Wildcats score early and often against Cards

All it took was six-and-ahalf minutes for Keystone to show they were all business in a matchup at Brookside on Oct. 6. The Wildcats struck on a 10-yard touchdown pass from QB Bobby Weber to wide receiver Jack Corraini and never looked back, winning, 65-10.

Keystone scored 45 points in the first half, and Weber tossed for 200 yards on 6 of 6 passing and three touchdowns. The Wildcats totaled 150 rushing yards to Brookside’s 26 yards.

The Wildcats (3-4, 1-1) emphasized during the week not to overlook Brookside (1-6, 1-1).

“We had a lot of talk about not overlooking Brookside,” Weber said. “We were 2-4 and they were 1-5 and we thought we were coming into a tough game, and they certainly gave it to us a little bit.”

On Brookside’s second possession of the game, sophomore defensive back Jacob Shackleford intercepted a pass and returned it 55 yards for the score.

With 15 seconds left in the quarter, senior wide receiver Justin Able hauled in a smooth 45-yard TD catch for a 21-0 lead. After a blocked punt and safety,

Keystone scored again early in the second when junior Kayden Williams bullied his way for a 40-yard rushing gain, then followed it with a 1-yard score. Able ran in the two-point conversion.

With 4:14 in the half, junior running back Cory Hartle caught a 12-yard score for a 38-0 lead.

One of the few bright spots for the Cardinals on the night was when they capitalized on back-toback Wildcats penalties, and quarterback Jonathan Hice connected with senior wide receiver David Chambers for a 32-yard touchdown with 1:40 before the half. Chambers finished with 68 passing yards.

But on the ensuing possession, Keystone didn’t ease up when Weber hit sophomore Dylan Naylor 65 yards down the field to take a 45-7 halftime lead.

“We’ve had some nice offensive games this season,” Keystone coach Don Griswold said. “And we’ve had some games where we’ve struggled to get going. So we have it in us to get clicking and the boys made plays tonight. I’m really proud of our athletes tonight.”

Keystone played its backups in the second half, and saw sophomore Anthony Provagna return a 63-yard kickoff for a touchdown to open the half.

Another bright spot for Brookside was when kicker Owen Rozanc, also a soccer forward, broke the school record in the fourth quarter by nailing a 40-yard field goal with 9:35 remaining.

Coach Paul Ferguson said the first quarter is what did his team in.

“It’s really tough,” he said. “We just came out flat and could not get back into it. Keystone had a great scheme and they looked like one unit that just clicked together.

“We have to keep with the process and keep doing the right things. If they make the right choices, good things will happen. Will it happen in the near future? Maybe not. But maybe a few years down the road and maybe even 10 years from now it will happen. But they have to keep doing the right thing.”

Keystone’s defense holding the Cardinals to 10 points, led by seniors Matt Kelling and David McCullough, can be a building block moving into the stretch run of the season.

“They had a lot of tackles tonight,” Griswold added. “Defense set the tone. We feel good about where we are in the league. We had tough losses to Black River and Columbia, but we have good football team.”