August 20- The Bishop McDevitt Crusaders began the much-anticipated 2005 season this morning by overwhelming Conestoga Valley in the opening scrimmage for both teams. Head Coach Jeff Weachter relied on proven veterans to set the tone in the opening series, and then introduced a wave of talented underclassmen to the Crusader fans in attendance. Conestoga Valley, admittedly in a rebuilding year, was unable to stop McDevitt’s first 2 offensive teams, and struggled to move the ball against a deep Crusader defense. The McDevitt coaching staff substituted liberally on both sides of the ball from the opening snap.

The scrimmage, in which the teams alternated 10 play series, began with an 80 yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jeremy Ricker (a Maryland recruit) to senior wide receiver Brandon Brown, who had slipped far behind the Buckskin’s secondary. McDevitt’s all-state running back, LeSean McCoy, played sparingly, allowing the Crusaders to show off impressive depth at running back. After the opening tally, junior Matt Vargo scooted for 11 yards, and then McCoy made his grand entrance with a twisting 46 yard run to the CV 23. Ricker optioned for 7 before junior Dave Onorato, a 6’2, 212 lb. bruiser, rumbled 15 yards to the 1. Onorato scored on the next play, and then Ricker found Aaron Berry, the highly-recruited wide receiver/defensive back, in a crowd 55 yards downfield. Berry made leaping catch and darted for the Crusader’s 3^rd score in the opening series. In the final 3 plays, McCoy ran for 15 and, following an incomplete pass, gathered in Ricker’s short toss over the middle and swerved 65 yards for another touchdown. The starting offensive line of tight end senior David Seiple; senior tackles Tucker Baumbach (another Maryland recruit) and Carlos Mera; senior guards Ryan Finney and Jason Kates, and junior center Sebastian Sullivan provided flawless pass protection and blew open gaping holes in the CV defensive front.

Defensively, the Crusaders started seniors Kates and David Dunn at the tackles, with Finney playing as much as the starters.  Sullivan and junior Matt Dietz were the defensive ends, and seniors Brian Weiser and Seiple alternated at both spots. Senior Keith Davis started at linebacker, along with juniors Pat Berry and Onorato. Newly-arrived senior Leon Black, a transfer from Hudson (NJ) Catholic, played all linebacker spots effectively. Aaron Berry and Vince Comasco, both seniors, held down the cornerback spots, and Vargo and senior Eric McGovern were the safeties. Senior Teron Strawbridge and sophomores Evan McGovern, Mike Jones and Julian Harrell all saw significant playing time in the secondary with the first 2 units. The defense held Conestoga Valley scoreless in all 3 varsity series. The opening stanza featured a sack by Dunn, a tackle for loss by Sullivan and big hits in the secondary by Vargo, Eric McGovern and Aaron Berry. The Buckskins managed to gain 20 yards in the 10 play set.

McDevitt’s second offensive series saw an entirely new offensive line, keyed by seniors Mike Modica and Adam Malatestinic and junior Brian Christman. Vince Comasco took over at quarterback and was very impressive. McDevitt moved to the CV 46 on runs by Vargo, Pat Berry and Onorato. Comasco then floated a pass over the middle to tight end Black, who outraced the Buckskin secondary to the end zone. After Jones lost 4 yards on his initial carry, the speedy soph raced 84 yards to pay dirt. Comasco finished the set with 2 accurate tosses to Strawbridge, the last a 64 yard scoring bomb. The Crusader defense was even more dominant on the next series, forcing 2 fumbles. Harrell added to the scoring with a 27 yard interception return for a touchdown, and Pat Berry, Black and sophomore John Koury impressed with big hits. Then the first offense made its final appearance, moving for another quick score on the strength of McCoy’s final run, a 16 yarder, and pinpoint passes from Ricker to Harrell (35 yards) and Seiple (28 yards). Vargo covered the final yard. Ricker then ended the varsity’s scoring by scrambling to his right and finding Berry downfield again for another 80 yard scoring play, his 4^th touchdown pass of the morning. Meanwhile, the defense got more aggressive as the morning wore on. The final varsity series saw CV pushed back 12 yards in 10 plays. Seiple crashed through the Buckskin pass protection for 2 jarring sacks, and Comasco made 2 interceptions. Kates, Dunn and Finney made tackles for losses and helped force 3 incompletions, and Vargo and Aaron Berry sparkled in the secondary.

The junior varsity scrimmage featured another TD by Jones, this one for 9 yards, and a lightning-quick 80 yard scoring jaunt by Evan McGovern. CV got on the board with an interception return for a touchdown and a long scoring pass. Crusader standouts included junior Hector Cabrera at defensive tackle, freshman running back Dante Ushery and sophomore offensive lineman Jordan Knox.

