10-0! CRUSADERS CRUISE TO 40-21 WIN OVER CHAMBERSBURG

November 4- Relying on a rock-solid defense and the versatility of some key performers, the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders beat the Chambersburg Trojans this afternoon, 40-21 at McDevitt Field. The victory gave the Crusaders an undefeated/untied regular season for the second time in the program's storied history, matching the 10-0 mark of the 1995 State Championship team. The McDevitt defense turned in another dominant game, intercepting 3 passes, recording 2 sacks and a fumble recovery, and generally making life miserable for Trojan quarterback Cheston Smith. While the defense did surrender 279 total yards and 3 touchdowns, it should be remembered that 139 of those yards and two of the scores came after Coach Jeff Weachter had emptied the bench on Senior Day with a 40-7 lead in the 4th quarter, and Chambersburg Coach Sean Kimple elected to keep his starters in the game. The game also showcased the talents of some versatile McDevitt players. Aaron Berry had 6 catches for 147 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had an interception returned 38 yards for a touchdown, a 9 yard punt return and provided smothering pass coverage from his cornerback spot. Sophomore Mike Comasco converted 3 of 4 extra points and added 2 field goals, including a booming 43 yarder in the second quarter. He also made 2 receptions for 65 yards, had a 26 yard punt return and intercepted a pass. Jason Kates and Sebastian Sullivan were active linemen on both sides of the ball, and Dave Onorato chipped in with 43 yards rushing and some key stops at linebacker.

Chambersburg received the opening kickoff and was soon forced to punt, thanks to Matt Vargo's stop of Chambersburg running back Tyler Perry on third down. Taking over at its' own 44 yard line, the Crusaders wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. On the third play McDevitt quarterback Jeremy Ricker (10 for 17, 193 yards and 3 TD's) found Berry open in the Trojan secondary and the speedy wideout bolted 58 yards for the game's first touchdown. When Mike Comasco missed his first conversion kick of the year, the score was 6-0 with 9:07 left in the first quarter. Comasco quickly atoned for his minor gaffe when, on Chambersburg's 3 play of the following series, he intercepted a Smith pass at the CH 35 and returned it to the 23. Mike Jones and Onorato provided runs to advance to the CH 6, but Ricker's third down pass ricocheted past a host of players through the end zone for an incompletion. Mike Comasco promptly booted a 22 yard field goal to stretch the McDevitt lead to 9-0. The Trojans managed 3 first downs on its next possession behind the running of the elusive Perry, but a holding penalty and some tight McDevitt pass defense forced another punt. Two Jones runs totaling 16 yards started the subsequent Crusader drive and ended the quarter.

The Crusaders began the second stanza with a 15 yard Ricker-to-Berry gain, followed by a 4 yard blast by Onorato. Ricker's next pass found Brandon Brown for 12 yards, to the CH 24. When the drive eventually stalled on the 25, Weachter called on his sophomore kicker and Mike Comasco didn't disappoint. Kicking out of the hold of his brother Vince, he blasted a high arcing kick that cleared the crossbar by a good 5 yards, good enough for a 43 yard field goal and a 12-7 McDevitt lead. The Trojans responded with a long scoring drive, going 68 yards in 7 plays and aided by a McDevitt offside penalty on 3rd and 9 at the CH 33. Perry had a 26 yard run before John Snyder scooted 19 yards for the score, narrowing the McDevitt margin to 12-7 with 4:52 left in the half. The Chambersburg score seemed to awaken the lethargic Crusaders. Mike Jones returned the ensuing short kickoff 20 yards to the McD 40 and, following an incompletion, the quick sophomore darted for a 25 yard gain into Trojan territory. Onorato ran for 2 and then Ricker fired a blazer to Berry, good for an 18 yard gain. Onorato's next carry was a rumbling 13 yarder where he broke two tackles and was finally corralled at the 2 yard line. He scored from there on the next play, waltzing into the end zone behind a gaping hole blasted by Sullivan and Kates, and McDevitt's lead was now 19-7. The Crusaders then tried an onside kick, but the Trojans recovered. After Smith had scrambled for a 10 yard gain, Chambersburg botched a flanker reverse handoff, and Brian Weisser alertly fell on the fumble at the CH 37. Ricker floated a screen pass to Jones good for a 7 yard gain, and then the senior signal-caller went back to his favorite target. The hookup to Berry was for 30 yards this time, good for another touchdown and a 26-7 McDevitt lead with 1:29 left in the half. Chambersburg mounted one final threat, using a pass completion and a 16 yard Perry run to advance to the McD 36. The Crusaders were in a prevent defense and only rushing 3 linemen, but David Dunn had a great individual effort on the next play, fighting through 2 blockers to sack Smith for an 11 yard loss. On the next play it appeared that freshman linebacker Dante Ushery had stripped Perry after a pass completion and recovered the fumble, but the officials ruled the play an incomplete pass. Dave Seiple ended the threat on the next play when he flattened Smith while the QB was attempting to pass, resulting in a harmless incompletion. The Trojans punted and McDevitt took a knee to end the half.

