CRUSADERS HUMBLE EAST, 49-0 IN 2007 OPENER
September 1- It was smooth sailing
all morning for the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders, as the 2007 season opened with a
49-0 rout over the Central Dauphin East Panthers at McDevitt Field. The home
team scored on its first seven possessions, led by quarterback Kyle Koncar. The
junior completed 9 passes in 11 attempts for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns, and
added 29 yards and a score on 4 rushing plays. Senior Derrell Holland’s first
game in a gold helmet was a memorable one: 6 carries, 112 yards and 2 impressive
touchdown runs. Senior Mike Jones ran for 84 yards and a touchdown, and also
contributed a dazzling 76 yard reception for 6. Sophomore Salath Williams, a
converted quarterback, was the leading receiver with 3 grabs for 62 yards and a
touchdown. In all, 9 Crusaders carried the ball and McDevitt’s 10 pass
completions were spread among 7 receivers. The offensive line of Terahje
Gratkowski, Ed Mera, Jared Henley, Vince Sullivan, John Koury and Jordan Knox
blasted gaping holes in the East defense and protected Koncar flawlessly.
McDevitt racked up 526 total yards.
The defensive line, a concern in the
preseason, was quick and aggressive. Sophomore tackles Stefan Bell and Steve
Mosey teamed with ends Gratkowski and Henley to roam the East backfield at will,
as McDevitt registered 5 sacks. Two more sophomores, Jonathan Duckett and Fred
Dietz, joined junior Dante Ushery at the linebacker spots. The trio helped hold
the Panthers to a meager 43 total yards and 4 first downs. With Darryl Hadley
and Mike Comasco at cornerback and Evan McGovern and Pat Vargo at safety, the
East passing attack could only muster 4 completions.
Jones took the opening kickoff at the
McD 15 and followed a big Henley block to burst into the open field. He lost his
balance and stumbled at the CDE 36 and the Crusaders began the assault. Koncar
threw a quick out to senior Julian Harrell for 11 yards before Holland’s first
carry gained 3 yards. Another Koncar strike, this time to Comasco for 10 yards,
moved the ball to the CDE 12. Jones burst up the middle for 7 tough yards and
then, after an incompletion, Koncar ran a keeper and followed Knox into the end
zone for McDevitt’s first score in 2007. Comasco converted the first of his 7
successful PAT’s, and the Crusaders had a 7-0 lead with 9:22 left in the first
quarter. Comasco drilled the ensuing kickoff into the end zone for a touchback
and Ushery promptly dropped East’s Anthony Jackson for a 4 yard loss. A 2 yard
run and an incompletion followed, so the Panther’s Cory Webster booted the first
of his 7 punts to McGovern, who bulled for 11 yards to the CDE 44. After a
motion penalty it only took 4 plays for the Crusaders to score again. Jones ran
for 9 and Holland added 2 more before Koncar and Harrell hooked up for a 10 yard
gain to the CDE 29. Holland proceeded to take a handoff and bolt over left
guard, break a tackle and vault into the end zone to stretch the McDevitt
advantage to 14-0, at the 5:47 mark. The Panthers dodged a bullet on the next
series when a Comasco interception was erased by a defensive holding call, but
that only delayed the inevitable. Ushery pressured quarterback Travis McFarland
into an incompletion on 3rd down so the Panthers punted again, to the
McD 15. Jones began the next scoring drive with a 6 yard run before Koncar moved
the chains with a 5 yard scurry. The crafty junior then hit Williams with a 19
yard gain, to the McD 45, and then Jones bolted for a 13 yard gain. Koncar
scrambled for 17 yards as McDevitt moved to the CDE 25. From there Koncar led
Williams beautifully with a floater that the soph cradled in the end zone. Now
leading 21-0 the Crusaders defense turned up the intensity, forcing another East
3-and-out. The subsequent punt rolled dead at the McD 27 as the quarter ended.
It was more of the same in the second
quarter. McDevitt ran a nifty option, with Comasco taking a Koncar pitch for a
16 yard gain. Holland then darted his way for a c13 yard gain, to the CDE 44.
Junior Billy Stair came on to fight for 9 tough yards on 2 carries and then
Koncar snuck for the first down. Koncar then faked a handoff and passed to
Gratkowski over the middle. The big tight end rumbled for an 18 yard gain, to
the CDE 24. On the next play Koncar flipped a shovel pass to heralded freshman
Jameel Poteat, who calmly followed his blockers across the goal line to push the
McDevitt lead to 28-0. East appeared ready to move the ball on the next series
after a completed pass to the CDE 33, but Bell crashed through the Panther’s
pass protection and sacked McFarland for a 5 yard loss, forcing yet another
punt. Comasco settled under the ball at the McD 29 before weaving his way to
midfield to give the Crusaders excellent field position. Stair ran for 4 yards
before Holland galloped for a 22 yard gain, to the CDE 24. On the next play
Holland, running low to the ground, drove over the left side of the McDevitt
line, made a 
quick cut and finished the touchdown run with a flop into the end
zone. The 35-0 lead, with 5:13 left in the half, ensured that the second half
would be played under the “Mercy Rule” continually running clock. The Next C.D.
East series ended with Dietz and Corey Miller sharing a sack, and the punt that
followed rolled dead at the McD 5 in the waning moments of the half. Jones ran
for 5, then 14 as the Crusaders called time out with 35 seconds left to play.
