MCDEVITT DOWNS CUMBERLAND VALLEY 22-7, NOW 9-0

October 28- In a game that had important playoff ramifications for both teams, the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders downed the Cumberland Valley Eagles, 22-7 tonight at Chapman Field. The Crusaders (9-0, 8-0 in the Mid Penn Commonwealth Division) are now assured of the top seed in the District3/6 class AAAA playoffs. The Eagles(7-2, 6-2) now must play Harrisburg next Saturday in a game that will determine the playoff fates of both teams. Tonight's game was a hard-fought contest that had some decidedly odd moments. Despite McDevitt's yardage advantage (377-177), the victory wasn't assured until late in the fourth quarter, when the Crusaders turned back a penalty-aided drive that reached the McD 10 yard line. The Crusader defense was dominant once again, holding the heralded CV rushing attack to 71 yards on 36 attempts and forcing 8 punts. The lone Cumberland Valley touchdown was only the second score allowed by the McDevitt defense in the last 14 quarters played. Linebacker Leon Black led the way with two sacks, joining Brian Weisser, David Dunn, Jason Kates and Dave Seiple in bringing constant pressure on Eagle QB Jordan Abner. The secondary was spearheaded by Vince Comasco, who drew the tough assignment of shadowing CV's standout receiver Greg Herrold. Linebackers Keith Davis and Pat Berry came up with crucial stops, and safety Eric McGovern chipped in with an interception. On offense, the Crusaders were hampered by countless penalties (holding, false starts, etc..). Despite that, McDevitt unleashed a devastating rushing attack, with 2 backs gaining over 100 yards each. Sophomore Mike Jones ran for 162 yards on 19 carries, and junior Dave Onorato powered for 121 yards on 13 attempts. Quarterback Jeremy Ricker had an inconsistent passing performance on a very cold night, but still accounted for 2 touchdown passes, both to Aaron Berry, who finished with 70 yards on 4 catches. Ricker also accounted for the game's final touchdown on an 11 yard bootleg.

McDevitt took the opening kickoff and went 3-and-out and then the inspired Eagles, playing before a Senior Night crowd of 6,000, launched a drive into McDevitt territory, mixing runs and passes. From the McD 29, Abner dropped back to pass and was promptly flattened by Black for a 7 yard sack. The Eagles punted one play later, to the McD 12. A couple of effective Jones runs moved the ball away from the McDevitt end zone, but the Crusaders were forced to punt again following two incomplete passes. After Weisser dumped CV running back Mitch Kislan for a 5 yard loss on third down the Eagles punted to the McD 6. Strong running by Jones and a 12 yard, Ricker-to-Brandon Brown pass completion moved the ball to midfield, but the drive stalled and McDevitt punted for the third time as the uneventful first quarter ended. The teams traded punts again to start the second quarter before McDevitt regained possession at its own 38. This time Jones started off with a 5 yard run, followed by a 4 yarder to the McD 42. Jones broke the next carry for 23 yards to the CV 35, aided by a strong Seiple block. On the next play Ricker faded back and looked to his left and then pivoted and threw deep to the right side, where Aaron Berry had slipped behind his defender. Berry caught the pass at the goal line and, following Mike Comasco's successful PAT, the Crusaders led 7-0, with 6:50 left in the half. The aroused McDevitt defense sacked Abner twice on the next series. First Weisser and Dunn made a quarterback sandwich for an 11 yard loss, and then Black nailed Abner for a 1 yard loss on 3rd-and-6 at the CV 47. McDevitt took over on the McD 25 and promptly turned to its increasingly potent running game. Jones started things off with an 18 yard run where he broke two tackles, and then Dave Onorato replaced him. Onorato blasted over the right side for 22 yards into CV territory, and followed that effort with an 8 yard romp to the CV 27. On the next play the 6'2", 212 lb. junior started around right end before making a sharp cut up field. He broke a tackle at the 15 before finally being hauled down at the CV 6. An Onorato run for no gain followed, and then Ricker floated a scoring pass to Berry, all alone in the right corner of the end zone after a quick inside-outside move left the CV secondary in confusion. On the Following PAT attempt, Vince Comasco fielded a high snap, rolled to his right and eventually dove over the goal line to give the Crusaders a formidable 15-0 lead, with 1:22 showing on the clock. McDevitt managed to regain possession with 36 seconds left in the half, but a desperation Ricker heave was intercepted near the goal line as the half ended.

