Fingerhut, West have a little fun
FORREST MILLER
Tribune Staff Writer
MISHAWAKA -- Neven Fingerhut believes in keeping football in perspective.
"Any time you get a chance to play a football game is a good time,'' Fingerhut said after his 82 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries led Indiana West to a 27-26 victory Saturday over Indiana East in Sports Fest 2007 at Marian High School.
The victory was the only one for Indiana West of the week in Sports Fest.
"I made a lot of new friends; this was a fun week,'' added Fingerhut, a North Judson native who played for Culver Military Academy. He will play college football at St. Francis.
It was 2-yard plunge by Fingerhut with 10:36 to play that gave coach Bob Schellinger and his West team the points it needed.
"I've been coaching for 31
years, and these games are fun. I coached in the North-South game one
year. It's good to get know kids from other schools,'' said Schellinger,
who made it a point to congratulate the parents of his players on the
conduct of his team during the week.
"And it helped that we had some of our own kids because they know the
system,'' added Schellinger, the coach at LaPorte.
East coach Tim Dawson also got good mileage from his Concord players.
"This is how an all-star game should be, and it was a good experience
for me,'' said Dawson. "I thought the West had more depth in both the
defensive and offensive line. That made a difference.''
Joe Leach of Wawasee and Bob Cira of Concord each tossed two touchdown
pass for East.Leach connected for 31 yards to Concord's Mike Meade and 16
yards to Concord's James Cira.
Cira also nailed a 65-yard scoring pass from his brother, Bob.
LaPorte's Adam Schell broke up a possible touchdown pass from Cira in the
first quarter. But the East got on the board with Meade's 31-yard toss to
Meade 4:28 before halftime. Meade kicked the first of his three extra
points.
Two plays later Glenn's Jarred Egger connected with LaPorte's Diondre
Lewis for a 63-yard score. The ball was deflected before Lewis caught it
in the clear.
Leach found James Cira on a 16-yard play just 13 seconds before half and a
14-7 lead.
An interception by C.J. Gum of North Judson preceded a 3-yard keeper by
LaPorte quarterback Adam Creed and a Schell kick that brought the West
into a 14-14 tie with 6:24 to go in the third period.
A 7-yard run by Fingerhut with 4:44 to play put the West ahead, 21-14, but
12 seconds later the Ciras combined on a 65-yard pass to make it 21-20.
Meade's missed kick turned out to be crucial.
Marty Marion ran four yards to score for the East on the first play of the
second period. A pass conversion attempt failed.
Fingerhut's 2-yard run with 10:36 to go finished the scoring.
The East drove to the 12-yard line before Leach was sacked by Darren
Kincaid (LaPorte) on fourth down with 1:40 left.
The game was played under modified rules. There were no kickoffs, no punt
returns and no defense permitted on punts or PAT kicks. There was a
running clock except for the final two minutes of each half.
At Marian
| West | 0 | 7 | 14 | 6 -- 27 |
| East | 0 | 14 | 6 | 6 -- 26 |
W -- Diondre Lewis 63 pass from Jarred Egger (Adam Schell kick).
E -- James Cira 16 pass from Leach (Meade kick).
W -- Adam Creed 3 run (Schell kick).
W -- Neven Fingerhut 7 run (pass failed).
E -- James Cira 65 pass from Bob Cira (kick failed).
E -- Monty Marion 4 run (pass failed).
W -- Fingerhut 2 run (pass failed).
Officials: Dan Covey, Bryan Wild, Roger Hostetler, Emilio Rodriquez, Brian Henry.
| West | East | |
| First downs | 7 | 12 |
| Yards rushing | 83 | 121 |
| Yards passing | 133 | 288 |
| Passing | 6-16-0 | 13-27-2 |
| Punting | 6-36 | 2-44 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Yards penalized | 5 | 36 |