Defense doesn’t allow Jaguars to beat themselves
WESTTOWN >> Garnet Valley likes to open a season with a tough nonleague opponent, its only real chance to get ready for a Central League slate.
Making the job all the tougher Friday night was the sweltering heat and humidity every team had to deal with, and the shortened practice time that likely contributed to a turnover-filled game against host West Chester Rustin.
On the bright side, the Jaguars won a war of attrition, 24-16.
Although the Rustin defense shut down Garnet Valley’s potent veer offense, limiting the Jaguars to just 148 total yards, turnovers and the GV defense did the host team in.
“I am really proud of the way our kids battled tonight,” said West Chester Rustin head coach Mike St. Clair. “We had a ton of injuries and guys going down but we fought and fought against a real good football team. But mistakes and turnovers were just too much to overcome tonight.”
Rustin started the turnoverfest early as Brandon Frazier fumbled on the Golden Knights’ first offensive play, resulting in a 26-yard field goal by the Jags’ Jacob Buttermore for a 3-0 Garnet Valley lead.
But the Golden Knights came right back, and when quarterback Tim Durant hit JT Alioso with a nifty sevenyard touchdown pass to put the Knights up, 6-3, it would be Rustin’s only lead of the night. Durant, in his first varsity start under center, completed nine of 20 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Garnet Valley scored the next 17 points, but it was one play that spelled the end of Rustin’s hopes.
After Rustin recovered a Garnet Valley fumble, the Knights drove down to the Garnet Valley 14-yard line with time ticking down in the half. Durant looked for Ty Pringle on a slant pattern, but the ball skipped off the Rustin receiver’s hands Buttermore picked the ball out of the air and scampered 90 yards for the score to give the Jaguars a 17-6 halftime edge.
“That was all Coach (Mike) Ricci,” Buttermore said. “He moved me from safety to cornerback and the ball came out of his hands and I saw it and just reacted and it gave us a boost going into halftime. We just grinded things out tonight. Our defensive line is one of the best in the Central League and although Rustin is a very good team we just kept on grinding it out tonight.”
Things looked bleak for Rustin early in the third quarter when Garnet Valley quarterback Nick Juliano capped a seven-play, 46-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run to give the Jags a 24-6 lead.
But thanks to three Garnet Valley fumbles, Jaguars were unable to the game away.
The first one came early in the fourth period, followed by Durant hitting Collin Hurley with a 42-yard touchdown lost the put pass to close the gap to 2413 early in the fourth. Garnet Valley then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and although the defense held, Cole Gallagher drilled a 41-yard field goal to make it a 24-16 game with 8:22 left.
Yet another Jaguar fumble put Rustin on the Garnet Valley 35 with just under six minutes to play, but the Garnet Valley defense showed its mettle to put the game away. A sace by Rob Monachello helped in that effort. His Jaguars defense held Pringle, Rustin’s star running back, to just two yards rushing on the night.