The second half started with another CV 3-and-out, but McDevitt fared no better, crippled by motion penalties. The Crusaders punted to the CV 30, but McGovern intercepted Abner on the next play, setting up McDevitt on the CV 41. After a motion penalty, Jones ran for 3 yards and then rocketed for 13 to the CV 30. Ricker then fired a deep sideline pass to Berry good for a 17 yard gain. Now on the CV 13 yard line, McDevitt proceeded to self-destruct. Jones ran for 2 before a holding penalty moved the ball back to the CV 22. Another motion penalty pushed the spot back to the CV 27 ,and then Ricker threw 2 incompletions. The frustrating possession ended when Mike Comasco was unsuccessful with a 45 yard field goal attempt. The Eagles then began their only scoring drive of the game, a 13 play, 80n yard effort that burned up the rest of the third quarter. All but 3 of the plays were on the ground, including a key fourth down conversion run of 5 yards by Tyler Guise at the CV 43. Facing a 2nd-and-9 at the McD 40, Abner lofted a fade pass to Herrold down the left sideline. Vince Comasco had tight coverage but Herrold made a fine leaping catch at the McD 6 as the quarter ended. Mitch Michaud was dropped for a 1 yard loss by Davis on the first play of the fourth quarter. On the next play Abner found Michaud alone in the left flat and CV had narrowed the McDevitt lead to 15-7, with 11:54 left to play. The kickoff that followed is destined to be the most memorable play of this game. As the CV kickoff sailed toward a waiting Julian Harrell, the sprinkler system at Chapman field suddenly came to life, and 4 sprinklers on the CV end of the field (the end that McDevitt was moving toward) began soaking the playing surface! The referees inexplicably allowed play to continue as Harrell returned the kick to the McD 25. The sprinklers were soon doused as the McDevitt crowd booed lustily. The newly-inspired Crusaders then ripped off 75 yards in 5 plays to regain control of the game. Jones began the drive with a 27 yard burst behind blocks by Ryan Finney and Sebastian Sullivan. Onorato followed with a 24 yard run, to the CV 24. After Onorato followed that effort with a 5 yard blast, Jones returned and pinballed his way for 13 yards to the CV 6 as the McDevitt faithful growled in approval. After a (what else?) motion penalty, Ricker faked a handoff to his right and circled left end on a bootleg. As Brown pinned the CV cornerback far downfield , Ricker dashed toward the goal line as an Eagle safety ran over for the tackle. Ricker made a quick cut to the inside and raced by the safety for the touchdown and a 22-7 McDevitt lead. The entire drive took only 1:47. Cumberland Valley began the next possession on its own 10 yard line but got considerable help in moving into scoring position. First, Aaron Berry was called for interference guarding Herrold down the left sideline. Five plays later, a strong pass rush by Weisser was thwarted by what appeared to be holding by a CV lineman. Instead, Weisser ended up being flagged for a late hit after colliding with Abner. The next play was a pass thrown by Abner down the middle of the field with no receiver in the area. A CV receiver collided with a McDevitt defender along the right sideline, far from the falling pigskin, which resulted in another interference penalty. With the ball now on the McD 12, the Crusader defense rallied for one final stand. After an incompletion and 2 unsuccessful running plays, Abner tried a fourth down pass to tight end Steve Westhafer in the right corner of the end zone. Pat Berry managed to get a hand on the ball and watched as it fell harmlessly to the turf to end the Eagle scoring threat. Onorato fuelled the next drive with more strong running, carrying 3 times for 14 yards before a holding penalty wiped out a gallant 35 yard gallop. Undaunted, Onorato ripped off a 26 yard gain, to the McD 40, two plays later. By the time the Crusaders punted for the final time there was less than a minute to play. Weisser ended CV's last possession appropriately, with a 6 yard sack of Abner, setting off a quiet celebration by the visiting team.

Next week McDevitt finishes the regular season on Saturday, November 5th, with a game against Chambersburg. The contest, at McDevitt Field, is scheduled for a 1:00 PM start.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter
We didn't have a great week of practice. Guys were starting to read press clippings and thinking that everything was going to be as easy as it was last week. The coaching staff new all week, and we told the kids, that coming over to play Cumberland Valley on their field was going to be tough. We thought that CV was going to play well and they did. But it does feel good to come out with the win. Our kids persevered and came back when they had to. After Cumberland Valley scored we challenged the offensive line. We told them that we've been responding all year and it was time to do it again tonight. The line was good and our young running backs, Mike Jones and Dave "O", really saved the day. Now Chambersburg is improving. They beat Hollidaysburg bad and the week before Hollidaysburg took Carlisle into overtime, so we can't look past anyone. We're a little banged up with Eric McGovern getting a little nicked up and Chris Henderson still a little gimpy from last week so that hurt us. We can't take Chambersburg lightly.

