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Ground game carries Arcadia
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Still undefeated and still in the title hunt, top-ranked Arcadia used a powerful running attack to oust visiting Douglas, 42-21, on Thursday in the first round of the 4A Division II playoffs.
Needing to convert a fourth-and-inches at the Douglas 45-yard line, Chip Sivak took the hand off and took it to the end zone to set the tone for his big night. Sivak finished with 271 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.
"Chip's a good one," Arcadia coach Jim Bevell said. "We felt there were areas where we could attack and Chip is very elusive and was able to hit and bounce."
Douglas (5-6) tied it with 2:07 left in the first quarter after a muffed punt gave the Bulldogs a short field to work with.
Sivak answered with a 67-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 14-7 lead after one period.
"It’s all the offensive line," Sivak said. "They make the holes and I have the easy job just running through them."
Sivak wasn't the only one to benefit from good blocking. Quarterback Alec McDuffie reeled off a 93-yard touchdown run during his 12-carry, 181-yard night.
Arcadia continued to punish the Bulldogs on the ground. A 43-yard run by Sivak set up a 23-yard keeper up the middle by McDuffie.
“Sometimes I see an opportunity at the line and my center sees it and I just take the snap and run," McDuffie said.
Despite rushing for 334 yards in the first half, poor tackling on kickoffs by Arcadia led to long returns by Jacob Tadeo and the Bulldogs took advantage to stay close, 28-21, at halftime.
"We made a lot of mistakes and gave them the ball in the red zone too often," McDuffie said.
“We responded well and our defense did a great job in the second half.”
Both defenses stepped it up resulting in a scoreless third quarter.
“They (Douglas) had to win their last two games to get into the playoffs," Bevell said. "We saw right away on films that they play hard and don't give up.
“Bad penalties have been an ongoing thing, but this was the first time our special teams broke down and Douglas took advantage of it. They're a good team.”
McDuffie made his only completion of the night a good one. He hit Philip Dodd for a 40-yard score. After a couple of big sacks by the Titan defense, Sivak delivered the knockout with a 45-yard run to set up a 5-yard scoring run by McDuffie.
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