The next scrimmage is Saturday, August 27^th against Manheim Township. The scrimmage, at McDevitt Field, will begin at 10:00 AM.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter

For the most part it went pretty well. We have more athletes than they do; they’re still building their program a little bit. There were plenty of good things but there were plenty of things that I think we’ll see on film that we’ll have to improve on for a tough State College team. The two best things are we got everybody in and nobody got injured. Obviously LeSean’s LeSean and we just wanted him to get his timing down. He doesn’t have to carry the ball a lot in a scrimmage. I’m really, really pleased with Ryan Finney. He’s starting to bring the effort to go along with all the ability. He has tremendous ability and I thought he had a great scrimmage. Jason showed some things and Jeremy did a nice job. I’d like to see him sit in the pocket a little bit more but he made plays. Obviously the receivers did a nice job and, you know, we have a stable of good young running backs. Two of our better sophomore running backs didn’t even play and then you see Dante Ushery, a freshman, come in and run the ball well. I was real pleased with the running backs and Coach Berry was pleased with the effort of the defense. They were running to the ball and Vince had the 2 interceptions, and we were real pleased  

Assistant Coach Sean Lee

It went pretty well. You know, we’ll learn a lot more after watching the film, but it looked like we had a lot of kids making plays today. At the beginning of camp we like to see a lot of kids at different positions and in different situations so we can critique that. A lot of kids got experience today. I’m really happy that my brother Dwan got the basketball coaching job. He’s a McDevitt graduate and he has a lot of ties to the community so I think he’ll do a good job. It was a wise decision.

Assistant Coach Dave Weachter

As always with a scrimmage we’re happy to get out of it without any injuries. Even though we had a lot of scoring passes we have to work on our timing. We have work to do on our passing game but the receivers did a good job with their patterns and blocking. We have a lot of young kids that, as soon as they learn the system a little bit, are going to be able to step up and play. Of course with us that’s always a big thing. We want to have as few kids as we can playing both ways. A lot of what we do is predicated on the coverages, and we knew coming down here that some things, like the tight end over the middle, are going to be open.

WR/DB Aaron Berry   

Practice so far is going real well. We’re just a little out of condition but we’re getting into shape now. This scrimmage is a big help for us because we haven’t played anyone else for a while. Some new faces for us to play against. On that first touchdown, well, Jeremy knows that I’m athletic and that I can go up and get the ball. He knows that, in that situation, he can just throw it up and I’ll go get it. We’ll be ready for State College; we’ll go out and do what we need to do.

QB/P Jeremy Ricker

I thought that I could do better with some things; our timing and rhythm could be better. I made a lot of throws on the move and I want to get the timing down by taking the seven step drop and hitting the throw, rather than running around like I’m in the back yard. I definitely feel that I’m quicker this year; that’s one of the things I’m working on during the two-a-days. I did look for the tight end today because we have two new good tight ends this year so that will be good.

RB LeSean McCoy

You know, last year I got hurt in this scrimmage so I knew that this year I wasn’t going to get too much playing time. I feel good, no problems anywhere. I want to play a little more to get the timing down, the speed of the game, and then I’ll be cool.

WR/DB Teron Strawbridge

It feels pretty good, getting this much playing time. I was here last year and did good in the beginning, but then I got hurt. That limited my playing time last year but this year it’s looking good. Between offense and defense, right now I prefer defense. They want me to know three positions on defense and I’m up for any challenge

OG/DT Jason Kates

We looked OK today but we still have another week of practice to come together as a team. On the defensive line we have everybody back and we’re looking good; I hope we can do big things this year. I think the addition of Ryan Finney on the defensive line really helped us out.

QB/DB Vince Comasco

We played good. I thought I played pretty well with the 2 interceptions. With all of the players we have in the secondary I think we’re starting to know each other a little better. It’s starting to come together.

OG/DT Ryan Finney

The offensive line is starting to get real tight, with Jason Kates at the other guard and Baumbach moving over to left tackle. I like playing on defense, just playing for Jason when he gets tired, subbing in for him when he needs it. In my last year I’m coming in real strong. I feel real confident. I’m feeling states.

TE/LB Leon Black

I like playing for McDevitt. This team feels like playing back home to me. I think being here is a good opportunity for me. As far as tight end and linebacker, I like both positions equally, so I’m just going to try hard at both of them. I do like Harrisburg; the fresh air feels good to me. The team has really opened their hearts to me, and I appreciate that. On the touchdown catch, all of the conditioning we’ve been doing really paid off.

TE/DE David Seiple

I worked hard in the off-season so I could get some playing time this year and it has really paid off. On my catch I thought I was in the end zone; my knees didn’t touch until I was in but the referee didn’t call it  and all the players said I scored so that’s all right, we scored anyway. On defense, I’ve been working on my form with our defensive line coaches, working on rip moves and stuff so it worked out for the best.

S Eric McGovern

We looked good. The offense wasn’t as sharp but they did what they had to do. The defense looked good; we were vocal and everybody ran to the football. I was proud of that. I’m excited about the season. Our secondary is going to hold them down, keep the passing attack under control and win some football games. My brother? I’ve been dealing with that my whole life, everybody saying he’s better than me! We both have talent but I like his running back style. He’s looking good out there.

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