The football was on the ground near midfield for anyone to grab after Campbellsport stripped it out of St. Mary’s Springs quarterback Ben Anderson’s hands.
The Cougars were unable to recover it and it stayed with the Ledgers. Just a few plays later, Jack Holzmann was running into the end zone from 10 yards out right before halftime.
The series of events happened in the second quarter, but was the turning point in the game that helped Springs beat Campbellsport 28-14 from Dan O’Brien Field on Friday night.
The Anderson fumble was nearly back-to-back turnovers for the senior, for he threw an interception on the previous drive that helped get Campbellsport back into the game.
Campbellsport’s Luke Pendowski got the interception and returned it about 40 yards into Ledgers territory.
Cougars running back Trenton Schladweiler scored less than a minute later on a 4-yard touchdown run, which cut the Springs’ lead to 14-7.
Had Campbellsport (4-2 overall, 2-2 in Flyway) been able to recover the Anderson fumble, it would have had the ball on the Ledgers’ side of the field with about three minutes to work. Instead, Springs extended the lead to 21-7 before half.
Holzmann’s TD was his second of the game. He took a handoff on the Ledgers first play from scrimmage for a 51-yard TD.
“We’ve been working on that all week,” Holzmann said. “We know we hadn’t run it in any other games so they hadn’t seen it in film and we were trying to catch them off guard. I just saw the big hole and I just went as fast as I could.
“I just try to bring energy. I just try to bring big plays, hype my guys up, get us going when we need some points.”
In addition to his two scores, Holzmann also had an interception, which came eight seconds before halftime.
Springs (6-0, 4-0) dominated other than the two-minute stretch in the second. Anderson had two rushing touchdowns.
The first was a 6-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. His second score, a short TD plunge, capped off a long drive that was aided by two Campbellsport personal foul penalties in the third quarter.
Holzmann said the team trusts Anderson to get the ball where it needs to go.
“We have total confidence in him,” Holzmann said. “He’s our No. 1 playmaker, he’s our best runner and he always does the right play. We can always trust him to get the ball where it needs to go.
“Ultimate confidence in Ben.”
Running back Christopher Taddey was a bright spot for Campbellsport in the second half. He had several runs of more than five yards.
PHOTO GALLERY: Springs at Campbellsport football - 9/27/2024
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