The second half began with a fizzled Crusader drive, so Ricker punted to the CH 27. Two plays later, a harried Smith overthrew his intended receiver and Berry was there to pick it off, bolting down the right sideline for the score that pushed the Crusader lead to 33-7. Chambersburg was then forced into another 3-and-out and McDevitt was back in business at the McD 47. Ricker wasted no time in finding Berry open down the left sideline, and the 5'11", 178 lb. speedster dazzled the crowd with his lightning-quick moves on the way to an apparent 53 yard touchdown. The play was called back, however, after the officials had ruled that Berry had stepped out of bounds and then returned to make the catch. Despite an interference call against the Trojans and another 12 yard Brown completion the Chambersburg defense stiffened, forcing the second Ricker punt of the game. After a personal foul penalty against McDevitt moved the ball to the CH 32, linebacker Leon Black stepped in front of a Smith swing pass and intercepted at the CH 30. Onorato started the final McDevitt scoring drive with a 6 yard run, and then Ricker hit Mike Comasco with a short pass that he advanced 17 yards to the CH 7. One play later Ricker lofted a perfect fade pass to Berry in the corner of the end zone, completing the senior's 4 touchdown day. Backup kicker Dominic Notarfrancesco converted the PAT and McDevitt held a 40-7 lead with 53 seconds left in the third quarter. The next Trojan possession stalled after a Keith Davis sack resulted in a 4 yard loss. On the punt that followed, Mike Comasco fielded the ball at the McD 20 and, thanks to Weisser's brutal block, advanced 26 yards to the McD 46. With the game now into the fourth quarter, Vince Comasco took over at quarterback and Weachter began substituting liberally. After 2 Onorato runs and a holding penalty, Vince targeted his brother Mike for a nifty 48 yard gain, to the CH 8. Onorato fumbled the ball away 2 plays later as the clean jerseys flooded the field. Chambersburg was stopped and was preparing to punt near its own goal line, but an offside penalty extended the possession. The Trojans quickly scored, as Perry and Josh Truman ran free. After Truman's touchdown had made the score 40-14 with 5:14 remaining in the game, Chambersburg recovered the following onside kick and quickly scored again, this time on a 4 yard Perry run. Vargo put an end to the Chambersburg stat-stuffing when he recovered yet another onside kick at the McD 42. A trio of sophomores, John Wilson, Evan McGovern and Matt Egenrieder, ran out the clock with some impressive running. Egenreider carried 3 times for 21 yards to finish the contest and put the finishing touch on the undefeated season.

The Crusaders begin the District 3/6 Class AAAA playoffs next Friday, November 11th. As the #1 seed in AAA, the Crusaders will play a rematch against Central Dauphin, the #8 seed. Because of field considerations the game will be played at CD's Landis Field, where the Crusaders blanked the Rams, 42-0, on October 22nd. The game will start at 7:00 PM.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter
I thought we were sluggish offensively and defensively. We had a lot of off-the-field issues come up this week that we have to clean up. Of course, with Teron (Strawbridge, hospitalized with an unknown ailment) in the hospital it's upsetting. We missed Teron a lot today. But we did come on and we did what we had to do. We're only the second team to go undefeated? Wow, I didn't know that. It's a great honor to the players and the coaching staff; I'm very proud of them. I hope it continues because I enjoy coaching this team. I don't mind that they kept the first team in against our reserves. They were probably looking for something positive and hey, we're going to the playoffs and they're going home, so we're moving on. It was very pleasing to get all of the seniors in and they did a good job and I'm happy for them. I think playoff preparation will be different this year; we know what to expect. We felt last year that we were mentally fatigued in that Pittsburgh Central Catholic game, after going through a grindstone for 14 weeks. This year we kind of played for the playoffs. Throughout the season we gave the team a couple of days off and hopefully that will help in the playoffs I don't care who we play
(The McDevitt opponent wasn't known at the time of these interviews). To get where we want to go we have to beat everyone anyway.

