JOHNSONBURG – Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko said numerous times that his running back Jed Greslick has had a spectacular season. On a chilly night that saw the crowning of Kaylee Feronti as the 2008 Johnsonburg Homecoming Queen, Greslick turned in one of his best performances of the season, scoring four touchdowns as the Golden Tide defeat the Johnsonburg Rams, 42-21.
“Greslick had a spectacular game tonight and the offensive line made some great blocks,” said Evanko after the game.
Curwensville and Johnsonburg combined for 915 total offensive yards, but the problem that seemed to bring out a lot of emotion on both sidelines were penalties. The Rams committed 15 fouls, while the Tide accounted for seven.
“It was a sloppy game…we are too good to commit that many penalties in a game,” says Evanko about his squad.
Although Greslick accounted for the majority of the scores for Curwensville, quarterback David Kalgren accounted for the most yards, going 9 for 20 for 285 yards including one touchdown and two interceptions. Jesse Hoover led the receiving core with five catches for 162 yards and a touchdown.
For the Rams, leading rusher in the Allegany Mountain League, Zane Zelehoski, carried for 148 yards on 22 carries including one touchdown, while fullback Mark Myers accounted for 43 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Ren Yonker did not have one of his better nights under center, only going 3 for 17 for 27 yards and two interceptions.
It was Johnsonburg who got on the board first, scoring on a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by Myers to put the Rams up 7-0 early. Curwensville then managed to lead a very long, time consuming drive down to the Johnsonburg 4-yard line, only to have Greslick fumble the ball and have it recovered by the Rams.
After an exchange of three-and-outs, Johnsonburg extended their lead, capping off a 12-play drive on a 2-yard run by Myers. The blocked extra point left the score 13-0 with 7:22 left in the first half. Curwensville answered right back with a long drive of their own, 11 plays and 68 yards that ended with Kalgren sneaking in for the touchdown, bringing the Tide within six.
The Rams were forced to punt on the ensuing drive, but it did not take long for Curwensville to erase the deficit. On their first play of the drive, Kalgren connected on a 61-yard pass down the sidelines to Hoover, who ran in for the touchdown. The missed two-point conversion left the score 13-13 going into halftime.
Curwensville got the ball first in the second half, and wasted little time putting points on the board, as Greslick scored his first touchdown of the night just 45 seconds into the third quarter, giving the Tide a 20-13 lead. Both Johnsonburg and Curwensville exchanged turnovers to end the quarter, but Curwensville had momentum swinging their way early in the fourth quarter as Greslick scored his second touchdown on the night on an 11 yard run that finished off a drive that started on the Curwensville eight.
Emotions began to show themselves after the touchdown as Johnsonburg committed six of their 15 penalties in the fourth quarter, two of them being 15-yard personal fouls. Curwensville did not let the emotions on the field change the way they were playing, which was evident as Greslick got his third score on the night on a 6 yard sprint with 4:09 left in the game. The successful two-point conversion made the score 34-13.
Johnsonburg managed to cut the lead down to 13 with 2:33 left in the game as Zelehoski broke a 28 yard run for his lone touchdown of the game. But, Curwensville answered quickly as Greslick broke loose for a 57-yard run up the sideline for his fourth touchdown on the night. The ensuing two-point conversion made gave the Tide a 42-21 lead which remained for the rest of the game.
Curwensville (7-1) closes out its regular season next Friday night as they travel to take on the Kane Wolves, while Johnsonburg (5-3) finishes its regular season hosting the Elk County Catholic Crusaders.
GAME STATS
CURWENSVILLE JOHNSONBURG
First Downs 14 17
Rush Yards 234 367
Pass Yards 285 29
Total Yards 519 396
Comp/Att/TD/INT 9/20/1/2 3/21/0/2
Penalties/Yards 7/67 15/131
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 2/1
Time of Possession 20:30 27:30
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: CURWENSVILLE: Greslick-10 carries, 123 yards, 4 TD; McGary-7 carries, 45 yards; Kalgren-5 carries, 35 yards, TD. JOHNSONBURG: Zelehoski-22 carries, 148 yards, TD; Myers-12 carries, 43 yards, 2 TD.
PASSING: CURWENSVILLE: Kalgren-9 for 20, 285 yards, TD, 2 INT. JOHNSONBURG: Yonker-3 for 17, 27 yards, 2 INT.
RECEIVING: CURWENSVILLE: Hoover-5 catches, 162 yards, TD; Starr-2 catches, 95 yards; Greslick-1 catch, 15 yards; McGary-1 catch, 13 yards. JOHNSONBURG: Carrow-1 catch, 12 yards; Kowalski-1 catch, 11 yards; Myers-1 catch, 6 yards.
BOX SCORE
1st Quarter
RAMS-1 yard run by Myers (PAT Good)
2nd Quarter
RAMS-2 yard run by Myers (PAT Blocked)
GOLDEN TIDE-1 yard run by Kalgren (PAT Good)
GOLDEN TIDE-61 yard pass from Kalgren to Hoover (2 Point Conversion No Good)
3rd Quarter
GOLDEN TIDE-11 yard run by Greslick (PAT Good)
4th Quarter
GOLDEN TIDE-25 yard run by Greslick (PAT Blocked)
GOLDEN TIDE-6 yard run by Greslick (2 Point Conversion Good)
RAMS-28 yard run by Zelehoski (2 Point Conversion Good)
GOLDEN TIDE-57 yard run by Greslick (2 Point Conversion Good)
