CURWENSVILLE — When the game ended last week against Cameron County, Curwensville head coach Andy Evanko looked at his team, and had them look to the scoreboard. Despite them not winning the game, he spoke highly of their effort.
The question then was could that effort be continued, and could it lead to a victory the following week?
Friday night that question was answered to the fullest. On an evening that saw light sprinkles, heavy downpours, and the crowning of Sarah Clark as homecoming queen, the Golden Tide used a deliberate running game and tough defense to upset the high-powered Brockway Rovers, 32-19, at Riverside Stadium.
“Our coaching staff had a great game plan, and the kids executed all night,” Evanko said in the locker room. “We dropped two games the last few weeks, and losing isn’t any fun. This is a big win.”
The game plan Curwensville put into effect was simple: run the ball and keep it out of Brockway’s hands. The Tide went on to rush for 348 yards and four touchdowns against a very tough Brockway defense. Leading the way was Alex Holland, who had 155 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns. Jed Greslick also broke into the three-digit column as he went for 112 yards on 20 carries and two scores.
Quarterback Sam Gardner also put his mark on the rushing statistics as he went for 96 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown. Gardner also completed two passes on five attempts for ten yards.
What really worked in favor of Curwensville was the weather. Rain fell for nearly the entire game, which not only made footing difficult, but it took away the passing attack of Brockway. Last week’s D9Sports.com Player of the Week, quarterback Derek Buganza, was held to just 152 yards on 14 completions and one touchdown.
“Their quarterback (Buganza) is a stellar player. He could make throws that I couldn’t expect him to make,” Evanko said.
The teams exchanged punts on their respective opening possessions, but Brockway was first to put points on the board. With the rain falling at a steady pace, the Rovers had to use their ground game to try and gain yardage. After a 30-yard pass from Buganza to Jake Shaffer, Brockway had made it to the Tide 21. Four plays later, Buganza called his own number and punched the ball in from three yards out. The extra point went wide left, leaving the score 6-0 midway through the first quarter.
After the Tide were stopped on fourth down on the ensuing possession, Brockway looked to open the gap. However, the Tide defense forced Buganza to throw three incompletions, forcing a punt.
Curwensville got the ball at their own 31, but after a 15-yard face mask penalty on Brockway, Curwensville was set up in Rover territory. After Greslick was stopped on two straight run plays, Gardner went play action and caught Greslick over the middle for a 31-yard gain.. Greslick would score two plays after, pounding the ball up the gut from one yard out. The successful two-point conversion made the score 8-6 with little time remaining in the first quarter.
Brockway’s opening possession of the second quarter started with good field position just short of the 50-yard line, and after two run plays of 40 yards, the team was set up at the Curwensville 17. Unfortunately for Brockway, the Tide defense held their ground, forcing them to turn the ball over on downs.
Curwensville took possession on their own 14, and went to work on the ground using Holland as the backbone. The first two plays of the drive saw Holland rush for 21 and 25 yards, putting the ball on the Brockway 39. Gardner then followed up with a 25-yard scamper of his own. The drive would conclude with Holland going up the left side of the Rover defense for his first score of the evening from 12 yards out. The missed two-point conversion set the score at 14-6 with 8:51 left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Curwensville hit a squib kick to the center of Brockway’s return team. Brockway could not handle the ball and Curwensville recovered at the 45-yard line of the Rovers. The following possession saw the Tide move the ball to just inside the 30 of Brockway before they fumbled on fourth down, giving Brockway another chance to score.
Just then, the game took a huge momentum shift. On 1st and 10, running back Ryan Terwilliger got the handoff, but lost control of the ball after a three-yard gain. Curwensville pounced on the ball, forcing their first turnover of the game, and putting the Tide offense in excellent field position on the Rover 25.
Curwensville would get points off the turnover as Holland got his second touchdown of the night on a 2nd and Goal from the one. The failed 2-point conversion kept the score 20-6 heading into halftime.
The Tide would get the ball first to start the second half, and after a good kickoff return, started at their own 40. Greslick got the ball on the first play, rushing for five yards. On the second play from scrimmage, Greslick found a hole in the left side of the Rover defense, but the secondary began closing. With three Brockway defenders collapsing on him, Greslick found a gap between them, and went the rest of the way down the sidelines for his second touchdown of the night. Another failed conversion made it 26-6 only one minute into the third quarter.
