Taking down Townsend

RONAN - They'd better start checking Ronan for weapons of mass

destruction. Behind excellent play from the offensive and defensive

lines, the Chiefs downed the third-ranked team in the state 51-19

last Friday at home while showcasing some excellent backs wearing

the "R" helmets.

RONAN - They'd better start checking Ronan for weapons of mass destruction. Behind excellent play from the offensive and defensive lines, the Chiefs downed the third-ranked team in the state 51-19 last Friday at home while showcasing some excellent backs wearing the "R" helmets.

"Sometimes it's hard to decide who to give the ball to," Ronan head coach Jim Benn said.

Ronan had a 60-yard scoring drive of eight plays on their opening possession, capped by senior quarterback Robbie Gauthier's 10-yard touchdown run with 8:52 in the first quarter.

And that only opened the floodgates.

After the defense forced Townsend to punt on their first possession, the Chiefs marched down the field with senior running back Jake Skelton scoring with 2:59 left in the first. Skelton bowled over and through three defenders from nine yards out to score. The collision even broke the ribs of a Townsend defender.

The Bulldogs would score 10 seconds into the second quarter, but Skelton struck again with a seven-yard touchdown run at the 8:20 mark to make it 22-7.

Ronan's up-tempo offense caught their opponent off-guard.

"I think it's new to some of these teams," Benn said. "We don't have it for very long. We won't win the time of possession but our kids take a lot of pride into this fast-paced offense."

Townsend couldn't answer and back-to-back sacks by Robert Faoa and Colby Roberts effectively ended their drive.

Gauthier made them pay, hooking up a 36-yard pass to receiver Marcus "The Jet" Hungerford for the touchdown with 41.6 seconds to go in the half.

The 28-7 lead going into the third quarter looked like things were on lockdown. The feeling increased when Skelton scored his third touchdown of the day, running in from six yards out to give Ronan the 36-7 lead.

Then the turnover bug hit.

"We turn the ball over and they're a good team so they're going to score points," Benn said. "Townsend deserves a lot of credit."

Two fumbles led to two Bulldog touchdowns to make it 36-19. An additional fumble stalled another Chief drive, but some excellent coaching and great defensive plays sealed Townsend's fate. Ronan assistant coach Clayton Curley has seen something in the way the Bulldogs ran their passing plays and instructed his kids to approach it a certain way.

The result? A 40-yard pick six by Carston Baerstch to make it 44-19 with 5:53 left in the game. The Chiefs' defense followed that up with another interception for a touchdown, this time by Gauthier, who took it 60 yards to the house with just four minutes left in the fourth.

"It just kind of finished up the game," Benn said of the back-to-back pick sixes. "Coach Curly had been telling them to do those things and we had been practicing it. That's the kind of stuff that gets kids motivated in practice when things like this happen."

Ronan's running game racked up 326 rushing yards in the game, including senior fullback Chris Clary's 105-yard performance. Hungerford had 91 yards and Skelton added 88.

Gauthier was lethal through the air, going 4-for-5 for 57 yards and added 34 yards on the ground. For the third straight game, it was the line on both sides of the ball that helped the Chiefs to success.

"They're a good group of kids," Benn said of his line. "They are a unit and they come every day with their lunch pail."

Ronan doesn't get any break for their fourth game of the season. They'll face Manhattan, which was ranked No. 6 in the AP poll before defeating Boulder last week 41-28.

"They are a wing-t team that runs a very similar offensive scheme to what we run," Benn said. "They have an excellent quarterback who is a true dual threat. Defensively they are sound and rally to the football very well."