Assistant Coach Pat Berry
We did a pretty good job adjusting to all of their sets. They have so many sets! It's not that they run so many plays; it's just that they use so many sets. We got a little confused once Eric McGovern went out of the game and we blew a couple of coverages, but all-in-all the kids played pretty well. On their touchdown drive Tim Rimphel went back to what Tim Rimphel does best: He ran the Wing T. They ran it at us and our kids didn't adjust very well. The big play was the fade and Vince covered it all night and covered it very well. It was a jump ball and we just lost the jump ball. That last drive was 45 yards of penalties and I don't know how many other plays, but the kids hung tough. I went in the huddle and the kids were ready. They knew what was going on and they were ready to play. I was happy to see Pat tip that last one away. He was a little gimpy and I wanted to get him taped up, but that was nice to see. Chambersburg is a program that's been down a long time and they'd like to knock us off. We have to be ready and practice a lot better than we have been.

Assistant Coach Lamar Banks
We started off a little sluggish, we had penalties and we didn't really come over here mentally prepared. But we picked it up and we got some things done today. We just weren't focused. You know, sometimes high school kids get a little off track so you just have to hold it in, get it together and bring it back on track. That was the first time, ever, in the history of any high school sport, that the "Sprinkler Defense" was used!

QB Jeremy Ricker
We came out pretty flat in the beginning but the line and all of the seniors really stepped up. I was really proud of #26, Mike Jones, and Dave Onorato for stepping it up and playing so good at tailback. We have a really good defense so I wasn't really worried about CV coming back on us. The defense gave us the chances and we were prepared. Next week we can't take Chambersburg lightly. We have to come out hard in practice if we expect to beat them.

RB/LB Dave Onorato
It was a great game tonight and we played really well. That was a complete ream performance, both offense and defense. The holes were there and I just took advantage of it. When the offensive line comes out like they did tonight it just makes my job a lot easier. When I see a penalty flag after a long run, well, it doesn't really help that much when it gets called back like that. You just have to keep your head up and stay optimistic and things will turn out for you one way or the other. I think we'll be fine next week. If we just come out the way we did in the second half tonight we'll be OK. That was a great team we played tonight but it just goes to show how McDevitt players play with a lot of heart every game.

DE Brian Weisser
Our defensive line did get penetration but we have to stay disciplined. The one thing about tonight, we played with our hearts but we didn't play with our heads. Once we buckled down out there we came out strong. About all the penalties; we have to play the game on the field. What we do to correct it is keep our heads in the game. On that last drive I wasn't worried, not at all. Next week we want to go out with a big win. It's the seniors' last game at home. What more can you say?

OT Tucker Baumbach
Cumberland Valley was tough and they were quick. They were playing like a desperate team and they played hard. On the penalties, quite a few of those were on us, like the false starts, but some of them were questionable. I don't know, there's nothing we can do about those calls. Now next week will be the seniors' last home game and we're going to come out like nobody's ever seen before.

FB/DE Dave Seiple
It was an emotional game and I'm glad we won. We came out a little bit shaky but we did fine at the end. We had a rough week of practice and we had a bad pre-game, so we came out rusty. When we have 2 backs over 100 yards it makes me feel good, it makes me feel like I'm doing a good job blocking. They were working hard and breaking tackles, too. On defense they threw a lot of things at us; they're a disciplined team, but we stopped them. Next week will be a fun game and I can't wait.

WR/CB/PR Aaron Berry
On the first touchdown we called a streak and Jeremy looked the safety off back side and I got open and Jeremy got me the ball. On the second one Jeremy actually called the play, I ran a fake slant and we executed the play and scored. Defensively, I thought we played real well. A couple of those penalties killed us. They called some pass interference calls that I thought were good defensive plays, but it was good for us to play under adversity. We have to practice hard because this week we didn't have a good week of practice. If we practice hard we'll straighten those problems out. I think the team is definitely in better condition this year. Coach Mealy came in and felt that our conditioning needed improvement. We let a lot of teams come back on us in the fourth quarter last year so we wanted to change that. Every Monday we condition, every Tuesday and every Wednesday. He keeps conditioning us so we were prepared for this game and we're prepared for the rest of the season. We're in real good shape.

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