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Brockway wins over Ridgway in offensive outburst |
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Saturday, 31 October 2009 |
By Greg Reedy
Sports Editor
BROCKWAY – Brockway and Ridgway certainly had little trouble finding the end zone Friday night.
The teams combined for just under 700 yards of total offense as the Rovers took a 41-20 victory from Ridgway at Frank Varischetti Field.
Ridgway coach Mark Heindl said the effort was strong.
"They did a phenomenal job," Heindl said. "I give Mr. Buganza and Brockway a lot of credit. They came out and they did what they do well, they passed the ball. We gave them fits at times, a lot of teams were out of it at halftime, but we went all the way to the final buzzer and I'm proud of them for that."
Brockway scored on its opening possession as Rover quarterback Derek Buganza connected with Jake Shaffer on a 20-yard touchdown just 3:04 into the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The touchdown was the first of four for Buganza, all in the first half. He was 20-for-36 with 258 yards. In addition to the four touchdowns, Buganza also threw three interceptions.
Ridgway was able to respond late in the first quarter as the Elkers put together a 54-yard drive which was culminated early in the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Cory Eshbach. Eshbach finished with 135 rushing yards on 24 carries.
"Our offensive line, Joe Chittester, Steve Gaffey, Zack Zelcs, Carter Luchs, Chris Woods and Lee Krug, they had a great effort up front," Heindl said. "Those kids battled and tonight we did something we haven't done all year, we moved the football and it wasn't just in spurts, we got drives going both in the run in the pass. Our kids grew up tonight. They opened some nice holes."
Cory Eshbach took some at times and went a long way and there were times he didn't have a lot and still took it far, I'm proud of him for it.
Brockway took advantage of excellent field position later in the quarter after the teams traded punts. Ridgway had just a 10-yard punt which set the Rovers up at the Ridgway 28. Buganza then found Shaffer on an 11-yard crossing pattern for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 5:57 left in the half.
Ridgway threw an interception on its ensuing drive and Brockway took advantage as Buganza found Mike Vervoort on a 28-yard connection to put the Rovers up 207 with 3:52 left in the half. Vervoort led the Rovers with 100 yards on six receptions.
The Elkers got back within six late in the first half as Ridgway quarterback Jordan Lundin found Sam Skraba for a 7-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 to make the score 20-13 with 55 seconds left before halftime. Skraba had 11 receptions for 82 yards and two interceptions on defense. Lundin was 16-for-28 for 124 yards with the one touchdown and two interceptions.
"Jordan himself grew immensely there," Heindl said. "You're going to gain confidence. It's taken him a while to do that. We've got him back for two more years and we're proud of that."
Ridgway appeared headed into halftime down by just seven, yet Brockway's offense quickly moved 60 yards downfield and answered Ridgway's score right away. Buganza found Vervoort down the right side as he beat the Ridgway defender cleanly and scored on a 34-yard touchdown to put Brockway ahead 27-13.
"That hurt," Heindl said. "When we scored there, we had the momentum going in. That penalty came back to hurt us but our kids could have quit at halftime and they didn't. They came back in the second half and stopped them on a three-and-out and took the ball right down the field."
Buganza added a 6-yard touchdown run with 6:21 left in the third quarter to take the Brockway lead to 34-13. After a Ridgway fumble, Skraba secured his second interception of the game and took it inside the Brockway 20. Eshbach finished the drive by scoring his second touchdown of the game, a 2-yard run which made the score 34-20 entering the fourth quarter.
"Sammy was upset because that ball got stripped away," Heindl said. "He came back on that next play and he intercepted that ball and ran it down and we capitalized on it. Sammy is such a player, it's a shame we don't have him for a couple more years."
Brockway scored on the opening play of the fourth quarter as Ryan Terwilliger punched it in the end zone from four yards out.
Heindl said he was pleased with the secondary's effort for Ridgway as Buganza threw three interceptions.
"They did a phenomenal job tonight," Heindl said. "He did hit a couple long passes on third-and-long and that's what Brockway does well. They came to play tonight and I'm proud of them for that."
Ridgway 0 13 7 0 - 20
Brockway 7 20 7 7 - 41
Scoring summary
First quarter
B - Jake Shaffer 20 pass from Derek Buganza (Phillip Esposito kick), 8:56
Second quarter
R - Cory Eshbach 3 run (Joe Chittester kick), 0:55
B - Shaffer 11 pass from Buganza (Esposito kick), 5:57
B - Mike Vervoort 28 pass from Buganza (kick failed), 3:52
R - Sam Skraba 7 pass from Jordan Lundin (kick failed), 0:55
B - Vervoort 34 pass from Buganza (Esposito kick), 0:21
Third quarter
B - Buganza 6 run (Esposito kick), 6:21
R - Eshbach 2 run (Chittester kick), 2:34
Fourth quarter
B - Ryan Terwilliger 4 run (Esposito kick), 11:55
Team stats
Ridgway Brockway
17 First downs 17
49-141 Rushes-yards 21-173
125 Pass yards 258
266 Total yards 431
5-55 Penalties-yards 7-72
2-1 Fumbles-lost 1-0
Individual stats
Passing: Ridgway: Jordan Lundin 16-28-124-1-2, Sam Skraba 2-3-1-0-0. Brockway: Derek Buganza 20-36-258-4-3.
Rushing: Ridgway: Cory Eshbach 24-135, Mike Cappiello 9-15, Sam Skraba 6-9, Steve Mitchell 2-1, Jordan Lundin 8-(-17). Brockway: Ryan Terwilliger 12-124, Derek Buganza 8-46, Tom Vervoort 1-3.
Receiving: Ridgway: Sam Skraba 11-82, Zack Zelcs 3-21, Mike Cappiello 2-21, Ben Jaques 2-1. Brockway: Mike Vervoort 6-100, Jake Shaffer 10-93, Zack Freemer 1-28, Chris Marshall 1-19, Ryan Terwilliger 2-18.
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