October 6- The Bishop McDevitt Crusaders improved to 5-1 tonight, dominating a young Chambersburg Trojan team, 49-6 at newly-renovated Trojan Stadium. Crusader Head Coach Jeff Weachter had 5 goals coming into the game: take an early lead to ensure victory; work on timing in the passing game; play a lot of reserves to build depth; rest key starters for the challenging two game stretch that awaits; and avoid injuries. All five goals were reached, as McDevitt raced to a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. The passing attack accounted for 2 quick scores and 166 yards in the first half. Lineman Matt Dietz and back Mike Jones sat this one out, and key players such as Dave Onorato, Kyle Koncar, Vince Lochetto, Chris Henderson and Julian Harrell didn’t play in the second half. Reserves flooded the field, beginning in the second quarter, and they played well. And, finally, the McDevitt training staff was happily idle this evening.

Chambersburg returned the opening kickoff to the CH41 and the Crusaders wasted no time in establishing dominance. After a 7 yard pass completion, linebacker Pat Berry, who spent the entire first half in the Trojan backfield, dropped Taylor Caldwell for a 9 yard loss on a reverse. Then Berry and tackle Sebastian Sullivan flattened quarterback Cheston Smith for a 5 yard sack, the first of 7 for McDevitt. The Trojan punt that followed wobbled to the CH 37 and Thomas Mitchell returned it to the 28. Quarterback Koncar began with a 14 yard screen pass to Harrell and, following a procedure penalty, threw a strike to Mike Comasco for a 19 yard touchdown. Comasco added the first of his 5 successful PAT’s and McDevitt led, 7-0, at the 9:47 mark in the opening quarter. After a three-and-out possession for Chambersburg and a punt, the Crusaders took possession at the McD31. Onorato ran for 5 and then Koncar passed to Harrell for 8 yards and the first down. Then, after an incompletion, a 3 yard Onorato run and a short pass to Harrell McDevitt faced a fourth-and-two at its own 47. Onorato slipped behind tight end Steve Westhafer’s block for a 15 yard gain to keep the drive alive and was replaced by Evan McGovern. One play later Koncar ran the option to his left and pitched to McGovern. The speedy junior was hemmed in by Trojan defenders but he quickly reversed his field and headed for the right sideline. Following big blocks by Koncar and Comasco, McGovern outraced the Chambersburg secondary to the end zone for his first varsity touchdown and a 14-0 McDevitt lead. The Trojans were stopped again on the next series, thanks to another Berry sack, and the ensuing punt rolled dead at the McD 43. Onorato shredded the Chambersburg defense for 9 yards, and then Koncar threw a bullet to Westhafer, who rumbled for a 37 yard gain to the CH 11. On the next play Koncar bobbled the snap but managed to throw a fade to Harrell in the left corner of the end zone to stretch the McDevitt advantage to 21-0 with 1:42 left in the quarter.

When the Crusader defense returned to the field John Koury, Corey Miller, Wes Jesperson and Brian Christman held down the defensive line. They were as successful as their predecessors, forcing another Chambersburg punt thanks to Miller’s massive 17 yard sack of Smith. When McDevitt regained possession at the CH 46 the Chris Henderson show began. The tank-like fullback began with an 8 yard run and followed with a 16 yard effort, good for a first down at the CH22. After a 10 yard surge good for another first down, the massive junior plowed into the end zone for the score, trampling two Trojans along the way. The one-man, 46 yard scoring drive boosted the lead to 28-0 with 10:23 left in the first half. What came next was another Chambersburg possession, another three-and-out, another Berry sack, this time for 12 yards, and more good field position for the Crusaders (the CH40). After an incompletion and a 3 yard McGovern gain Koncar hit Harrell with a pass over the middle and the junior wideout dragged tacklers on his way to a 36 yard gain, stopping inches short of pay dirt. Onorato finished the job, strolling into the end zone behind Jared Henley’s block and bulging the McDevitt lead to 35-0. On the next series linebackers Dante Ushery and R.J Hetrick had tackles behind the line of scrimmage and Jesperson joined the sack-fest. Chambersburg punted to the CH 47 and Mitchell recorded a 4 yard return. Then, after an incompletion, Koncar and Harrell hooked up for another long gain, 35 yards to the CH8. Koncar threw an incompletion and then Henderson fumbled, but tackle Jordan Knox recovered at the 9. After Koncar slipped on the suddenly-slick artificial surface (a light rain accompanied the first half) Comasco missed a 30 yard field goal attempt and 6^th and final possession of the first half was the only one that didn’t end in a score for the Crusaders. The half ended with McGovern blasting Smith after a short gain, and teams retreated to the locker rooms to prepare for a mercy rule-shortened second half.

