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Rovers' explosive offense gets the best of Rams |
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Saturday, 11 October 2008 |
Brockway quarterback Derek Buganza threw for 363 yards as the Rovers held off a late Johnsonburg charge to hold on for victory.
By Joseph Bell
Record Staff Writer
BROCKWAY – After a 38-yard run by Johnsonburg quarterback Ren Yonker and subsequent two-point conversion late in the fourth quarater pulled the visiting Rams to within six points of the lead, all head coach Tom Launer's team needed was one defensive stop last night at Frank Varischetti Field in Brockway.
Unfortunately for the Rams, that stop came too late.
"We didn't want to onside kick because we didn't want to give them a short field. There was still six minutes left and we figured we'd kick it deep and figured we'd pin them deep and stop them but then they got down there and they did a good job of working the clock," Launer said. "We had to use a timeout earlier in the game and we only had two left so we couldn't call a timeout and had to wait until the second down to call the timeout. When Ren scored, all we had to do was stop them and we would have had a chance but we just couldn't stop them."
The Rovers' offense consistently drove down the field throughout the second half, due mostly to senior running back Ben Kuhar, who made his Senior Night memorable by rushing 31 times for 162 yards and two scores. He also racked up 186 yards on five receptions, including a 70-yard screen pass from sophomore quarterback extraordinaire Derek Buganza, who finished with three touchdowns and 363 passing yards on the night.
The Rams tied the game after a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Johnsonburg senior Zane Zelehoski and a two-point conversion pass from Yonker to senior tight end Andrew Kowalski midway through the third quarter. However, the Rovers quickly responded just 19 seconds later with the 70-yard screen toss from Buganza to Kuhar.
As time dwindled, the Rams went three-and-out before punting at the 2:31 mark. But Brockway's explosive offense struck again just 14 seconds later with the screen pass, this time on a 62-yard toss from Buganza to fellow sophomore wide receiver Chris Marshall.
"We worked on the screen pass and we thought they telegraphed it, and we thought they telegraphed the screen pass tonight and at halftime, we went over it again and it just seemed like it was there all night for them and they kept hitting us with the same play every time," Launer said.
To compensate for his defensive unit's inability to protect against the screen pass, Launer said he decided to alter his defense at halftime.
"We actually changed our defense for the first time in two years. There in the second half we went to a four-man line and we had been playing a three-man line for the past two, three years so we thought we'd go to a four-man line maybe," Launer said. "They just kept burning us with the screen pass and it's disappointing because we spent two days in practice this week on defense, usually we do one day on defense and one on offense and then go over them both but, this week, we spent two days on defense and then did our offense on the third day."
Even with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Yonker to Zelehoski to open up the fourth quarter, the Rams still struggled to stop the Rovers' impressive aerial attack. Buganza put an exclamation point on his impressive night with a 16-yard strike to senior wide receiver Aaron Shaffer with 9:51 remaining in the game.
However, the Rovers' 523 yards of total offense was not the only factor in moving the ball down the field.
"They hurt us with their running and the long plays but the penalties just killed us. I don't have an answer for the penalties, I just don't know," Launer said. "We preach to these kids over and over and I don't know."
Needing that last stop last in the fourth quarter, Brockway faced a third-and-3 with 3:10 to play in the ball game; but an inopportune encroachment penalty against the Rams gave the Rovers a fresh set of downs at the Johnsonburg 40-yard line and all but sealed the visitors' fate.
"The offense kept us in it but we had so many penalties. Zane Zelehoski had a real nice game, Ren Yonker had a real nice game, Andrew Kowalski had two big catches for us and (senior flanker) Craig Carrow always has some big catches for us and he always does well. Offensively, we didn't do bad but I thought we'd do better and we just told the kids that the season is definitely not over," Launer said. "We can still end up with a real nice record and we'll go to the playoffs, we just have to step it up. We've been real disappointed in the defense the last two weeks because the defense was playing extremely well and then, in the past two weeks, it seems like we took a big step backwards."
Carrow, who intercepted a Buganza pass in the end zone in the first quarter, scored on a 22-yard pass from Yonker to take an early 6-0 lead in the game. Yonker's lone interception came as the Rams threatened to score in the second quarter but Brockway cornerback Mark Shannon picked off the pass at the 1-yard line and returned it 15 yards.
"Brockway played a good football game and our kids didn't quit and played until the end and played hard but I told them the season is still far from over because we're 5-2 and we've got two games left and we'll have to step it up a notch," Launer said. "The season's not over, not by a long shot."
The Rovers improve to 3-4 on the season while the Rams have lost two straight games to fall to 5-2. Johnsonburg will return to Memorial Field on Friday, for Homecoming and a 7 p.m. start time against visiting Curwensville (6-1). |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 20 October 2008 )
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