BROCKWAY-On a night when Brockway crowned Julie Genevro as homecoming queen, it was the Curwensville Golden Tide regaining momentum by defeating the Rovers 42-27.
“I’m happy for those kids. It feels good to get a win,” said head coach Andy Evanko after the game.
Jed Greslick put in hard work at running back, rushing for 188 yards on 23 carries, three for touchdowns, while David Kalgren had another solid game under center, going 10 of 16 for 144 yards and three scores. Jesse Hoover led the receiving core with 72 yards on five catches, including two touchdowns.
The spread offense from Brockway showed to be effective against the Curwensville defense, as Derek Buganza went 18 of 32 for 273 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. However, on this night, turnovers would make the difference in who struck first.
Brockway fumbled the opening kickoff, which was recovered by Curwensville at the 30-yard line. Relying on the ground game on the wet turf, the Tide struck first as Greslick scored from the 1. The missed extra point made the score 6-0 early in the game. After a three-and-out by Brockway, the Tide worked the clock on a ten play, 61 yard drive that consumed nearly five minutes. It was worth the hard work as Kalgren hit Hoover from 22 yards out for the second touchdown of the game. The two-point conversion was good as Bloom scampered in, putting the tide up 14-0 at the end of the quarter.
Brockway did not manage to score until midway through the second quarter, and did so in quick fashion. After a bad snap on a punt, Greslick was forced to run and was stopped at the 15, leaving a short field for the Rovers. Six seconds later, Brockway was on the scoreboard as Buganza hit Aaron Shaffer for the score. The extra point made it 14-7 with 6:28 left in the half. Curwensville answered back as Kalgren got his second throwing touchdown, once again hitting Hoover from eight yards out. The extra point made it 21-7 heading into halftime.
The Golden Tide got the ball first to start the third quarter, and once again the Tide took advantage of good field position as the kickoff was returned to the Rover 46. Coach Evanko’s team elected to protect the ball and completed a seven play, 46 yard drive consisting only of runs by having Greslick score his second touchdown of the game. The extra point made it a 28-7 game..
At that point, it seemed as if the momentum had swung in favor of the Rovers as Brockway managed a long drive of their own late in the third quarter for their second touchdown of the game. After 10 plays, and 89 yards, Buganza hit Mark Shannon from 32 yards out to cut the score to 28-14.
The momentum was short lived as the Golden Tide answered back quickly as Greslick broke free in the Rover secondary, scoring on a 68 yard run down the middle of the field, quickly increasing Curwensville’s lead to 35-14. However, Brockway was still keeping the game close, and Buganza kept the Rovers’ hopes alive as he got his third touchdown in the game on a 25 yard pass to Shaffer early in the fourth quarter.
“Brockway’s got an explosive offense…they score quickly,” said Evanko regarding the two late scores by the Rovers.
Despite the quickness of the Brockway offense, it was Curwensville’s offense being the deciding factor, as Kalgren got his third touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to Sam Gardner, after a 10 play, 70 yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock, virtually putting the game out of reach for Brockway.
Curwensville (4-1) is looking to continue their winning ways next Friday as they host Ridgway, while Brockway (2-3) must rebound on the road next Saturday (10/4) as they face Elk County Catholic.
GAME STATISTICS
CURWENSVILLE BROCKWAY
First Downs 17 14
Rush Yards 364 156
Pass Yards 144 273
Total Yards 508 429
Comp/Att/TD/INT 10/16/3/0 18/32/3/2
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/1
Penalties/Yards 5/44 2/15
Time of Possession 29:15 18:45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING- CURWENSVILLE: Greslick-23 carries, 188 yards, 3 TDs; McGary-10 carries, 110 yards Bloom-8 carries, 23 yards. BROCKWAY: Kuhar-8 carries, 125 yards; Buganza-11 carries, 9 yards; Shannon-1 carries, 9 yards.
PASSING- CURWENSVILLE: Kalgren-10 of 16, 144 yards, 3 TDs. BROCKWAY: Buganza-18 of 32, 273 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT.
RECEIVING- CURWENSVILLE: Hoover-5 catches, 72 yards, 2 TDs; Greslick-2 catches, 14 yards; Gardner-1 catch, 21 yards, TD. BROCKWAY: Shaffer-5 catches, 77 yards, 2 TDs; Shannon-4 catches, 69 yards, TD; Vervroot-4 catches, 53 yards.
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
GOLDEN TIDE-1 yard run by Greslick (2 pt. conversion no good)
GOLDEN TIDE-22 yard pass from Kalgren to Hoover (2 pt. conversion good)
2nd Quarter
ROVERS-15 yard pass from Buganza to Shaffer (P.A.T. good)
GOLDEN TIDE-8 yard pass from Kalgren to Hoover (P.A.T. good)
3rd Quarter
GOLDEN TIDE-6 yard run by Greslick (P.A.T. good)
ROVERS-32 yard pass from Buganza to Shannon (P.A.T. good)
GOLDEN TIDE-62 yard run by Greslick (P.A.T. good)
4th Quarter
ROVERS-25 yard pass from Buganza to Shaffer (P.A.T. no good)
ROVERS-3 yard run by Buganza (P.A.T. Good)
GOLDEN TIDE-21 yard pass from Kalgren to Gardner (P.A.T. good)