Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - The Thrill of the Chase: Chevy Chase College (TCY)

MoonlightGraham · 09-17-2022, 10:45 AM

The 2004 Season

My first Chevy Chase team proved the doubters who said they were the second-worst team in the country wrong.

We opened the season with three non-conference losses, two of which could have been wins if we had been better at holding on to the football. We lost a fumble deep in UConn territory with three minutes left on the clock, and an exciting drive late in the San Jose State game ended when a pass into their end zone was picked off.

In fact, we were only routed twice: by Miami and Auburn. Otherwise, we provided our fans with exciting football. And, we ended the season on a good note by winning our last two games.

Offensive Highlights
Kendrick Fulton tore up his elbow in the San Jose State game, and I thought our chances for a decent season ended when Kendrick went under the surgeon's knife. Moved to left tackle from his natural center position, Fulton was our most talented O-lineman, by a wide margin.

Our running game turned out to be decent anyway. Running backs Marty Heise and Bobby Grider combined to rush for over 1300 yards, freshman Grider averaging over five yards per carry. Once I remembered how to adjust the game plan to get fullback Hardy Strong more carries, he gave us a third good ball carrier. Also an effective blocker, Strong made the All-Solecismic first team. He was joined on the first team by center Bobby Sheldon, who was as good as we hoped he would be; he succeeded on over 40 percent of his run blocking assignments. Guard Craig Wayne and tight end Cole Hoover were second team All-Conference selections, receiving credit for their contributions to our ground attack.

Quarterback Billy Scutaro was, statisically, the second-worst passer in the nation. He threw 18 interceptions and only three TD passes. As a result, I made recruiting a QB a high priority. We'll see how that turned out soon. Freshman WR Vinny Cineux proved to be a deep threat, averaging 21.0 yards per reception. He finished with 23 receptions, one behind team leader Wes Fulton.

Kicker Conrad Cassidy connected on 16 of 19 field goal attempts, including a game-winner at Salisbury with 20 seconds remaining. The junior from Swedesboro, NJ earned a spot on the All-Solecismic first team.

Defensive Highlights
I need to apologize to our defense for holding them in such contempt at the beginning of the season. They were as poor at defending against the pass as I had feared, but they turned out to be very good at snuffing out our opponent's ground games.

I'd expected OLB David Holliman to be our best defensive player. Holliman was good, but the man who lined up beside him, fellow senior Britt Bratsch, had an incredible season. Second in the nation in tackles, the senior from Fort Washington, MD was the Solecismic Eight Defensive Player of the Year, a first team All-Solecismic selection...and a second team All-American. His contributions will be nearly impossible to replace.

Senior defensive end Jake Caldwell led the conference with 11 sacks. Bennie Hutton, a junior safety, turned out to be a disruptive force against the run, dropping opposing ballcarriers for losses 11 times. He also raced 86 yards for a pick-six against Miami.

In the Classroom
I'm very proud of how our players performed academically. The team's GPA of 3.27 was second best in the country. We ranked ninth in Undergraduate Average, which probably figures in the difficulty of our players' majors. The schools that finished ahead of us were top-tier academic institutions: Stanford, Rice, Northwestern, Duke, Michigan, Virginia, California, and Georgia Tech. That's the kind of company we want to keep.

Billy Scutaro might not be a very good quarterback, but he's a brainy one. A Business major, he earned a perfect 4.00 GPA. Another starter, OLB Cris Shannon, also earned a 4.00 (Social Work), but neither he nor Scutaro made the conference Academic Team. WR Alexander Zaoussis (3.88, Medicine), DE Jake Caldwell (3.94, Metallurgy), and DBs Danny Franklin (3.94, Journalism) and Joseph Lathon (3.80, Computer Science) did earn that recognition.

09-17-2022, 10:45 AM	#3
MoonlightGraham High School Varsity Join Date: Sep 2022	The 2004 Season My first Chevy Chase team proved the doubters who said they were the second-worst team in the country wrong. We opened the season with three non-conference losses, two of which could have been wins if we had been better at holding on to the football. We lost a fumble deep in UConn territory with three minutes left on the clock, and an exciting drive late in the San Jose State game ended when a pass into their end zone was picked off. In fact, we were only routed twice: by Miami and Auburn. Otherwise, we provided our fans with exciting football. And, we ended the season on a good note by winning our last two games. Offensive Highlights Kendrick Fulton tore up his elbow in the San Jose State game, and I thought our chances for a decent season ended when Kendrick went under the surgeon's knife. Moved to left tackle from his natural center position, Fulton was our most talented O-lineman, by a wide margin. Our running game turned out to be decent anyway. Running backs Marty Heise and Bobby Grider combined to rush for over 1300 yards, freshman Grider averaging over five yards per carry. Once I remembered how to adjust the game plan to get fullback Hardy Strong more carries, he gave us a third good ball carrier. Also an effective blocker, Strong made the All-Solecismic first team. He was joined on the first team by center Bobby Sheldon, who was as good as we hoped he would be; he succeeded on over 40 percent of his run blocking assignments. Guard Craig Wayne and tight end Cole Hoover were second team All-Conference selections, receiving credit for their contributions to our ground attack. Quarterback Billy Scutaro was, statisically, the second-worst passer in the nation. He threw 18 interceptions and only three TD passes. As a result, I made recruiting a QB a high priority. We'll see how that turned out soon. Freshman WR Vinny Cineux proved to be a deep threat, averaging 21.0 yards per reception. He finished with 23 receptions, one behind team leader Wes Fulton. Kicker Conrad Cassidy connected on 16 of 19 field goal attempts, including a game-winner at Salisbury with 20 seconds remaining. The junior from Swedesboro, NJ earned a spot on the All-Solecismic first team. Defensive Highlights I need to apologize to our defense for holding them in such contempt at the beginning of the season. They were as poor at defending against the pass as I had feared, but they turned out to be very good at snuffing out our opponent's ground games. I'd expected OLB David Holliman to be our best defensive player. Holliman was good, but the man who lined up beside him, fellow senior Britt Bratsch, had an incredible season. Second in the nation in tackles, the senior from Fort Washington, MD was the Solecismic Eight Defensive Player of the Year, a first team All-Solecismic selection...and a second team All-American. His contributions will be nearly impossible to replace. Senior defensive end Jake Caldwell led the conference with 11 sacks. Bennie Hutton, a junior safety, turned out to be a disruptive force against the run, dropping opposing ballcarriers for losses 11 times. He also raced 86 yards for a pick-six against Miami. In the Classroom I'm very proud of how our players performed academically. The team's GPA of 3.27 was second best in the country. We ranked ninth in Undergraduate Average, which probably figures in the difficulty of our players' majors. The schools that finished ahead of us were top-tier academic institutions: Stanford, Rice, Northwestern, Duke, Michigan, Virginia, California, and Georgia Tech. That's the kind of company we want to keep. Billy Scutaro might not be a very good quarterback, but he's a brainy one. A Business major, he earned a perfect 4.00 GPA. Another starter, OLB Cris Shannon, also earned a 4.00 (Social Work), but neither he nor Scutaro made the conference Academic Team. WR Alexander Zaoussis (3.88, Medicine), DE Jake Caldwell (3.94, Metallurgy), and DBs Danny Franklin (3.94, Journalism) and Joseph Lathon (3.80, Computer Science) did earn that recognition.