“That run really got us going. The line had a whale of a game, and our backs played with such explosion,” Evanko said.
The celebrating did not last long as Brockway was able to get their passing game working on their first possession of the second half. With the rain letting up, Buganza was able to go 5 for 5 on the drive, eventually connecting with Terwilliger for a 10 yard touchdown. The extra point cut Curwensville’s lead to 13 with half the third quarter yet to play.
Curwensville could not get anything going on their next possession, and after being stopped on fourth down, had to give the ball back to Brockway at the Tide 40. Buganza connected with wideout Mike Vervoort on third down for a 31 yard gain that moved the ball to the Tide 9. Two plays later, Terwilliger scored from one yard out. The two-point conversion was intercepted, which left the score 26-19 and remained so heading into the final quarter of play.
Curwensville’s first drive of the fourth quarter would start at its own 39, but the offense simply stuck to the fundamentals of the game and ran the ball right at the Rover defense. Brockway stood tall, though, forcing the Tide into another fourth-down situation. This time, though, Gardner would be the one getting the last word. As he was scrambled out of the pocket, he found blocking ahead of him and rushed his way to the end zone. Gardner’s 42 yard run made the score 32-19 with just under eight minutes to play.
Brockway’s next drive would start at its own 41, but after a pass to Vervoort, the Rovers found themselves in Tide territory. On 1st and 10 from the Tide 40, Buganza threw a pass to his left, but the ball hung in the air and fell into the hands of Curwensville corner Robbie Tubbs.
Curwensville could not get points off this turnover, and was forced to punt, giving Brockway another opportunity to put points on the board. Unfortunately, this night would prove to be too much as Curwensville sacked Buganza on second down, then forced two incompletions that sealed the Tide victory.
Evanko said afterwards that this was a win that his team truly earned.
“Every quarter, no one took a play off. Our kids executed all night long, and I’m so proud of the effort I saw out there,” Evanko said. “These kids are so resilient.”
Both Brockway and Curwensville now have a 3-2 record. Curwensville is on the road for two weeks starting next Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Ridgway Elkers.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th FINAL
BROCKWAY 6 0 13 0 19
CURWENSVILLE 8 12 6 6 32
1st Quarter
ROVERS: Buganza 3-yard run (kick failed), 5:56
TIDE: Greslick 1-yard run (2-pt. conversion good), 0:34
2nd Quarter
TIDE: Holland 12-yard run (2-pt. conversion no good), 8:51
TIDE: Holland 1-yard run (2-pt. conversion no good), 0:33
3rd Quarter
TIDE: Greslick 55-yard run (2 pt. conversion no good), 11:00
ROVERS: 10-yard pass from Buganza to Terwilliger (kick good), 7:21
ROVERS: Terwilliger 1-yard run (kick failed), 4:46
4th Quarter
TIDE: Gardner 42-yard run (2 pt. conversion no good), 7:54
BROCKWAY CURWENSVILLE
FIRST DOWNS: 11 14
RUSH YARDS: 104 348
PASS YARDS: 162 38
TOTAL YARDS: 266 386
PENALTIES: 6 3
PENALTY YARDS: 30 20
COMP/ATT/TD/INT: 14/28/1/1 2/5/0/0
FUMBLES: 1 2
FUMBLES LOST: 1 1
TIME OF POSSESSION: 15:45 32:15
RUSHING
BROCKWAY: Terwilliger-12 carries, 67 yard, TD; Buganza-5 carries, 22 yards, TD
CURWENSVILLE: Holland-24 carries, 155 yards, 2 TD; Greslick-20 carries, 112 yards, 2 TD; Gardner-12 carries, 96 yards, TD
BROCKWAY: Buganza-14 for 27, 162 yards, TD, INT; Marshall-0 for 1
CURWENSVILLE: Gardner-2 for 5, 38 yards
BROCKWAY: Vervoort-4 catches, 47 yards; Marshall-3 catches, 41 yards; Shaffer-2 catches, 32 yards; Terwilliger-2 catches, 22 yards, TD
CURWENSVILLE: Greslick-1 catch, 31 yards; Holland-1 catch, 7 yards
