With their backs against the wall early in the game, the Curwensville defense came up with three big stops that keyed the Tide’s 14-2 win over Ridgway.
Ridgway received the opening kickoff and immediately marched down the field. The Elker offense ran 14 rushing plays, and consumed almost seven minutes of clock. However, the Tide defense came up huge when it mattered most, stopping the Elkers on 4th and goal from the 7. Their momentum seemed short-lived though, as following a false start that moved the ball back to the three yardline, Tide QB David Kalgren was tackled in the end zone for a safety.
Following Curwensville’s punt from their own 20, Ridgway was set up at the Tide 35. Once again the defense stiffened, sacking Ridgway QB Nick Dickant three times and forcing them to turn the ball over on downs at the Tide 27. The Tide then took to the air, with pass plays of 13 yards to WR Jesse Hoover and a 65-yard TD screen to Jed Greslick punctuating their quick 5-play, 73-yard drive.
Now down 6-2, the Elkers once again drove the length of the field in 14 plays, as before almost exclusively via the rush. With their backs to the goal line, the Tide’s bend-but-don’t-break defense found a way to deny the Elkers on 4th down again, ending Ridgway’s last serious threat of the evening.
In the second half Curwensville’s offense dominated on the ground, with drives that ate up 6:30, 4:39, and the final 6:28 of the game. Ridgway only had two 2nd-half drives, and never got closer then the Tide 35.
Coach Andy Evanko was very pleased with the win, citing the defense as the main cog. \”The defense stepped up huge for us tonight\” he said. \”They played all 48 minutes.\” Coach Evanko also highlighted a few players he felt were standouts, saying \”I thought our seniors, Derek Johnson and Trevor Horton, had a very good night, and I believe Nathan Russell had three sacks for us as well. David Kalgren was solid across the board – running, passing, and on defense. This was a big win for us, we’ve been getting better each week and we’re looking forward to next week against Sheffield.\”
For the game, Kalgren ran 13 times for 55 yards and 1 TD, and completed 9 of 16 passes for 156 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions. After a slow start Jed Greslick ran for 48 yards on 9 carries in the second half, and caught 2 passes for 80 yards and 1 TD. Jesse Hoover caught 6 passes for 67 yards.
Curwensville has won 3 of their past 4 games and is now 3-5. The Tide host 0-8 Sheffield next Friday at 7PM.
Scoring Summary
Team 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q total
Ridgway 2 0 0 0 2
Curwensville 0 6 8 0 14
First Quarter
7:12 Ridgway – SAFETY, Kalgren tackled in end zone
Second Quarter
1:02 Curwensville – TOUCHDOWN, Greslick 65 pass from
Kalgren (run failed)
Third Quarter
6:32 Curwensville – TOUCHDOWN, Kalgren 1 run (Kalgren run)