RallyNorth.net

Salem Blue Devils Football '14

Sat, Sep 20, 2014 07:00 PM @ Pinkerton
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Salem 0 7 0 0 7
Pinkerton 7 7 0 0 14

Pinkerton survives with defense

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Saturday, September, 20 By Jeff Hamrick


DERRY — After watching several defensive teammates forced to the sideline because of injury, it was up to a backup cornerback to keep Pinkerton's perfect record intact.

With the Astros' offense uncharacterstically faltering throughout, it was up to a bend-but-don't-break defense that led to a 14-7 victory over Salem before about 4,000 fans in the first of what could be several
topflight match ups between contenders in the South Conference.

The biggest — and last — of several stops was provided by junior Tyler Gendron, who stopped receiver Kenny Calabrese inside the 1 on a fourth-and-goal from the nine with 20 seconds remaining.

"We had a few injuries, so someone had to make a play, and I was able to come up with it," said Gendron, was unable to deflect the John Cerratani pass despite being draped over Calabrese, but the DB immediately brought the receiver to the ground. "I just knew I had to help the team."

Gendron was in position to help because starter Nick Coombs went out with an ankle injury on a fourth-and-goal tackle of his own less than 4 minutes before his replacement's big-time tackle. Coombs stuffed running back Johnny Bartose at the 1, stuffing a Salem drive that went 53 yards and lasted more than 5 minutes.

Quality offensive help was untypically difficult for the 3-0 Astros, who have another showdown Friday with undefeated and border rival Londonderry. Leading running back T.J. Urbanik went to the sidelines with a shoulder injury after only four first-quarter carries, but the Astros are used to sharing the rushing wealth with a stable full of running  backs.

But Salem, which was looking for only its third win in 16 tries against Pinkerton the past decade, held the Astros to 150 yards on 34 carries, including scoring runs by Jack Hanaway in the first quarter and Jason Hansen in the second for a 14-0 lead.

"The kids played really hard and executed well," Blue Devil coach Rob Pike said. "Those are positives we can build on."

The Blue Devils tied the score with 2:51 left in the opening half on a 2-yard run by Charles Sibanda. But Salem was unable to score on four second-half possessions. Besides the pair stopped at the 1, Salem had drives stall at the Pinkerton 10 (that ended on a missed 27-yard field-goal attempt) and another that reached the Pinkerton 24, but was stymied by penalties.

"We have to know what we're doing wrong, and fix it," Pike said. "We can't keep making penalties like that, but Pinkerton's a good team that tightened up."

But the Astros probably will need to reestablish it's punishing ground attack to survive at Londonderry on Friday.

"The biggest problem (last night) offensively was a combination of having (inexperienced) kids not being aware of our plays and Salem selling out," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "I can now fix the guys in the backfield."

Game Statistics:

First Quarter

P — Jack Hanaway 7 run (Kyle Cantalupo kick) 2:27

Second Quarter

P — Jacob Hansen 15 run (Cantalupo kick) 6:37

S — Charles Sibanda 2 run (Chris Sheikhabdou kick) 2:51


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: S (48-151) — Johnny Bartose 17-84, Sibanda 22-77, Josh Rodriguez 3-(-1), John Cerretani 6-(-9); P (34-150) —  Hanaway 14-58, Peter Cyr 5-53, Hansen3-23, T.J. Urbanik 4-8, Brett Dattilo 1-4, Nick Coombs 4-(-3)

PASSING: S — Cerretani 11-14-175, 0 interceptions; P — Hanaway 3-3-50

RECEIVING: S — Austin Homsey 5-66, Nick Shamski 3-59, Kenny Calabrese 2-17, Sibanda 1-28; P — Coombs 2-48, Riley Cahill 1-2

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