Matriots battle past meddie
,W ZDs Dn uJOy fiUsW KDOI DW dermantown Academy. Between the matriots and the visiting meddie School Falcons, who made the hourplus long ride down for the afternoon game, there were six turnovers and seven penalties in the opening two quarters alone.
But it was the matriots who were able to capitalize on the mistakes in a bigger way. And at the end of the day, while the mistakes need to be addressed, dA knows that its record is nothing to be unhappy with.
rnder Matt aence, the new head coach of the matriots, dA improved to 2-0 following a 21-7 win over meddie School Eeightstown, kJF in a non-league meeting at dermantown Academy on Saturday afternoon.
qhe matriots E2-0, 0-0F forced four fumbles and saw senior Rob dorman score an offensive and defensive touchdown en route to the win.
“f’m so happy for these guys,” aence said. “ft’s just such a different atmosphere. qo start out the way we did shows that this is a total team effort. qhese guys play for each other and it just feels so good. f can’t put into words how much f appreciate them for what they’re doing.”
meddie E0-2, 0-0F actually ZHnW uS fiUsW, FDSLWDOLzLnJ Rn RnH RI GA’s WKUHH fiUsW KDOI turnovers.
LDWH Ln WKH fiUsW TuDUter, dA quarterback eayes kolte had a pass intercepted at the line of scrimmage and returned 23 yards for a touchdown. But the matriots fought back, scoring twice in the second quarter, including a defensive touchdown of their own.
At the 5:58 mark of the second, senior Joe qaylor, who was on the sidelines dealing with cramping in his leg for nearly the entire game, caught a 29-yard
first score of the game. And with only one minute, nine seconds to play in the half, when it appeared WKDW GA wRuOG JR inWR WKH ORcNHr room down by one, the Patriots forced a fumble and Gorman returned it PP yards for a score.
GA, after being moved bDcN 15 yDrGs, WKHn cRPSOHWed a 20-yard pass from Nolte WR sHniRr LRu 6WHvHns IRr D two-point conversion and a 14-7 lead at the half.
“The coach has been SrHDcKinJ WR us DOO wHHN WR wRrN KDrG HvHry GDy DnG WDNH iW RnH win DW D WiPH,” Gorman said. “Being 2-0 is D JrHDW sWHS DnG wH’rH WryinJ WR JR RuW DnG PDNH iW 3-0 nHxW wHHN. ,W’s D JrHDW win.”
GRrPDn, wKR finisKHG wiWK nine carries for P7 yards and a score, was a force on both sides of the ball. Besides his two scores, he also caught one pass for 11 yards and helped to completely shut down the )DOcRns’ SDssinJ DWWDcN.
“5Rb GRHsn’W HvHn wDnW WR cRPH RII WKH fiHOG, HvHr,” Dence said. “I thought we lost KiP IRr WKH JDPH in WKH firsW TuDrWHr wKHn KH JRW injurHG, DnG iW wRuOG’vH bHHn D WRWDOOy different game without him. HH’s wKDW PDNHs WKis WHDP go. To have him gut it out, ,’P jusW rHDO SrRuG RI KiP.”
(DrOy in WKH IRurWK TuDrWHr, GRrman helped GA to cap off a sixplay, 80-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Just one play earlier, Nolte found junior Kyle Donahue for a 45-yard pass to set up first-and-goal.
2n WKH GDy, 1ROWH finisKHG with 182 yards and one touchdown passing while completing 11 of 20 passes. He threw two interceptions in WKH firsW KDOI, buW cDOPHG GRwn DnG GiGn’W Wurn WKH bDOO RvHr in WKH finDO WwR TuDrWHrs. BHsiGHs GRrPDn’s performance, 5-foot-4 junior runninJ bDcN 0yOHs AnWKRny OHG WKH JrRunG DWWDcN wiWK 48 yards on 1P carries.
Donahue caught three passes for 65 yards, while Taylor, who barely played in the second half, caught three passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.
GA wiOO ORRN WR iPSrRvH to P-0 next Saturday when it hosts Blair Academy.
“,nRurIirsWJDPH,wHGiGn’WKDvH anyturnoversandhardlyanypenalWiHs,buWWKDW’ssRPHWKinJwHnHHGWR wRrN Rn,” DHncH sDiG. “,W wDs KRW WRGDy DnG , WKinN WKHy ORsW D OiWWOH IRcus and went down, but I told them sWDyORcNHGinDnGnRwwHjusWKDvH to practice at a higher tempo. They KDvH D ORW WR cuW GRwn, buW ,’P jusW so proud of these guys right now.”