Impact win title via shutout By SAM WILSON - Salamanca Pres OLEAN — The Southern Tier Diesel had its chances, but could never catch up with the Finger Lakes Impact, dropping the NFA AA Championship 18-0 at Bradner Stadium Saturday afternoon. Impact coach Jeff Teed said his team had an advantage in running a similar four-wide offense to the one the Diesel used this year. “We’ve been seeing it all year practicing against ourselves,” Teed said. “A lot of the teams in our conference run the same offense, so we have a lot of experience against it.” Impact quarterback Jessie Higgins completed 15 of 25 attempts for a touchdown to Christian Miller and ran for another. “It’s huge having a guy who can throw the ball like that because defenses can’t stuff the box to stop our run,” Teed said. “So if they do, we just drop back and throw the ball, which is a huge advantage for us.” Impact running back Kevin Hartsfield carried the ball 15 times for 76 yards and one touchdown. Trailing 12-0 in the second quarter, the Diesel drove to as close as the Impact’s 3-yard-line, but stalled in the red zone for a turnover on downs. Defensive back Keith Adams provided a spark with an interception of Higgins, as Diesel runners Anthony Poole, Fred Knight and Chad Hancock led a 10-play drive that stopped with another failed fourth down attempt at the Impact’s 22. Impact defender Bryan Teed effectively ended the Diesel’s hopes with a sack of quarterback Zack Smith for a loss of 15 yards, pushing the Diesel out of the red zone. “I saw maybe one speck of intensity throughout the game, but that was it,” Diesel coach J.R. Bennion said. “Other than that, it was just a flat game all the way through.” The Impact’s win marks the team’s first league championship after winning three conference titles. “All that matters to me is winning the game,” Jeff Teed said. “I don’t care about stats, I don’t care about who does that, but when these guys play, we’re one big team. As long as the scoreboard says we win, I’m happy. “I couldn’t be happier for these guys,” he added as players swarmed around the championship trophy. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Posted on: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 19:29:48 +0000