ST. MARYS — Needless to say, the wintery mix that has hit central Pennsylvania has caught everyone off guard. Some areas are dealing with downed tree limbs and slick roadways, while many others are without power because of ice on the lines.
Some area schools got hit hard enough to postpone their varsity football games until Monday. However, the Curwensville Golden Tide and the Elk County Catholic Crusaders elected to do battle on the field at St. Marys High School. The grass was soaked in water, with crews draining the puddles that had developed in the end zones over an hour before game time.
Despite the efforts, the field was a quagmire. Ball control proved to be the deciding factor in this game as Curwensville held Elk County Catholic to just 96 yards total offense in a 28-8 victory.
Head coach Andy Evanko said afterwards that the field conditions made it tough for both teams, on both sides of the ball.
“To say it was horrible field conditions was an understatement; but we really executed well in the mud,” Evanko stated. “Our kids worked until 7 p.m. last night at practice preparing for these conditions, and to play that well on both offense and defense was just great.”
The field made it tough for either team to get any momentum as each exchanged three-and-out drives to start the game.
Despite the slow start, Curwensville was able to get its running game working in the sloppy conditions behind the legs of Jed Greslick and Alex Holland. The two would combine for 153 of the Tide’s 188 rushing yards, including one touchdown.
What surprised the Crusaders, and the fans, the most was how Curwensville was able to make plays in their passing game. Quarterback Sam Gardner used the play-action to near perfection as he finishing the night five for six passing for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
“Gardner executes the play action so well, and he’s got a great arm,” Evanko said of his senior.
Neither team would score in the first quarter, as each were still getting a feel for the field conditions. Following the third three-and-out by the Crusaders, Curwensville started their first lengthy drive of the game at their own 28. Using the ground attack, the Tide drove down to the Crusader 25, only to have their 15-play drive stop on fourth down, giving the Crusaders another opportunity.
But, just like the drives before, the Crusaders did not gain a first down and were forced to punt.
The ensuing possession by Curwensville began at the Crusader 45, but quickly moved down into striking distance of the goal line. Following a penalty, Curwensville was faced with a 3rd and goal from the Crusader eight. Gardner went with a play action pass, hitting Greslick near the sideline. Greslick then scampered into the end zone for the first score of the game with just 18 seconds left in the first half. The failed two-point conversion left the score 6-0 as both teams went into halftime.
“That score at the end of the half was big considering we were getting the ball first in the third quarter,” Evanko stated.
Curwensville’s opening possession of the second half was simply old-school football as Evanko called nothing but running plays to wear time off the clock. Greslick used this as an opportunity to showcase his run skills as the first seven plays went to him. Greslick would end the night with 102 yards on the ground.
Following two runs by Holland, Gardner showed he can score on the ground as he punched the ball in from five yards out. The two-point conversion made the score 14-0 with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Crusaders started their ensuing possession on their own 30, but just as quickly as it started, it ended. On first down, quarterback Joe Jacob fumbled the snap, his fourth of the evening, and Curwensville fell on the ball. That play would turn out to be the only play the Crusaders would run in the third quarter.
Alex Holland would be the star back of the next drive as Greslick would come out of the game after two plays. Still, the ground game once again showed to be too powerful for the Crusaders to handle as they were driven back to their own ten. But, Gardner then proved he can pass just as well as he could run as he again went play action. His pass went into the hands of Shea Best for his second passing touchdown of the game. The run by Holland put the score at 22-0 with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
The ensuing kickoff did not fair well for the Crusaders as Greslick squib kicked the ball, which he did the entire game. However, the ball bounced off one of the Crusader up-backs, leaving it fair game for either team. After separating the scramble, it was Kyle Barrett recovering for Curwensville, giving them the ball in Elk County Catholic territory once again.
Curwensville would rely once again on Holland to do the heavy load on the drive as he carried the ball eight out of the ten plays, eventually getting his lone touchdown of the game with 8:52 remaining. The failed two-point conversion left the score 28-0.
Elk County Catholic would get on the scoreboard with just under four minutes remaining as Kyle Gerber capped off a 13-play, 71-yard drive with a ten-yard touchdown. The two point conversion brought the score to 28-8, which it remained for the final time frame.
Despite having to deal with such harsh conditions, Evanko was praising his backs and his offensive line.
“I think our offensive line played exceptional. Brian Zemba, Jonathan Michaels, Billy White, Spencer Smeal, Jake Pentz, everyone did exceptional.” Evanko stated. “Richie Michael had some big blocks there as well to get us some yards. Everyone just executed well tonight, I’m just so proud of these kids.”
Curwensville (5-2) returns home for it’s final two regular season games of the season starting next week as they host the Johnsonburg Rams.
CURWENSVILLE 0 6 16 6 28
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 0 0 0 8 8
BOX SCORE
2nd Quarter
C: 8-yard pass from Gardner to Greslick (Gardner run failed), 0:18
3rd Quarter
C: Gardner 5-yard run (Pass to Holland good), 6:28
C: 10-yard pass from Gardner to Best (Holland run failed), 2:50
4th Quarter
C: Holland 7-yard run (Gardner run failed), 8:52
E: Gerber 10-yard run (Gerber run good), 3:50
GAME STATISTICS
FIRST DOWNS: Curwensville-13 Elk County Catholic-6
RUSH YARDS: Curwensville-188 Elk County Catholic-64
PASS YARDS: Curwensville-88 Elk County Catholic-32
TOTAL YARDS: Curwensville-276 Elk County Catholic-96
PENALTIES: Curwensville-4 Elk County Catholic-2
PENALTY YARDS: Curwensville-30 Elk County Catholic-10
COMP/ATT/TD/INT: Curwensville-5/6/2/0 Elk County Catholic-2/5/0/0
TURNOVERS: Curwensville-1 Elk County Catholic-3
TIME OF POSSESSION: Curwensville-32:22 Elk County Catholic-15:38
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
CURWENSVILLE: Greslick-22 carries, 102 yards; Holland-15 carries, 51 yards, TD; Gardner-5 carries, 7 yards, TD
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC: K. Gerber-10 carries, 57 yards, TD; Pearsall-4 carries, 14 yards
PASSING
CURWENSVILLE: Gardner-5 of 6, 88 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC: Schneider-2 of 5, 32 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
RECEIVING
CURWENSVILLE: Greslick-2 catches, 38 yards, TD; Best-2 catches, 32 yards, TD; Dimmick-1 catch, 20 yards
ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC: Gebauer-2 catches, 32 yards