Saturday, September 14, 2002

Valparaiso, Ind. - Campbellsville broke open a close game with 28 fourth-quarter points and went on to defeat Valpo 57-28. The Crusaders (0-2) did receive productive games from quarterback David Macchi and wide receiver Rob Giancola. Macchi, a junior from San Jose, Cal., completed 17 of 31 passes for 283 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. Giancola, a sophomore from Whiting, Ind., caught five passes for 121 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown from Macchi in the fourth quarter.

J.C. Savasuk threw four touchdown passes for the Fighting Tigers (1-1). The senior completed 14 of 24 passes for 266 yards and rushed for 46 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. Savasuk's favorite target was Shane Riley, who caught five passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Campbellsville also had a solid ground game as Derek Skaggs rushed for 105 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries. The Fighting Tigers finished with 296 rushing yards.

Valpo's Adam Hudak opened the scoring with a career-high 45-yard field goal with 10:52 left in the first quarter. The senior from Lowell, Ind. added a 27-yarder to give the Crusaders a 6-0 lead at the 6:12 mark of the opening quarter.

Campbellsville tied the score at 6-6 when Savasuk connected with Josh Morton on a 61-yard touchdown pass. After a 15-yard celebration penalty, Valpo blocked the extra point kick attempt. The Fighting Tigers took a 13-6 lead when Savasuk tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Paul Mandeville in the first minute of the second quarter.

The Fighting Tigers increased their advantage to 26-6 with two scores three minutes apart in the second quarter. Skaggs completed an eight-play drive with a one-yard plunge and Riley hauled in a 10-yard pass from Savasuk with 5:08 remaining before halftime.

The Crusaders closed the deficit to 26-20 with two touchdowns in the final minute of the first half. Bryan Hollermeier, a senior from Denver, Colo., finished an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard run. Macchi completed five of six passes on the drive, including a 20-yarder to Giancola and a 20-yarder to Kevin Knutson to the one-yard line. After Valpo's defense stopped Campbellsville on three plays, Kevin Schaekel blocked a punt that John Tsahas returned three yards for a touchdown.

Campbellsville added to its lead with a 29-yard field goal by Donnie Johnson for the only third-quarter points. Savasuk scored from 1-yard and then threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Riley to expand the Fighting Tigers' lead to 43-20 with 10:30 left in the game.

Macchi responded about a minute later with a 63-yard scoring pass to Giancola. Ryan Barno added a two-point conversion reception from Macchi. Campbellsville scored its final 14 points on a 41-yard scamper by Brian Rowland and an 11-yard run by Alan Short with 20 seconds remaining.

Campbellsville finished with 562 yards to 325 for Valpo. The Fighting Tigers recorded 27 first downs to 17 for the Crusaders. Neither team committed a turnover. Lawrence Canada led the Crusaders with 11 1/2 tackles. Brad Smeja returned a punt 38 yards for Valpo.

Valpo plays at Tennessee Tech next Saturday at noon CT.