Game Summary: GAR may have knocked the Warriors out of District 2A playoff contention with a hard fought 23-13 victory. It was a close game throughout the night with the score knotted at 13 at half. The Warriors took the second half kickoff and marched the ball down to the 25 yard line, but the remainder of the game belonged to GAR's tandem of Darrell Crawford and Kurtis Thomas who ran for 313 yards total.
The Warriors were focused and ready to play on Friday night. Campenni, Perugini, Murphy and O'Brien were the Warrior captains for the biggest game of the season. The defenses dominated the first quarter as the teams were feeling each other out. GAR struck with seconds remaining in the first quarter on a a Darrell Crawford 1 yard run. The TD was set up by a 25 yard pass to Lucas Benton.
Joe Adonizio did a nice job of recovering the ensuing onside kick attempt, giving the Warriors good field position at their own 47. On the first play from scrimmage, Chris Murphy faked a handoff to Corey Popovich, and scampered 18 yards between the guard and tackle to the GAR 35 yard line. Nick O'Brien picked up four yards on the next two plays. Murphy then ran the exact same play as he did at the beginning of the drive and summersaulted into the end zone for a Warrior TD. The PAT was no good, and the score was knotted at 6.
On GAR's next possession, near mid-field, Julian Campenni plowed over the center and the quarterback to cause a fumble recoverd by the Warriors on the GAR 43. Nick O'Brien under center, ran the same play--fake to Popovich up the middle, and ran for 14 yards off tackle down to the GAR 29. On the next play, O'Brien handed it to Popovich who gashed through the GAR line down to the 5 yard line. From there, O'Brien faked to Popovich and bulldozed his way into the endzone, giving the Warriors a 12-6 lead with 9:02 left in the second. Katie Scalzo's PAT made the score 13-6.
On GAR's next possession, they were trapped inside their own 10 yard line, facing a third and four. Crawford rolled to his left and found Tight End Pat Smith for a 40 yard gain out to midfield. This was a key play in the game as GAR would have been forced to punt from near their goal line if they did not complete this pass. While GAR did not score on this possession, they did get the ball near midfield with about 2:30 to play in the first half. Crawford fumbled a low snap, looked to be caught in the backfield, broke a tackle, and went 45 yards down to the Warriors 5 yard line. Thomas then scored with 1:38 left in first half, tying the game at 13.
With time winding down in the first half, the Warriors started their drive on their own 35. O'Brien snapped off a 17 yard run, followed by Chris Murphy running 8 yards, then 24 yards down to the GAR 17 yard line. With the clock now under 30 seconds, Murphy ran another keeper and picked up good yardage. At about the 10, it looked like a GAR tackler put his helmet on the ball, and the ball popped up in the air toward the goal line. A GAR defender snatched it out of the air, and the scoring opportunity was snuffed out.
The Warriors received the ball to begin the second half, starting on their own 26 yard line. On the first play of the half, Murphy ran the same play that had worked all night--fake to Popovich up the middle, and run between the guard and tackle. He broke it for 38 yards down to the GAR 38 yard line. After another first down, the Warriors penetrated down to the GAR 23--but after that, they were stonewalled by the GAR defense and had to give up the ball. On the next GAR possession, Murphy made a beautiful interception down the far sideline at the Warrior 35. The Warriors drove into GAR territory, but again, the offense stalled out. The Warriors punted and had GAR trapped inside their own 10 yard line. It was at this point, where GAR took control of the game. Key runs by Thomas--a 2nd and 16 pass completion to Benton, and then a 51 yard touchdown run by Crawford, gave the Grenadiers a 20-13 lead going into the fourth quarter. GAR mounted a time consuming drive that took up much of the 4th quarter and tacked on a field goal that made the final score 23-13.
The Warriors put up a great fight against one of the best teams in the Wyoming Valley Conference. This was certainly one of Chris Murphy's best games of his career as he ran for 131 yards on 16 carries. Fellow senior Captains Nick Perugini and Julian Campenni led the defense with 15 and 10 tackles respectively. Eric Eramo was injured early in the game and could not return. This certainly did not help the Warrior passing game which only could generate 4 yards total. Give GAR credit for seizing control of the game and making the plays they had to make in the second half.
The season is not over. The Warriors will host a tough Northwest team next Friday--fresh off of victories over Nanticoke and Meyers. Although a District Playoff spot is unlikely, an Eastern Conference playoff offer is certainly within reach if the Warriors win out.
Nick Perugini |
