Final: Octorara 33 (3-0), Pequea Valley 0 (2-1)
QTR 1
|
QTR 2
|
QTR 3
|
QTR 4
|
TOTAL
|
|
Octorara
|
6
|
8
|
13
|
6
|
33
|
Pequea
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
By Jack Mariano
Octorara’s quarterback Dan Solomon has a lot of weapons at
his disposal and he knows how to use every one of them.
Solomon made some nifty plays with his arm and with his
scrambling ability, eluding the Pequea Valley rush on a chilly Friday evening
in southern Lancaster County that saw his Braves defeat PV Braves 33-0..
The Pequea Valley home game was switched to Solanco High
School's field, due to concerns about a light stanchion at Pequea Valley's
field. PV school officials didn't want to risk playing on the field.
Both teams entered the contest at 2-0
Once the fan seating directions were sorted out and the
teams were selected properly under the Solanco score board, Soloman went to
work. Mitch King quickly received a
Solomon pass in the end zone for Octorara’s first touchdown of the evening, one
of his three for the night.
Senior quarterback Dan Soloman, who was 19 of 26 for 286
yards and three TDs, distributed the ball nicely to his receivers including
Chuck Cooper who had 3 receptions for 16 yards; Mitch King who ended the game
with 4 receptions for 49 yards, 2 receiving TDs, Anthony Dinorscia with 4 receptions
for 87 yards and James Brown with 8 receptions for 136 yards.
When Solomon wasn’t passing, he was handing off or pitching
out to his backs who racked up yardage on the ground. In addition to his receiving yardage, Mitch
King had 3 carries for 40 yards and finished the night at the quarterback
position. Chuck Cooper chipped in with a
3 reception for 16 yards night along with 3 rushes for a total of 20 yards.
A beauty of a halfback option pass from Cooper to James
Brown on a flick from Solomon was neatly caught by Brown and would have been a
sure touchdown if not for a Pequea Valley defender knocking the ball out of
Brown’s hands.
Later, in the third quarter, a similar stunt had Mitch King
flicking the ball to Solomon who threw a 27 yard TD Pass to Brown.
As
reported to the LancasterOnline sports:
"We
got caught on big plays," said first-year Pequea coach Evan Breisblatt.
"We do a nice job, get them in third-and-long, and then Soloman made plays
with his arm.
The game may have turned early in the third quarter. On
the first play after the kickoff to open the second half — with Octorara
holding a 14-0 lead — PV senior running back Mitch Ball (19 carries, 128 yards)
ran the ball off tackle, broke a couple of tackles and gained 57 yards to the
Octorara 13.
But on fourth-and-4 from the 7, Ball picked up only two yards and
Pequea turned the ball over on downs.
"We lost momentum there," Breisblatt
said. "We didn't run the fourth-down play correctly."
Octorara scored on its next three possessions to put the game away.
Octorara coach Jed King, certainly at home at Solanco after playing quarterback for the Golden Mules in the late '90s, saw that stop by his team as pivotal.
"Pequea broke that big run and maybe it got our guys on edge, telling them that the game wasn't over," King said. "We made that stop and that was it." Pequea's offense was unable to cash in on several good defensive plays. PV had an 18-yard tackle for a loss on fourth down, an interception in the end zone and forced a fumble that resulted in a touchback but couldn't score points off those plays.
After completing 10 of 17 passes for 231 yards over his first two games, PV quarterback Chad Tyson was limited to two completions on nine passes.
PV also gave Ball the lion's share of the carries in its no-huddle offense, even though Chris Schmid (16-81; 60 on PV's final drive) rushed for 364 in the first two games.
Octorara scored on its next three possessions to put the game away.
Octorara coach Jed King, certainly at home at Solanco after playing quarterback for the Golden Mules in the late '90s, saw that stop by his team as pivotal.
"Pequea broke that big run and maybe it got our guys on edge, telling them that the game wasn't over," King said. "We made that stop and that was it." Pequea's offense was unable to cash in on several good defensive plays. PV had an 18-yard tackle for a loss on fourth down, an interception in the end zone and forced a fumble that resulted in a touchback but couldn't score points off those plays.
After completing 10 of 17 passes for 231 yards over his first two games, PV quarterback Chad Tyson was limited to two completions on nine passes.
PV also gave Ball the lion's share of the carries in its no-huddle offense, even though Chris Schmid (16-81; 60 on PV's final drive) rushed for 364 in the first two games.
Octorara’s defense came to the rescue at just the right times as Chuck
Rossiter (1 sack) and Mike Turner (2 sacks) plus several quarterback “hurries”
help stifle the drives that Pequea Valley did try to mount.
Octorara moves to 2-0 in this neighborly battle and retained the trophy awarded to the winner of the "Battle of the Braves."
Octorara moves to 2-0 in this neighborly battle and retained the trophy awarded to the winner of the "Battle of the Braves."
Octorara travels to Great Valley next week To take on the Patriots at
Morris DeFrank Field at 7 p.m.
Click here to read the Daily Local News' take on the game.
Highlights of the game from WGAL Channel 8 in Harrisburg here. The reporter needs a lesson on how to pronounce Octorara.
Click here to read the Daily Local News' take on the game.
Highlights of the game from WGAL Channel 8 in Harrisburg here. The reporter needs a lesson on how to pronounce Octorara.
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