Keenan's defense stepped up Sunday in a 7-0 shutout of Siegfried, propelling the Knights into the championship at Notre Dame Stadium against the Stanford Griffins.
The Knights were tested on multiple occasions but came through each time to secure the victory. Neither offense started the game well, but field position was in the Knights' favor throughout the first half. But after Siegfried's punter inadvertently downed the ball on his own 17-yard line, the Knights kept the ball on the ground and capped off the drive with junior running back Brett Wilps's five-yard touchdown run.
"Our starting tailback was hurt on the second play of the game," Keenan senior coach Matt Gibson said. "We had a lot of guys who ... really stepped it up."
The ball stayed in Stanford territory throughout the first half, but Keenan didn't score again, and the half ended with the score at 7-0.
In the second half, the Ramblers had the ball in the red zone twice, but failed to score each time. During their second drive of the second half, junior running back Marcus Young ran for 33 yards on four carries before fumbling seven yards from the end zone.
The Ramblers defense stood strong and blocked a punt, giving Siegfried first and 10 on the Knights' 15-yard line. The Ramblers once again failed to convert, though, as senior John Wood intercepted freshman quarterback Mike Garcia in the back of the end zone, effectively ending the game.
Keenan now gets set for the championship game against Stanford, who defeated the Knights in the last week of the regular season.
"We got outhustled and made a lot of mental mistakes," Gibson said about the loss to Stanford. "They're a good team, but they better watch out."
Stanford 26, Fisher 0
Sunday's cold weather froze the Green Wave as top-seeded Stanford dominated Fisher on both sides of the ball.
The Stanford defense held the Fisher offense to only two first downs. Senior linebacker Matt Templemire sacked Green Wave senior quarterback Kevin Rabil three times, and sophomore Chris Gill had two interceptions.
On offense, junior quarterback Brian Salvi went nine-for-twelve for 106 yards.
"Fisher was a tough opponent," Stanford coach Rick Loesing said. "But Brian did a fantastic job, and we didn't make any mistakes, which was key."
The game looked to be competitive at the outset, with the teams exchanging punts and then each turned the ball over on downs. On its last possession of the half, though, Stanford put together a 58-yard drive ending in a touchdown pass to senior Matt Frankenfeld.
In the second half, Fisher began to make mistakes, including a bad snap on a punt and Gill's two interceptions. The Griffins put the game out of reach with less than two minutes left, causing the game to end early due to the mercy rule.
"It was a perfect game," Loesing said.
Stanford will play Keenan in the interhall championship Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Notre Dame Stadium.
