Curwensville Thumps Terrors 60-7

DUKE CENTER – Curwensville Area High School football coaches wanted this week’s practice to be all about fundamental football after falling to Port Allegany a week ago.  If the Golden Tide practice how they played, they proved that fundamentals will win ball games.

The Black and gold rebounded in a big way Friday night by thumping Otto-Eldred 60-7 in a game that was played the entire second half under the mercy rule.

The Terrors wanted to be aggressive against the defending District IX Class A Champs by putting their offense on the field first.  However, the hosts couldn’t overcome two early penalties and were forced to punt the ball away to the visitors.

Starting on their own 48-yard line, Curwensville set the tone for the game on their opening drive – score fast and often.  Junior Josh Greslick ran off 12 yards on two plays before senior Alex Holland took the field.  The diversion caught the hosts off guard as Holland rambled 40 yards on his first touch for a score at the 9:25 mark.  The PAT try failed and the Tide led 6-0.

The defense forced a second punt and the visitors went to work again from their own 10-yard line.  Five different offensive players put their hands on the ball to cover 90 yards on 11 plays.  Junior quarterback Hunter McCracken connected on passes of 29 and 20 yards to Jesse Zorger and Jordan Russell respectively while the running tandem of Holland, Greslick and Brad Coudriet were all effective.  Holland covered the final 12 yards of the drive at the 1:24 mark and ran in the PAT for a 14-0 lead that ended the first quarter.

“I have to hand it to our line tonight,” credited Evanko.  “Todd Munchak, Brad Stubbs, Jason and Kyle Bloom, Chad Desmett, Spencer Smeal and Jarret Sheeder were blowing holes in the line that anyone could have run through.  They really helped us do whatever we wanted tonight”

By the start of the second quarter, the Tide was receiving its third punt of the game and the offense again was combining the pass and run to move down the field.  Russell pulled in two more passes for 34 yards before Greslick’s turn to roll.  Greslick powered through a hole up the middle for a 32-yard strike and a 20-0 lead after again failing to convert the PAT.

On the ensuing drive, however, the Terrors showed their only fight of the game.  The two-play drive covered 68 yards and was capped by a 57-yard run by senior Lucas Kerr.  Sam Colebert added the extra-point for a 20-7 mark that inspired the hometown fans.

The inspiration quickly deflated as Greslick used just :13 off the clock to run back the kickoff 79 yards to the end zone.  Holland added the PAT to set the score at 28-7 with 8:51 remaining in the half.

“Josh is a very capable runner in his own right,” Evanko said.  “That kick-off return  is the way you answer an opponent’s quick touchdown.  He cleared the wall and no one was going to catch him.”

The teams combined for three scores in :46, and, unfortunately for the Terrors, Greslick’s efforts were more inspiring to the visitors.

Curwensville would score three more times before the half.  Holland notched his third and fourth TD’s of the half with scoring runs of four and 23 yards. Greslick added his third TD on a 19-yard jaunt with :12 left to set the score at 48-7 at the intermission.  Coudriet ran in an extra-point after Holland’s final score to aid in the advantage.

“We did very well tonight,” said Evanko.  “Defensively, we improved our tackling, and offensively, everyone was doing their job to contribute to our success.”

Curwensville opened the second half with the ball, and the starters needed only three plays to give way to the second team.  Holland ran three times and covered 53 yards to record his fifth score to set the mark at 54-7.

With 10:26 left in the third quarter, coach Evanko turned the game over to his bench – and they did not disappoint him.  The reserves continued to keep the hosts’ starters out of the end zone and managed to put points on the board as well.    

Sophomore Alex Olsen caused most of the damage as he carried the ball well through the Otto-Eldred line.  Olsen finished the second half with eight carries for 69 yards and a touchdown – a 34-yard burst.

“I was very happy with the second unit’s effort,” Evanko beamed.  “Anytime we can score on a starting squad, and not let them score shows that our program is right where it needs to be.  It was great to get them time on the field on a Friday night.”

Holland finished the night with 209 rushing yards on 17 carries that included five scores.  Greslick carried the ball seven times for 80 yards and three TD’s including the 79-yard run back.  McCracken connected on 9-of-12 pass attempts for 153 yards.  Russell had five receptions for 97 yards while Zorger caught four passes to total 56 yards.  Curwensville ended the game with 546 total yards of offense.

The Tide (3-1) will next take on the Kane Wolves (3-1) in a key AML battle at Riverside Stadium.  Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m.   Kane defeated Smethport 20-14 in overtime on Friday. 

Score by Quarters

Curwensville – 14 34 12 0 – 60

Port Allegany – 0 7 0 0 – 7

BOX SCORE

1st Quarter

Curwensville: 40-yard run by Holland (kick failed), 9:25

Curwensville: 12-yard run by Holland (pass failed), 1:24

2nd Quarter

Curwensville: 32-yard run by Greslick (kick failed), 9:37

Otto-Eldred: 57-yard run by Kerr (Colebert kick), 9:04

Curwensville: 79-yard kickoff return by Greslick (Holland run), 8:51

Curwensville: 4-yard run by Holland (pass failed), 2:51

Curwensville: 23-yard run by Holland (Coudriet run), 2:24

Curwensville: 19-yard run by Greslick (pass failed), 00:12

3^rd Quarter

Curwensville: 3-yard run by Holland (kick failed), 10:26

Curwensville: 34-yard run by Olson (run failed), 00:49

4th Quarter

No scoring

GAME STATISTICS

Curwensville / Port Allegany

FIRST DOWNS:  20 / 5

RUSH YARDS: 393  /  175

PASS YARDS: 153  /  11

TOTAL YARDS: 546 / 186

PENALTIES:  5 / 6

PENALTY YARDS:  48  / 49

COMP/ATT/TD/INT: 9-12-0-0  / 1-7-0-1

FUMBLES: 2 / 2

FUMBLES LOST: 2 / 1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

CURWENSVILLE:  Holland-17 carries, 209 yards, 5 TD’s; Coudriet-3 carries, 13 yards; Gresslick-7 carries, 80 yards, 2 TD’s; Olson-8 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD; Billings-6 carries, 9 yards; Johns-2 carries, 4 yards; McGarry-1 carry, 8 yards; Royer-1 carry, 1 yard; TOTALS: 45 carries, 393 yards, 8 TD’s.

PORT ALLEGANY: Bodamer-9 carries, 72 yards, 1 TD; Trent Neal- 10 carries, 91 yards, 1 TD; TOTALS: 19 carries, 163 yards, 2 TD’s.

PASSING

CURWENSVILLE:  McCracken – 12 attempts, 9 completions, 153 yards, 0 touchdown, 0 interceptions.

OTTO-ELDRED: Vaughn – 7 attempts, 1 completions, 11 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception.

RECEIVING

CURWENSVILLE:  Zorger – 4 receptions , 56 yards; Russell – 5 receptions, 97 yards; TOTALS: 9 receptions, 153 yards.

OTTO-ELDRED: Hoffman-1 reception, 11 yards; TOTALS: 1 reception, 11 yards.