Harrell gathered in the second half kickoff at the McD 10 and galloped 90 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a trailing referee mistook a fine McGovern block for a clip and the Crusaders began at the CH45 with Mitchell at quarterback and promising sophomore Bill Stair at tailback. Stair promptly ripped off a 15 yard gain but the drive stalled when he was held inches short on fourth down. Three plays later Chambersburg running back M.J. Davis darted 56 yards for a touchdown and the lively Trojan student cheering section finally had something to cheer about. After bobbling the extra point attempt the Trojans had narrowed the McDevitt lead to 41-6. Harrell had another fine kickoff return, to the McD38, and Mitchell promptly fired a sideline pass to Casey Bolton for a 9 yard gain. Stair gained the first down with a 4 yard run and then showed off his impressive speed by streaking 49 yards for his first varsity score. Bolton followed up his catch with a perfect PAT and McDevitt now had a 42-6 lead. On the following kickoff Chambersburg fumbled and freshman Fred Dietz recovered for the Crusaders at the CH21 as the quarter ended.

McDevitt began the final quarter with 3 Stair carries, the last one a slippery 10 yard touchdown run that featured 4 changes of direction. Bolton added another accurate PAT to finish the evening’s scoring. The rest of the quarter went quickly with the continuous running clock. The McDevitt defense recorded two more sacks, by Hetrick and Tony Nguyen, and kept the Trojans from positive yardage. The offense utilized two other quarterbacks, freshman Salath Williams and senior Xavier Butts, and benefited from fine runs by sophomore Pat Vargo and freshman Jonathan Duckett. The contest, which took only 1 hour, 45 minutes to complete, was a McDevitt success on many levels.

Next Saturday, October 14^th, the Crusaders play host to the Central Dauphin Rams at McDevitt Field. The game, which has developed into a heated rivalry, is scheduled to start at 10:30 AM.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter

We’re kind of banged up from playing those 3 physical games in a row (Harrisburg, Cumberland Valley and State College) so we decided to give Matt Dietz and Vince Lochetto the week off and we thought that if we gave Mike Jones off, too, that he could get to 100%. So they didn’t practice all week. We dressed them in the first half and Vince played a little bit, but obviously we didn’t need them so we told them to get into street clothes for the second half. We really wanted to come out of this game healthy. On the defensive line Corey Miller, John Koury, Wes Jesperson and Brian Christman stepped up. I thought our linebackers, Vargo, Berry and Ushery played well; they couldn’t handle our blitzing. Our secondary played their normal good game. Offensively we started using Terahje Gratkowski as an “H” back because he’s too good of a player to keep off the field. The game plan was to try to work on our passing game, to get a little sharper, and I thought we did pretty well. Kyle threw pretty well. We had a couple of drops but, for the most part, the passing game looked pretty good. We wanted to use McGovern a little bit more as a running back but he injured his leg in our first 7-on-7 in June and he missed all the summer workouts so he wasn’t in great shape. The other thing is they said that his knee should be 100% around mid-season and it’s getting there so we feel a little more comfortable running the ball with him. Depending how Mike is Evan should start getting the ball a little bit more in the second half of the season. Billy Stair, once he gets out in the open, well, I thought he made some nice cuts and ran really well. We also got a big plus when we got Jonathan Duckett back. He hasn’t played since the Manheim Township scrimmage. He’s going to be a good one, too. Pat Vargo did some good things, too, so we have some real depth at tailback. CD is a big rivalry game for us and our kids are going to be excited. We didn’t have a particularly good week of practice, but this week I think our guys will be back in focus. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t practice well. This Chambersburg Stadium is absolutely beautiful. I think it’s the nicest one I’ve seen. I said to Tom Deangelis on the sideline, “Boy, another one with turf. It sure would be nice if….” And Tom said, “I know, I know”. Chambersburg has a good coaching staff here. They got the job late and I’m sure that they’ll turn it around for next year.          

