BITBURG, Germany — By the slimmest of margins, the Vicenza Cougars overcame a second-half Bitburg rally Saturday to advance to the semifinals of DODDS-Europe’s 2014 football postseason.
After knocking out the Barons 33-32, the Cougars will face unbeaten Ansbach, the top-team in Division II, in the second round of the postseason.
Vicenza charged out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter on a pair of deep strikes by Mario Molina. On the opening drive, Molina hit Peter Toves in stride to put the visitors up by a score. A little over seven minutes later, Molina found Adrian Guerrero for a 40-yard catch and run and the Cougars’ second trip to the end zone in as many possessions.
Bitburg, meanwhile, was unable to generate momentum on offense, turning the ball over on downs on their first two possessions. Bitburg’s third possession was cut short when Bezzy Calunggay picked off a wobbly pass.
The Cougars were unable to capitalize on the effort as both squads’ offenses stumbled through a second quarter marred by turnovers.
“In the first quarter, we went up strong and then we got cocky,” said Maxwell Monnard, who swapped out with Molina to take over quarterback duties late in the game. “We thought we had the game right there. But we didn’t.”
Six minutes into the second half, Bitburg found the end zone for the first time. Less than eight minutes later, they were up 24-14, largely due to Curtiss Wilson’s ability to slip through holes to run the ball down the middle.
After a stellar first half tossing the ball, Molina took a turn playing receiver and special teams in the second, answering Bitburg’s third score with a 74-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to pull his Cougars back to within four points.
Bitburg’s Wilson answered with a 56-yard run of his own for another Barons’ touchdown to extend their lead. A successful conversion put the Barons up by 12 with eight minutes left.
But after looking listless for the middle two quarters, the Cougars again looked like they were back in it after a time-out pep talk.
Taking over quarterback duties, Monnard hit Molina up the right side for a 55-yard touchdown to bring Vicenza within six.
With seven minutes left, Bitburg coach Mike Laue said they were trying to run down the clock, but also wanted to put up some more points.
Vicenza, though, had other plans. Their attempt at an on-sides kick looked like a failure until the Cougars forced a fumble. With 3:30 left, Toves pounded it in on a 3-yard run to tie the game at 32. Guerrero’s point-after attempt was good for the final margin of victory.
Bitburg’s chance to go back on top was spoiled by another fumble recovered by the Cougars, who had only to run the clock down to preserve the win.
“We gotta keep our guys’ heads in the game, because they lose sight of the game, and that’s how they got some touchdowns on us,” Cougars’ asssistant coach Tony Baker said. “We got lucky” with Bitburg’s late fumbles.
“We made some mental errors,” Laue said. Without the first critical fumble, the Barons would have had to do little more than run out the clock.
Molina, who finished the day with 176 passing and another 170 receiving, said the Cougars learned something they’ll take into next week’s matchup in Ansbach.
“Don’t get cocky. Keep playing hard.”
Twitter: @mattmillham
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