Tornado have no answer for Titans
SHALER TWP — The Butler offense was silenced Friday night.
So was its coach.
Shaler generated three touchdowns and J.P. Holtz ran for more than 100 yards before the Golden Tornado managed a first down. The Titans wound up with a 30-6 homecoming triumph.
"I don't know what to say. I'm speechless," Butler coach Jim Rankin said. "This was an uninspired performance by us.
"We should have been competitive with this team and we weren't. We have to play better. We have to coach better."
The loss marked Butler's 19th in a row and its eighth consecutive defeat by Shaler (3-2, 1-1).
"I've got three sophomores starting along the offensive line and they experienced consistent success for the first time tonight," Titans coach Neil Gordon said. "That's a big plus for us."
Holtz rushed for 112 of his 114 yards in the first half, scoring on touchdown runs of 18 yards and one yard.
Ryan Mincher threw for 109 yards, including a pair of touchdown passes to Joe Jackson.
"Holtz is a horse. You're talking about a 6-foot-4, 228-pound tailback with some speed," Gordon said. "Give him some open field, he's going to hurt you."
Butler (0-5, 0-3) picked up its initial first down with three minutes left in the half, trailing 20-0. The Tornado moved the ball to the Shaler 31 on that possession, but Zach Rader was intercepted on a fourth-down pass.
Jordan Lumley replaced Rader in the second half. Runs of 19 yards by Trevor Wideman and 11 yards by Demetrius Lockley helped Butler earn a first-and-goal at the Shaler 10-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. Butler then turned the ball over on downs.
The Tornado averted the shutout on the game's final play as sophomore Jordan Cratty found fellow sophomore Jacob Alston in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
Because it was the final play, there was no PAT attempt.
"I'm miffed right now because our offense should be much farther along than it is," Rankin said. "We're not blocking anybody. Our pass protection was a problem again."
Butler recovered three Shaler fumbles. David Hohn recovered a Holtz fumble near midfield to end the game's first possession, but the Tornado offense went three-and-out.
Matt Pribis recovered another Holtz fumble at the Tornado 5-yard line with the game still scoreless. But another three-and-out, followed by a short punt, set up the Titans for a brief 36-yard scoring drive.
Dalton Hayes picked up Butler's other fumble recovery.
The Tornado have been outscored 157-27 in 2010.
"We're executing fine and are still working hard in practice, but it's not translating over to Friday nights," Rankin said.