Assistant Coach Domenick Rozzi

It’s a challenge to keep the guys up when they expect to win but the big focus, especially from a defensive standpoint, is that we want to dominate. So it doesn’t really matter who we’re playing, we really want to take it to them on every snap. Our “D” line played well, our linebackers were filling and covering and our backfield played well, also. It’s a special thing for me to be able to come back to McDevitt and coach, to give back to the program. What it’s all about for me is to be able to come back here and to really give back to a program that gave so much to me. It’s really nice. The kids are bigger and faster than when I was playing, but I don’t know if they are any crazier! The level of play is a little higher and the talent level is a step up from where we were. CD is going to be a big challenge but these guys are going to be up for it. So we’re going to come into next week really focused, we have some good game plans ready to go and it’s going to be a knock down, drag out fight.

DE Corey Miller

I knew that I was going to have to step up because, coming into practice this week, I knew I was going to play in this game. I came out and tried to do my best, played hard and I think I did good. The line came off the ball hard and we pushed them back and got some sacks and tackles. On my sack they were blocking it like a run and I saw the quarterback drop back so I pushed the tackle off and tried my hardest to get to the quarterback and I got there. CD is a pretty big rivalry. We’ve had a couple of students that left McDevitt from last year and we’ll be playing against them, Egenreider and those guys. We’ll be going up against him so it’ll be a fun battle.

LB Dante Ushery

We practiced hard this week; we didn’t underestimate Chambersburg or anything. We played them like we’d play any other team. I think everybody played well. I really don’t think there was a difference between our starters and our second team. They showed up and played just as hard as our starters did. With CD next week I’m just thinking about winning.

G Jared Henley

We’ve made a lot of changes on the offensive line throughout the year but I’m comfortable with them. I think that the new guys coming in are doing a good job. With CD coming in we will prepare just like any other team. Do I think about the playoffs? Yes, every day! But we have to take things as they come.

S/RB Evan McGovern

On the touchdown run I came over to the left side on the option and got spun around. I saw an opening and ran to the right side and Kyle Koncar and Mike Comasco had great blocks that opened it up and I was free from then on. We have to take every team like every other team, good or bad. They’re always going to come out and put up a fight and we have to prepare just like we do for all of the great teams out there. I’m looking forward to the CD game. We’ve had a couple of transfers from over here to over there and it’s a big rivalry, anyway. It should be good.

RB Bill Stair

On the first touchdown when I got the ball the line did a great job of opening a hole and I saw it, took it hard and I was in the end zone. The line did a great job there. On the second score again there was a good hole but the linebackers picked up on it. I just had to try to get by them, so I dug in my feet and fought my way through. Being on the bench is tough, going from freshman ball when I was playing the whole game, but you have to have discipline to know that you have to wait your turn. You have to give the older guys a chance because the coach wouldn’t play them if they weren’t better than you. So you just have to wait your turn and hope to do your best. With CD we’re going to take it like the other games; like we’re playing the best so we come out and play our best. It’s always a rivalry so I’m really pumped about it. I hope I get a few carries.

LB R.J. Hetrick

If feels real good to get the playing time. I love representing my team. I want to thank my teammates because they really keep me enthused and it’s a game that’s all about heart. I try to do the best that I can. I try to help the team stay focused to help out in practice to help everyone do their job. We can’t afford to take anyone lightly.  

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