the half, the so far slumbering Steeler offense awoke. In just 24 seconds the Steelers covered 83 yards to reduce the FHSC lead to 4, thanks largely to a 64-yard reception by Antwaan Randle El from QB Tommy Maddox that went the final way to the endzone.
Early in the third quarter, the Steelers maintained their momentum by mounting another scoring drive. This time it was the FHSC's vaunted run defense that broke down and allowed Bettis to pound his way through the heart of the opposition for a 40-yard score. Already up by 3 points the Steelers kept up the defensive pressure and continued to hold the FHSC offense out of the red zone, while the Steeler offense continued to find small success on the ground.
"We had a lot of trouble stopping the run effectively today. We haven't given up very many 100 yard games this season, but today it hurt us" said FHSC defensive coordinator Jim Wall. Late in the third quarter, the Steelers mounted a long scoring drive, but after giving up 66 yards, the FHSC defense held firm inside their own red zone to force Pittsburgh to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Peterson.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Sonora responded with a 66-yard drive of their own, mostly through the air, and recorded a 20-yard field goal by Messer, to close the Pittsburgh lead to just 3 points. "The momentum was starting to shift and we knew that we just need to make a stand and the offense would do the rest" said Chris Souza, who is making a bid for defensive rookie of the year.
Pittsburgh, however, had other plans for the FHSC defense and continued to pound the ball away on the ground. A couple first downs later, Sonora was all out of time outs and was unable to stop the clock from winding down. "It is tough to lose a close game like this, particularly since we could have won a couple times and just broke down. Give the Steelers credit, they played well, and its tough for us to win games when we go 0-7 on third downs" said FHSC head coach Morgan Crinklaw.
With only two games left to play, and a playoff birth guaranteed, the FHSC is looking ahead to their divisional showdown with the Saints in the final game of the season as they currently hold a one-game lead over New Orleans for the divisional title. Next Sunday the FHSC will play host to the Chicago Bears who are now 7-7 after defeating the Giants this week.
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