SHAPE’s Zack Rabiego intercepts a pass in the closing seconds to end the final hopes of the Lakenheath Lancers on Saturday. The pass was intended for Justin Fisher, on the ground. SHAPE won the season opener for both teams, 14-7. (Ron Jensen / S&S)
SHAPE’s Zack Rabiego intercepts a pass in the closing seconds to end the final hopes of the Lakenheath Lancers on Saturday. The pass was intended for Justin Fisher, on the ground. SHAPE won the season opener for both teams, 14-7. (Ron Jensen / S&S)
Lakenheath quarterback Wesley Kleniec (17) hands the ball to Jeremiah Walker during their game against SHAPE on Saturday. (Ron Jensen / S&S)
RAF LAKENHEATH, England — Quenten Fowler will not soon forget his first football game.
The 180-pound junior running back scored touchdowns on offense and defense Saturday to lead SHAPE to a 14-7 victory over Lakenheath in a nonconference game that opened the seasons for both teams.
“Never played a down of football before in his life,” SHAPE coach Kregg Kappenman said of Fowler, who previously had played only basketball.
Fowler scored the game’s first points with a 75-yard run around right end with less than 30 seconds remaining until halftime, and Fernando Barron’s extra point gave SHAPE a 7-0 lead. Fowler finished with 95 yards on only five carries.
In the third quarter, Fowler intercepted a pass from Lancers quarterback Wesley Kleniec and rambled in for a second score. Barron again added the PAT for a 14-0 lead.
Lakenheath wouldn’t quit in Dan Achenbach’s first game as head coach. Turning up the tough defense they played throughout the contest, the Lancers shut down SHAPE for most of the the second half.
Unfortunately, their offense struggled until a fourth-quarter pass from Kleniec to Keon Miller, who had four receptions for 67 yards, put the ball at the SHAPE 5-yard line. Two plays later, Kleniec slipped into the end zone and Ben Green’s PAT cut the lead to 14-7 with less than four minutes left.
“I knew they’d never give up,” said Kappenman, starting his fifth year as coach of the Division II defending champions.
“It says a lot about our seniors we have on our team. They wouldn't let them quit,” Achenbach said.
The Lancers again held and forced the Spartans to punt with 1:35 left in the game. A 37-yard pass from Kleniec to Chuck Pope put the ball on the 8-yard line, but four passes into the end zone failed to connect. The final one was intercepted by SHAPE’s Zack Rabiego to seal the victory.
Kleniec finished 13-for-28 with 164 yards and two interceptions.
Both coaches found things to like.
“What I saw was a lot of young kids learning on the job,” Kappenman said. “They really grew up a lot.”
Kappenman, who lost 15 seniors from last year’s title team, has several young players and some older players, too, like Fowler, who had never played football.
“I think the kids went out and played pretty hard,” Achenbach said. “That’s something a coach likes to see.”