Koncar then lofted a screen pass to Jones over the middle of the Panther
defense. The 208 lb. senior broke a tackle, then another and broke free at the
CDE 40. He beat the last defender with a burst of speed as he finished off the
76 yard touchdown reception that enabled McDevitt to carry a 42-0 lead to the
locker room.
Head Coach Jeff Weachter had decided
to play his starters for one series each in the second half, so they made it
count. Gratkowski sacked McFarland for a 10 yard loss on the Panther’s opening
drive of the second half, so Webster was called on again to punt the ball. The
Crusaders began at the McD 46, but a holding penalty cost them 10 yards. Jones
got that back, and 7 yards more, on his next carry. Holland then darted for a 19
yard gain to the CDE 28. On the next play Koncar passed to Williams on a slant
and the lanky end made an impressive juggling catch, despite having an East
defender draped over him. The gain was good for 18 yards, and Jones finished the
scoring on the next play by running the final 10 yards to pay dirt. McDevitt
reserves then flooded the field for the rest of the quickly-played second half,
but the Panthers were still held scoreless. When Pat Hannigan fell on an East
fumble on the CDE 21 it looked like the Crusaders would add to the lead, but a
Crusader fumble at the 12 ended the threat. Ryan Kenny continued the assault on
the East QB’s when he registered a sack for a 6 yard loss, forcing another
Panther punt. Freshman Matt Johnson came in at quarterback and impressed the
McDevitt crowd with a 9 yard completion to junior Chris Houston. Poteat, Stair,
Mosey and sophomore Dan Leonard kept the chains moving, running behind effective
blocks by Sean Burns, Mark Sallinger, Ambrose Asuzu and Victor Shaffer. On
defense, Kenney and Derek Harhigh shared another sack, and Ben Runkle, Brandon
Wainright and Sean Barowski had big hits.
The Crusader’s next game is Saturday,
September 8th, against the Hempfield Black Knights at McDevitt Field.
Game time is 10:30 AM
QUOTES
Head Coach Jeff Weachter
I don’t put a lot of stock in
scrimmages. Against Manheim Township last week we showed 4 running plays and 4
passing plays, and we didn’t change our blocking scheme even though they play a
46. Manheim Township films our first scrimmage and they practice all week on
what they see. It’s big for them. We’ve been practicing for CD East for the past
2 weeks, putting in a lot of offense and defense that we just didn’t want to
show. I was very proud of our kids because we looked sharp today. I was very
happy with the way Stefan Bell and Steve Mosey played at defensive tackle. They
were terrific. I thought that our linebackers really picked up their play, too.
I’m real happy with the defense. The good thing is, we get to correct some
mistakes. We have to get the kickoff team playing like a Bishop McDevitt kickoff
coverage team, but that will come. It’s great to play so many players. Those
kids work hard and I’m happy to be able to get everybody in. As you can see, the
future for McDevitt looks bright. I think Kyle Koncar is the best quarterback in
the league. He reads the Veer so well. He can run, he makes good reads on his
passes, he throws the ball well and his arm has gotten stronger. He has a really
good command of the offense and there are not a lot of high school kids, even a
second year starting junior, that can orchestrate and be as sharp and run as
many plays and formations as he did and have the offense be so sharp. I’m
excited about playing Hempfield. Bob Forgrave, their new head coach, taught me a
lot about the 4-3 defense when he was coaching at Millersville University so it
will be fun to go against him. Manheim Township was telling everyone in
Lancaster County that we’re not a physical football team so it gives us a chance
to redeem ourselves.
QB Kyle Koncar
We practiced a lot on the offense
this week. We forgot about the Manheim Twp. Scrimmage; that’s just a scrimmage.
We came out here and scored on every possession. That was a real boost for us.
On the first touchdown run, that was 24 Veer and the end crashed so I decided to
take it. I was glad to get there, in the end zone. Our attitude will be real
positive next week after a win like this. Hempfield always has a good team, they
played us tough last year and we want to come out with a win.
G John Koury
It feels really good to start my
senior year. It took a lot of hard work and effort but it paid off. Last week we
came out flat and we were too high coming off the ball. But after a hard week of
practice we fired out low and got the job done. I thought playing East was going
to be harder than it really was, but we came together as a team and showed who
was the better team. Now we’re just going to take it one day at a time. We have
a long week of practice to prepare for Hempfield.
LB Dante Ushery
We came out played the game and had a
lot of fun. I expected East to be much better than they were, but we just came
out and did what we had to do. We really weren’t prepared last week after
practicing inside, so we practiced harder this week, focused on our keys and
assignments and dominated. I’m looking forward to next week.
OT Ed Mera
I thought that they were going to be
bigger than they were. We went through a lot of hard practices this week and it
paid off. Our practices this week were a lot better than last week; we picked it
up a lot. We’ll take it one game at a time and Hempfield’s next.
RB/DB Mike Jones
On the
opening kickoff I saw the big hole and I broke it outside and then my calves
started cramping up! Everyone that plays for McDevitt worked really hard in the
weight room over the winter and it shows when we get out here and play. We
weren’t worried about last week. We’re just going to show everybody what we can
do. We’re a team here, a big family and we’re going to do what we have to do to
win. With Hempfield next week, we’ll just take it one week at a time and
hopefully come out with a victory.
Click here for the CD East Game Stats
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