Ferris strikes hard, quick and often in opener

The Ferris Saxons Football team opened the 2009 GSL season against the NC Indians.  If any other GSL teams were watching, be afraid, be very afraid.  The Saxons scored at will, smothered the Indians in the first half defensively and put together a nice win for Coach Sharkey's 4th season opener.

The Saxon defense scored first by getting the teams first (of two!!) safety.  On the ensuing possession the Saxons drove down to the 2 yard line and QB Connor Halliday ran it in for the first TD of the season.  From there, the Saxons scored on every possession and poured it on the bewildered Indians.

At the end of the first quarter it was 31-0 - THE FIRST QUARTER - my goodness.  While there was a lot of anticipation heading into the first game of the season, it really ended up being anti-climactic as NC was outmanned in every facet of the game.  The Saxons seemed to be bigger and faster at all positions.  One bright point for the Indians was their quarterback who struggled but suffered from a number of dropped passes.

For the Saxons, Jordan Tonani, Connor Halliday and  Jason Bates all looked to be leaders on the field and were "man among boys".  Tonani had 3 TD's, Halliday threw for nearly 300 yards on 10 passes, and Bates caught nearly 200 of those yards.  It was an impressive effort by the Ferris offense, for sure.

OLD MAN MINN NOTES:  This game was over before it ever got started - two safeties in the first quarter??? NC was just overmatched, plain and simple....Two guys that aren't talked about that much that we should keep an eye on this season - RB Brendon Olson and Slot Receiver Beau Bozett - Olson ran hard, north and south, showed good control and was impressive, while Beau Bozett showed good patience while running, flashes of speed and great hands.....Backup QB, Ben Goodwin got his first snaps as a Saxon and showed some poise and touch with the ball as he hit Bozett in stride for a TD pass....thanks GOD for the second half running clock rule this year...Finally, I would say the Saxons looked primed on offense, while the defense albeit was strong, showed some areas that they could improve upon.

Click here to take a look at game and season statistics

Next for the Saxon is the Gonzaga Bullpups - winners last week over EV 49-3.