Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Big fourth quarter lifts Patriots past Oxford
Big fourth quarter lifts Patriots past Oxford
Great Valley’s offense has been a difficult puzzle to solve for much of the season, but lately, they have been beset with injuries, and seemingly, have as many starting linemen in the trainer’s room as on the field. Fortunately for Great Valley, when one guy goes down, others step up.
A hungry Oxford team came to visit with hopes of spoiling Homecoming festivities. While the Hornets kept Patriots star receiver Ryan Hubley out of the end zone (4 catches for 89 yards), others picked up the slack, and Great Valley posted a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to open up a tight game for a 31-21 Ches-Mont League American Division victory.
“We’re so banged up on the lines right now, with four starters gone for the season,” said Patriots coach Dan Ellis. “But, these guys just kept fighting and fighting and fighting. Mike Means is doing a great job over there with Oxford. I know that no matter what their record is, it’s a much better football team than a year ago. But this team kept fighting and made the plays they needed to make when they needed to make them.”
After forcing the Hornets (0-
4, 1-7) to punt on their first possession of the game, the Patriots took over on their own 9-yard line, and steadily marched down the field, finishing the five minute scoring drive on a 26-yard touchdown run by Mark DeRobertis, who finished the day with 54 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries. The running back also completed a crucial pass for 18 yards on a third-and-long to keep a drive alive.
“It’s amazing how good a job the line did today, especially with all the injuries we have,” said DeRobertis. “So many of the younger guys stepped up and played great. We knew we just needed to play the kind of game we can play, and we were going to get back on the winning side of things.”
Oxford answered right back. Brandon Holz put the Hornets in great field position on the ensuing kickoff, returning it 68 yards to the Great Valley 25. Two plays later, Holz ran it in from 14yards out to cut the lead to a point. The Patriots held the lead by blocking the point after -- one of two blocked kicks on the day.
Holz had a monster day in the loss, rumbling for 146 yards on just seven attempts, and three scores.
“Brandon is a real player,” said Means. “He’s just a junior and he gets better and better every week, making some big plays for us lately. He’s really coming into his own the past couple weeks.”
With the Patriots (3-2, 5-3) clinging to a 24-21 lead early in the fourth, they caught the first big break of the game, recovering a fumble at the Oxford 25. Moments later, quarterback Robert Geiss connected with Brednan O’Donnell for a one-yard TD pass and a 10-point lead that stood up.
Geiss finished the day with 202 yards on 17-26 passing, and added 58 yards on 13 carries.
“All day long, we all just supported each other so well,” said Great Valley offensive lineman Brad Allan. “We all knew that fumble meant the game. This was just a great win. And it was a great game for all the people here for homecoming.”
Oxford still searches for its first win in the ChesMont American, despite being in most of its games.
“All we can control now is the next two weeks,” said Means. “We just have to believe in ourselves late in games. We have to find a way to win the close ones, like teams have been doing to us. We’ve got two more weeks. Hopefully we can end on a high note.”