Assistant Coach Dave Weachter
We were a little sloppy. It's tough to be critical when you win 40-21 but we weren't quite all together today. We did cut back on our procedure penalties, which was good, but there were some weird things going on with the kids, some things in school that distracted us. I think their minds weren't really quite here. I didn't care that Chambersburg kept their starters in against our subs. Maybe he had some young kids that he wanted to get some experience and besides, our reserves have stopped a lot of teams at other times this year. Now our intention is to win first, but from the point where the win is assured it's always nice to get a lot of kids in the game, especially on Senior Day. They've worked hard for 4 years, most of them. You know, I don't know how big of a deal it is to have playoff experience. When you go through 3 or 4 weeks of real tough games like we did it kind of makes you look at the playoffs as just another game. I don't think we were worried last year about a lack of playoff experience because we have 7 or 8 games every year that prepare us for the playoffs. Before the game we were trying to figure out the different scenarios so we could see who we might play and I thought that it's nice that we're not trying to figure out if we were going to make it in the playoffs! It would be nice, since Coach Weachter and I are from Lancaster County, to play a Lancaster County team, but they're all going to be good teams so it really doesn't matter.

Assistant Coach Sean Lee
We were a little sluggish in the beginning, but we were able to make up for it on defense with our speed. We'd like to see more intensity, but we got the job done and we have to get ready for next week. It's great to be part of an undefeated season. Even as a player I was never undefeated in high school so it's definitely great, especially to see the defense contribute the way they did. There's a lot of pride in that. I think playoff experience is very important, coaches included. I think it was good for us to get that training, to realize how to step it up for the playoffs. And the kids, too, a lot of the players return and they know what to expect. They know how to turn it up a notch for the playoffs. I guess we'll play someone from the Mid Penn, but the one good thing is that we've seen them before so we should be ready for them.

Quarterback Jeremy Ricker
Our linemen came to play today. We were a little off in the first half but we corrected it for the second half. I think we kind of took them lightly. We should have been more serious and practiced harder. I think the playoffs might have been easier for us last year because we had the momentum and we wanted to come back and beat those teams that had beaten us in the regular season. But now we know if a team beats us we'll make their whole season for them so we have to play really hard. Practice is a lot more intense during playoffs. Every week could be the end of the season if you lose, so you get more excited.

C/DE Sebastian Sullivan
We came out a little sluggish but then we picked it up, we started to run the ball a little bit. Jeremy was throwing the ball pretty well and I think we did a pretty good job today. On defense, at halftime Coach Berry came in and told us we weren't playing McDevitt football, that we needed to step it up and "hit them in the mouth". I think we came out and did that. For the playoffs, if we face someone we've already beaten we have to remember that they're not the same team. I'm sure all of those teams have gotten better and we'll have to put forth an effort to beat them again. It doesn't matter who we play.

WR/DB/KR Aaron Berry
I don't think that anybody in this league can cover me, so we just executed and Jeremy got me the ball. This year, going into the playoffs, our guys know the feeling you get when you lose after getting so far down the line, so we have to work hard to prevent that. This is a new season for us; we're starting 0-0. We just want to go 5-0 and have another undefeated season! I know there are teams that want to get us back for beating them, but if we execute the way we can we have nothing to worry about. We just have to work hard in practice, no matter who we play.

WR Brandon Brown
We were missing a few guys today so I was happy to see that we took care of business. I think we were better prepared to go into the playoffs last year. Even though some of us think that we'll go to the district finals you can't think like that; you have to take it one game at a time. Having that experience behind us should help us with what to expect. Jeremy has really stepped up this year. He's been great on the field and off the field, as a leader and everything. Last year he would get down on himself a lot. This year he has learned to use that frustration and take it out on our opponents and use it to make himself better. I was kind of hoping we'd play Harrisburg in the playoffs because I know a lot of those guys over there, but it really doesn't matter who we play.

DT David Dunn
On that sack in the first half, I was just trying hard to get through the blockers. I was just trying to take over the sack lead from Keith Davis! We have a competition going on but other than that, I was just trying my hardest. I thought that Chambersburg was better than their record. This year we know what it's like to be in the playoffs. You have to take it week-by-week and play hard. The intensity really increases and we have to cut down on mistakes, both on and off the field. But we'll come out OK.

LB/TE Leon Black
In the first quarter we came out a little rusty but I think we picked it up in the second half. Their running back (Tyler Perry) ran hard. He was quick wouldn't go down with just one tackler, so we had to gang up on him. It feels great to be on an undefeated team. It's always good to not lose a game. I have playoff experience from Hudson Catholic. We played some real good teams in the playoffs, actually. I don't care who we play in the playoffs. As long as they bring their "A" game, it's all right. I love it here. I'm adjusting very well and I'm doing good in school. I've met a lot of new people and it's always good to meet new people, to make new friends. Yes, I think about college ball and I would love to play in college.
.

Back to Home Page