EAU CLAIRE -- A persistent rain and cold temperatures kept most of the fans away, but it didn't keep the Chippewa Valley defense from another dominating performance as the Predators beat the Superior Stampede, 15-10, in Northern Elite Football League action Saturday night at Carson Park.
The defense accounted for all of Chippewa Valley's scoring, as two second-quarter interception returns for touchdowns and a third-quarter safety made up for a lack of offensive firepower.
"They're the best defense in the league. Hands down," fourth-year Preds quarterback Keldric Stokes said. "They keep us in ball games. They won this game for us today."
The defense came up big on several occasions. After a fumble on the Preds' opening possession gave Superior a first-and-10 at Chippewa Valley's 13-yard line, defensive back Josh Kasuboski blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt. The Preds also would fumble away their next possession near midfield, but Stampede running back Kevin Guillory was stuffed on a fourth-and-2 attempt to give the ball back to the Predators.
Near the end of the first quarter, Chippewa Valley's Tyler Benoit fumbled to give Superior the ball at the Preds' 14, but the defense tightened again to surrender only a field goal.
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With its offense inert, Chippewa Valley was in need of a spark. Minutes into the second quarter, it got one as linebacker Jeff Hazuga picked off Stampede quarterback Dave White and rumbled along the sideline for a touchdown.
With less than 2 minutes left in the half, Cory Brown also took an interception back 24 yards to give the Preds all the scoring they needed and a 13-3 halftime lead.
"They totally stepped up," head coach Martin Adams said about his defense. "They faced adverse situations and I'm proud of them today."
"I can't say enough about our defense," added Brown. "Every week we show up, even if the offense doesn't."
Stokes completed just 6 of 22 pass attempts for Chippewa Valley, while White went 7 of 22 with three costly interceptions as the weather made picking up first downs rare.
"It was horrible," Stokes said about the conditions. "It was like throwing a greased pig."
Superior put together a nearly 7-minute drive in the third quarter that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ryan DeZurick, but it would not get past its own 30-yard line the entire fourth quarter as the Preds ground game drained the clock.
Guillory entered the game as the NEFL's leading rusher with 366 yards, but was held to just 59 yards on 22 attempts Saturday. C.J. Okogeri led Chippewa Valley with 36 yards on the ground.
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The win kept the Preds perfect at 4-0 and atop the NEFL's Western Division. They host the Minnesota Pheonix next Saturday before a bye week and then a re-match with the Eau Claire Crush.
"We have to continue to play hard, our offense has to pick it up and then we'll be fine," said Stokes.
Predators 15, Superior Stampede 10
Superior 0 3 7 0 -- 10
Preds 0 13 2 0 -- 15
Second Quarter
SU -- Ben Blomdahl 22 field goal, 13:04.
CV -- Jeff Hazuga 25 interception return (Weston Kirby extra point good), 10:03.
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CV -- Cory Brown 26 interception return (extra point blocked), 1:24.
Third Quarter
CV -- Safety, blocked punt out of endzone, 11:51.
SU -- Dave White 16 pass to Ryan DeZurick (Blomdahl kick), 1:46.
CV SU
First downs 9 8
Net yards 165 139
by rushing (att-yds) 32-105 36-89
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by passing 60 50
Passes (comp-att-int) 6-22-0 7-21-3
Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-1
Penalties-yards 5-42 6-50
Individual Statistics
RUSHING (att-yds) -- Superior: Kevin Guillory 22-59, Joe Dupree 11-28. Chippewa Valley: C.J. Okogeri 10-36, Jonathan Maxwell 7-20, Tyler Benoit 5-17, Keldric Stokes, 7-28.
PASSING (comp-att-int-yds) -- Superior: Dave White 7-21. Chippewa Valley: Stokes 6-22.
RECEIVING (rec-yds) -- Superior: Kelly Katoski 2-14, Sean Gallagher 2-13, Ryan DeZurick 1-16. Chippewa Valley: Anthony Saincilaire 2-34, C.J. Jones 1-15, Jeff Hazuga 1-5, Maxwell 1-6.
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INTERCEPTIONS (tot-yds) -- Chippewa Valley: Cory Brown 1-26, Jeff Hazuga 1-25, Josh Kasuboski 1-15.
-- Copyright (c) 2009, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis./Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
