MONROE - Senior fullback Isaac Allen enjoyed the early returns of being a part of Monroe's wing-t trifecta in the Cheesemakers' season-opening 42-13 nonconference win over Portage Friday night.
Allen rushed for 144 yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns. He was one of three running backs to eclipse 100 yards. Monroe gashed the Warriors for 505 total rushing yards and had 11 runs of 15 yards or more.
"I attribute it to the line," said Allen, who broke a tackle on a 26-yard TD run in the third quarter. "They sucked it up. They worked hard, and we repaid them."
Senior running back Cole Murray rushed for 149 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Senior Jacob Kind racked up 119 rushing yards and scored one touchdown. Kind hobbled off the field with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter and didn't return.
"He's dynamic," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said of Kind. "It was just a precaution. We had some kids cramping up late in the game. By installing a new offense we may have lost sight of the conditioning."
Golembiewski was excited to see the Cheesemakers rack up more than 500 rushing yards.
"All three of those guys (running backs) have the capability to go pretty far pretty fast," he said. "You have to give credit to the line for knocking shoulder pads and making the openings at the first and second levels. Once they do their job, it's a track meet."
Despite the strong opener, Allen wasn't satisfied.
"It's really good to win," he said. "I thought we easily could have done better. I think we were out of shape a little bit. We have spent a lot of time installing a new offense. I think we came out and worked hard, and this is the result."
It wasn't a complete steamroll by the Cheesemakers. Portage senior quarterback Trent Belleau capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive by tossing a 5-yard TD pass to Grant Garrigan to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead with 7:56 to go in the first quarter.
It didn't take Monroe long to answer. Kind bolted for a 49-yard TD run on the Cheesemakers' first offensive play. Senior Alex Tordoff caught a two-point conversion pass to give the Cheesemakers an 8-7 lead.
The Cheesemakers' nine-play, 91-yard drive that started in the first quarter culminated in Murray's 3-yard TD run in the second quarter to give Monroe a 15-7 lead. The big plays of the drive were senior quarterback Tyler Elmer's 18-yard run and Kind's 58-yard run. Elmer then directed a 12-play, 61-yard drive, capped off by his own 2-yard TD run with 4:49 to go in the second quarter. Monroe junior Dempzy Foley missed a 52-yard field goal attempt before the half, and the Cheesemakers led 22-7.
It didn't take Monroe long to get rolling in the second half. The Cheesemakers punctuated a four-play, 69-yard drive with Allen rumbling for a 26-yard TD run to give the Cheesemakers a commanding 29-7 lead early in the third quarter. The scoring drive was set up by Allen's 38-yard run.
The Warriors answered with a 10-play, 77-yard drive, culminating in Portage's Austin Niemisto bowling in for a 2-yard TD run to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 29-13.
Allen answered with a 38-yard TD run, and Murray raced for a 59-yard TD run to put the game away.
There were positives to build from. The Cheesemakers were 7 of 13 converting third downs, and piling up more than 500 rushing yards is a great start. Elmer rushed for 85 yards on 11 carries and scored one touchdown. He completed 1 of 6 passes for 10 yards.
Belleau completed 17 of 26 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions for the Warriors.
There were some areas Golembiewski would like the Cheesemakers to fine-tune. Despite defending almost 30 passes, the only sack for the Cheesemakers came from junior Travis Wolf.
"We would have liked to have had more sacks," Golembiewski said. "We talked about that kid (Belleau) and he is a legit player. When you are out there running around on defense the whole time and you have some short drives on offense it wears on you. We will have to do a better job of covering and stopping them. It's out there on tape now and other teams will see that. It's something we have to clean up. They didn't let it get us down. We came back (with Kind's TD run) run and answered the bell."
The Cheesemakers had three fumbled snaps, but lost just one fumble, and committed seven penalties for 50 yards.
Allen rushed for 144 yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns. He was one of three running backs to eclipse 100 yards. Monroe gashed the Warriors for 505 total rushing yards and had 11 runs of 15 yards or more.
"I attribute it to the line," said Allen, who broke a tackle on a 26-yard TD run in the third quarter. "They sucked it up. They worked hard, and we repaid them."
Senior running back Cole Murray rushed for 149 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Senior Jacob Kind racked up 119 rushing yards and scored one touchdown. Kind hobbled off the field with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter and didn't return.
"He's dynamic," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said of Kind. "It was just a precaution. We had some kids cramping up late in the game. By installing a new offense we may have lost sight of the conditioning."
Golembiewski was excited to see the Cheesemakers rack up more than 500 rushing yards.
"All three of those guys (running backs) have the capability to go pretty far pretty fast," he said. "You have to give credit to the line for knocking shoulder pads and making the openings at the first and second levels. Once they do their job, it's a track meet."
Despite the strong opener, Allen wasn't satisfied.
"It's really good to win," he said. "I thought we easily could have done better. I think we were out of shape a little bit. We have spent a lot of time installing a new offense. I think we came out and worked hard, and this is the result."
It wasn't a complete steamroll by the Cheesemakers. Portage senior quarterback Trent Belleau capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive by tossing a 5-yard TD pass to Grant Garrigan to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead with 7:56 to go in the first quarter.
It didn't take Monroe long to answer. Kind bolted for a 49-yard TD run on the Cheesemakers' first offensive play. Senior Alex Tordoff caught a two-point conversion pass to give the Cheesemakers an 8-7 lead.
The Cheesemakers' nine-play, 91-yard drive that started in the first quarter culminated in Murray's 3-yard TD run in the second quarter to give Monroe a 15-7 lead. The big plays of the drive were senior quarterback Tyler Elmer's 18-yard run and Kind's 58-yard run. Elmer then directed a 12-play, 61-yard drive, capped off by his own 2-yard TD run with 4:49 to go in the second quarter. Monroe junior Dempzy Foley missed a 52-yard field goal attempt before the half, and the Cheesemakers led 22-7.
It didn't take Monroe long to get rolling in the second half. The Cheesemakers punctuated a four-play, 69-yard drive with Allen rumbling for a 26-yard TD run to give the Cheesemakers a commanding 29-7 lead early in the third quarter. The scoring drive was set up by Allen's 38-yard run.
The Warriors answered with a 10-play, 77-yard drive, culminating in Portage's Austin Niemisto bowling in for a 2-yard TD run to slice the Cheesemakers' lead to 29-13.
Allen answered with a 38-yard TD run, and Murray raced for a 59-yard TD run to put the game away.
There were positives to build from. The Cheesemakers were 7 of 13 converting third downs, and piling up more than 500 rushing yards is a great start. Elmer rushed for 85 yards on 11 carries and scored one touchdown. He completed 1 of 6 passes for 10 yards.
Belleau completed 17 of 26 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions for the Warriors.
There were some areas Golembiewski would like the Cheesemakers to fine-tune. Despite defending almost 30 passes, the only sack for the Cheesemakers came from junior Travis Wolf.
"We would have liked to have had more sacks," Golembiewski said. "We talked about that kid (Belleau) and he is a legit player. When you are out there running around on defense the whole time and you have some short drives on offense it wears on you. We will have to do a better job of covering and stopping them. It's out there on tape now and other teams will see that. It's something we have to clean up. They didn't let it get us down. We came back (with Kind's TD run) run and answered the bell."
The Cheesemakers had three fumbled snaps, but lost just one fumble, and committed seven penalties for 50 yards.
