WR Dane Sanzenbacher (official thread)

[utgrad73]

Brandon Saine didn't do much in tonight's playoff game (and he will explode in one of their playoff games). Still Piqua wins 33 - 14, but not without first seeing the Fighting Irish play their hearts out.

I think the real story here is the heart that the Irish showed this game and all season long. Two back to back city championships, a 22 game winning streak, two Irish Knight trophies, one Division II State Championship. The Irish and Dane certainly kept my heart pumping.
Sr WR Dane Sanzenbacher has more heart and natural ability than any player I've ever seen. He went for about 200 yards tonight in receptions, intercepted another setting the Irish up for a key drive and TD, blocked two PAT's, and ran for a TD while playing QB. A pretty good night under the lights. A very good season for an inspiring player and young athlete.

Dane and the Irish have made this Toledo area football fan very proud.
I can't wait to see Dane and Brandon as team-mates. I can't wait to see Dane work his Magic for the Buckeyes and show more of that heart that his fans have come to know these past two seasons.

I'm proud of the all the Fighting Irish and the way they played this season. Thank's for the great season. Thanks for showing us your heart. Thanks for getting mine to beat a little bit faster.



Go TCC Irish. Go Bucs.

[OSUBuckeye4Life]

Originally Posted by utgrad73

He went for about 200 yards tonight in receptions, intercepted another setting the Irish up for a key drive and TD, blocked two FG's, and ran for a TD while playing QB. A pretty good night under the lights. A very good season for an inspiring player and young athlete.

[RB07OSU]

Sanzenbacher looked amazing tonight and was just all over the place. His explosiveness is impressive and he looks like a great slot candidate. He also looked pretty darn good on defense but his future is on offense.

[Buckskin86]

Article published Saturday, November 4, 2006

Piqua slams Irish in Division II playoff

By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER


The marquee matchup may have been "Dane versus Saine," and that meeting of future Ohio State University football teammates did not disappoint last night as Central Catholic met Piqua in a first-round Division II playoff game at Lake Stadium.

But it was a supporting cast member who basically stole the show in this game and Hemmed up fourth-ranked Central's chances of repeating as state champion in a 33-14 Indians win before a crowd estimated at 5,200.

Piqua junior quarterback Justin Hemm entered stage right and, by game's end, deserved to be taking bows after dazzling the Fighting Irish defense.

"He's outstanding, and he's been doing that all year," Piqua coach Bill Nees said of Hemm. "Everybody knows we have Brandon [Saine], but we're fortunate that teams can't focus 100 percent on him because Justin is an outstanding player in his own right."

Hemm ran 15 times for 159 yards, including a 13-yard first-quarter touchdown, and completed 8-of-11 passes for 147 yards and three TDs, all to wideout Phillip Collier on strikes of 18, 39, and 54 yards.

"We gave it our best shot," Irish coach Greg Dempsey said. "It didn't work out, and obviously it's disappointing. Our goal was to win a state championship again, and we came up short. But we have a lot of great memories and a City championship to remember the season by."

For his part, Sanzenbacher - the hero of last year's title run (nine TDs, six interceptions in the playoffs) - was brilliant in his Central finale.

The OSU wideout recruit caught 12 passes for 195 yards, ran one yard for Central's second TD just before halftime, returned an interception 35 yards, and blocked an Indians' extra-point kick.

"He was great," Saine said of Sanzenbacher. "When he got in the open field, it was hard for our defense to even come close to stopping him. It's amazing knowing that I get to play with a caliber of athlete like that."

But Sanzenbacher's heroics were not enough.

"We knew it was going to be tough, whenever it ended," Sanzenbacher said of his final prep game. "But I'm proud of everybody, and I love all these guys. We fought our hearts out, but [Piqua] came out with a good game plan, and that's just the way it fell."

The Irish (9-2) started well, marching 74 yards for a TD on the game's first possession. Paul Jacoby scored on a two-yard run with 7:04 left in the first quarter.

Piqua (9-2) answered immediately.

Collier returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Irish 35. Three plays later, Hemm scored his TD just two minutes after Central's score.

"Their quarterback is a great player," Dempsey said. "He really makes things happen. Everybody focuses on Brandon Saine, but [Hemm] really makes that offense run. They do a great job of using him. There were times where it looked like we had him wrapped up, and he made a play."

That first score was enough to get Piqua, which did not punt in the game, off and running. The Indians tallied twice in the second quarter, with Hemm finding Collier on the 18 and 39-yard TDs.

"When we went to the spread, a lot of times the middle of the field was wide open," Hemm said. "That was good, and their linebackers were flying out hard, so I was able to step up and run."

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs...0493/-1/SPORTS

[rpbuckeye]

Dane was the best player on the field last night IMO. He was all over the field and he continues to play at a faster football speed than his posted 40 times would indicate. Congrats from a Knight on a great HS career and I cannot wait to see Dane go on to have a Gonzo type role at tOSU. GO BUCKS!!!

[utgrad73]

"He was great," Saine said of Sanzenbacher. "When he got in the open field, it was hard for our defense to even come close to stopping him. It's amazing knowing that I get to play with a caliber of athlete like that."

Nice words coming from someone of Brandon's caliber.

[Wilson1]

Dane=TCC, he's a great football player.

[cchs07_tosu11]

He went for about 200 yards tonight in receptions, intercepted another setting the Irish up for a key drive and TD, blocked two PAT's, and ran for a TD while playing QB. A pretty good night under the lights. A very good season for an inspiring player and young athlete.

Don't forget a fake fourth down attempt where he punted out of the shotgun and pinned Piqua on the one yard line.