SCAB Report

Leathermen Can't Hang with Convicts, Again

When each of the quarterbacks on the first two opposing teams of the tournament were considered better, State Pen quarterback Lou Skannon might have taken umbrage. In both cases Skannon led the Convicts in romps with lots of passing. When the opposing quarterback was Demetrius Award winner Payne Indiass, league passing leader the past two seasons, Skannon may have acquiesced in the comparison. But Skannon topped this most illustrious counterpart, because the Convicts had a mismatch no one quite expected, and Skannon and his play-callers exploited it all day: State Pen freshman wide receiver Hollis Assaway.

Skannon had Indiass-like numbers, 342 yards and 4 TDs passing, because the Leathermen could not keep up with Assaway. Assaway caught 14 passes for 179 yards and a TD, and he opened up passing to others, like RB Moe Lester, who had 4 catches for 60 yards. RB Eubie Dedd, who rushed for 90 yards, caught a TD pass, as did TE Roman Noir and WR Ike Hill. And Skannon even took a page out of Indiass's recent history, streaking 35 yards on a run to set up a 21-yard TD pass to Assaway on the next play.

In 1998, when these two teams also met in the championship, the Convicts had the bigger stars at almost every position: QB Upton O'Good, RB Ernesto Hornets, WR Mel Fraud. DeSade was a lesser version of the league powerhouse. But this time, with Indiass leading DeSade to an undefeated regular season and the no. 1 ranking, the Convicts have come with two sensational freshmen to pull off an even more impressive victory, possibly usurping the Leathermen, and bringing in a championship right away, the 3rd for State Pen. DeSade is still looking for their first, and the Convicts have ruined both of their chances in the title game.

Look out, league, for things to come. State Pen proved vulnerable in a 16-14 loss to Grandma Jones the second to last week of the season, but they made DeSade S&M look mediocre.

Indiass still managed 229 yards passing, but it was just as much an exercise in futility as Our Lady's had been against DeSade in the Eastern Semi. In the first quarter, down 7-3, the Leathermen went for the first down on a 4th and 1 at the State Pen 43-yard line. The Convicts trapped RB Lou Netique for a 1-yard loss. The next two plays were Skannon's big run -- exactly what the Convicts had to fear from Indiass after his 62-yard TD jaunt against Our Lady -- and the TD strike to Assaway. At the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Leathermen, down 24-3, drove to the State Pen 10. On 3rd down, RB Rod Wyler burst 8 yards to the 1. On 4th down, however, Indiass's pass was batted away in the back of the end zone. Their receivers, including all-SCAB TE Phil Awful, thwarted all day by the Convict coverage, the Leathermen would not cross the goal line.

Indiass completed only 18 of 39 passes, well below his league best 72% during the season, and the Leathermen went three downs and out several times, including on their first drive of the game, after more auspiciously forcing the Convicts to do the same. But when the Convicts got the ball again, freshman phenom Dedd broke a 29-yard run, and Skannon hit Assaway for 17 yards to the DeSade 11. Three plays later, Hill caught a 7-yard TD pass.

Indiass came right back on the next drive and looked as impressive as he was supposed to, firing 5 straight completions, for 21, 13, 9, 12 and 14 yards, moving DeSade to the State Pen 14. But on the next play, Indiass was sacked for a 12-yard loss. He tried to take off on the next play, his receivers smothered again, but found the Convicts much quicker than anyone he'd faced, possibly than he thought. He got back to the line of scrimmage. The next play, his pass wisely sailed over Leathermen and close Convicts alike, and DeSade settled for a 43-yard field goal by Howard Ulaikit. At the time, it seemed only a minor setback from a good response. No one expected it would be the only points the mighty DeSade offense would muster.

After the Convicts' 2-play TD drive, they stepped on the throat of the Leathermen. Indiass threw a 15-yard pass to freshman WR Nash Teeth, but then 2 more incompletions after a 1-yard loss by RB Rod Wyler. The Convicts started at their own 28 after the punt. Lester busted 16 yards. Skannon hit Assaway for 11 yards, then found Lester in stride for 21 yards down to the DeSade 24. After an offsided penalty on DeSade and an incompletion, Skannon threw 12 yards to Assaway to the 7. Then, after losing a yard, Skannon found TE Roman Noir in the end zone, and the Convicts, after the extra point, had a commanding 21-3 lead. They would score again on their next possession, a 33-yard Rudy Day field goal, but that made it four scoring strikes in a row after failing only on their first possession. They were driving again -- were at the DeSade 37 -- when the half ended.

The Leathermen managed to stem the tide, if at least on the scoreboard. On their first possession of the 2nd half, after forcing DeSade to punt again, the Convicts drove to the DeSade 9, where the Leathermen dropped Dedd for a loss of 1 on 4th down. But in the 4th quarter, after the Convicts forced turnover on downs at their own 1, they marched right back, 99 yards, to top it all off. On 2nd down from the 7, Skannon found Noir for 22 yards. The biggest play was a 30-yard pass to Assaway to the DeSade 19. And Skannon and Dedd capped it with a 12-yard TD pass play.

Assaway was named the Most Valuable Player.

State Pen, after wins in 1997 and '98, joins Kootsville Tech. and Whooperville A&M as a 3-time champion. Puke, with 5 championships, is the only team with more.

SCAB Championship Tournament

Season Honors