PERFECT FINISH: A.J. VARSITY SQUAD WINS SHOWDOWN OF THE UNDEFEATEDS TO CLOSE REGULAR SEASON, EARN TOP SEED
PUNXSUTAWNEY — On a perfect night for football, the Punxsy A.J. Parise Youth Football program's varsity team wrapped up a perfect regular season Saturday in the showdown of undefeated teams, as the Chucks and the St. Marys Stallions were each 5-0 entering the game. The two teams played close for the first part of the game, with St. Marys striking first before Punxsy rattled off three straight TDs, only to be answered by a Stallions score to cut the lead to 19-12. From there, though, Punxsy tallied four straight touchdowns to build a 44-12 lead before a late St. Marys score set the final at 44-20 to give Punxsy the only unblemished, 6-0 record and the top seed entering the playoffs.
Punxsy's stat sheet was a full one, beginning with the passing game that saw quarterback Zaden Gould complete 12 of his 22 pass attempts for 247 yards and four touchdowns. Logan Moore was Gould's top receiver, hauling in six catches for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with Landon Temchulla adding two catches for 61 yards and a TD and Talon Beer catching two passes for 39 yards and a touchdown of his own. Tyler Phillips had one catch for 13 yards, and Jordan Rutan caught one for six. Rutan also led the way in the ground game, carrying 13 times for 85 yards and a touchdown, and Temchulla added 40 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, with Moore carrying four times for 45 yards.
Over on defense and special teams, Beau Thomas led the charge for the Chucks with two blocked punts and recoveries, two sacks, a tackle for a loss and a batted pass. Phillips was also a big player with a pick-six for a score, a pass break-up and a tackle for loss, and Rutan was a force in the Stallion's backfield with a sack, a forced fumble and four tackles for loss. Collin Eberhart and Brady Snyder each had a fumble recovery, while Adin Bish had two tackles for loss and Moore, Temchulla and Hayden Fox each had one.
Punxsy opened with the ball and marched deep into St. Marys territory after taking over at its own 28. Moore moved the chains on a 21-yard conversion on an early fourth-andthree to keep the drive going, and after Rutan and Temchulla teamed up for 13 more, Gould hit Moore for 16 yards and another fist down. The drive stalled there, though, when a Gould pass to Phillips saw St. Marys stop the Chucks just one yard shy of the sticks at the St. Marys 8, and on the very first play of the Stallions' drive, Frankie Smith bounced a run to the outside and found a seam down the sideline for a 92-yard touchdown run to make it 6-0 with 4:38 left in the first quarter.
Punxsy wasted no time, responding on its
(Continued from Page One) next drive by taking over at its 47, handing to Temchulla on the first play for a 22-yard gain and seeing Gould connect with Beer behind the Stallions defense on the right side. Beer hauled in the pass and scampered the rest of the way for a 29-yard touchdown, and after Temchulla ran the extra-point try into the end zone, the Chucks took a 7-6 lead with 4:02 left in the quarter. Punxsy would not trail again.
St. Marys' ensuing drive was disrupted by Rutan and Bish teaming up for a tackle in the backfield, and after Temchulla stuffed Smith on a fourth-down run play, the ball was turned over to the Chucks on downs. Two plays later, Gould hit Moore on a quick slant play where he came from the left hash mark, caught the ball over the middle and ran 51 yards downfield and scored near the right pylon to make it 13-6 with
3:16 left in the quarter.
St. Marys went to work on its next drive and used more than five minutes of game clock in moving from its own 41 deep into Punxsy territory. Many of the gains came through the air with QB Brody Wehler connecting with Charlie Geci, Weston Nicklas, Landon Cook and Smith. Eventually, though, the Chucks defense made a stand, and on fourth-and-long, Thomas sacked Wehler for a loss and a turnover on downs at the Punxsy 21.
The ensuing drive saw Moore move the chains on a 13-yard jet sweep, Rutan run for five two times to move them again and then catch a moderate pass and run for another on his own to push Punxsy deep into St. Marys territory, but a Geci sack backed Punxsy up, and the ball was turned over on downs with 2:31 left in the half.
The first play of the Stallions drive proved to be a big one for the Chucks, as Phillips hauled in an interception on a pass over the middle and took it back to the house for a 45-yard return and six Punxsy points to make it 19-6. That was the first in a flurry of scores late in the first half, as St. Marys responded on its next drive with Smith scampering for 58 yards on a fourth-and-long play to find paydirt; Karsten Meanor blocked the extra point, and Punxsy's lead was 19-12 with 52 seconds left in the half.
But the short clock didn't stop Punxsy, as the Chucks benefited from a first down on a horse collar penalty, then saw Gould hit Moore for 16 on a quick slant and then find Moore wide open over the middle on the very next play for what would prove to be a 39-yard touchdown. Temchulla then found Gould for an extra-point conversion reception, and the Chucks' halftime lead was 26-12.
St. Marys' first drive of the second half was a three-andout that resulted in a punt, and Punxsy went on to score on its next drive while taking five minutes off the clock. A Geci sack backed Punxsy up early in the drive, but a 10-yard run by Moore and a 26-yard quick screen to Temchulla moved the chains to keep the drive alive, and three plays later, Beer hauled in a catch for 10 and another first down. Geci sacked Gould on the third-down play to set up fourth-and-23, but Punxsy responded on that play with Gould throwing a screen to Temchulla, who turned up field and found a seam for 35 yards and a touchdown to make it 32-12 with 4:04 left in the third quarter.
St. Marys' next drive was all about the Punxsy defense, as Rutan and Thomas each had a tackle in the backfield on the first two plays before Thomas batted down a third-down pass attempt to set up fourth-and-18. St. Marys lined up to punt, and Thomas kept the good times rolling by breaking through the line, blocking the punt and recovering it at the St. Marys 29-yard line. Punxsy's drive that followed went the wrong way, though, as a pair of penalties led to a fourth-and-29 and a turnover on downs on the final play of the third quarter.
Punxsy's defense came up big on the first play of the first quarter, though, as Rutan disrupted an option pitch attempt to force a fumble, and Snyder pounced on it for a recovery at the Stallions' 35. Rutan ran for nine on the first play of the drive, followed by a chain-mover by Temchulla, and two plays later, Rutan dragged a defender into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown run to make it 38-12.
The Punxsy defense maintained its pressure on the following drive, with Rutan sacking the QB on second down, Fox adding a tackle for loss on third down and Thomas blocking another punt on fourth down, then recovering it and returning it for 10 yards. Two plays later, Temchulla bounced one outside to the right pylon for a 10-yard touchdown run, and Punxsy's lead was was 44-12 with seven minutes left in the game.
The Stallions picked up one first down on the following drive, but tackles for loss by Bish and Moore and a Thomas sack led to a turnover on downs. Punxsy's drive was also stopped for a three-and-out, though, and after Fox made a touchdown-saving tackle on the punt return attempt, the Stallions handed to Smith, who ran one in for a five-yard touchdown, and Geci added a two-point kick to make it 44-20. All that was left was two Punxsy kneel-downs, and the final score held at 44-20.
Punxsy (6-0) and St. Marys (5-1) finished the season as the top two seeds to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs next weekend at DuBois. Those games will see third-seeded Johnsonburg (4-2) meet sixth-seeded Treasure Lake (1-5) and the fourth seed, Reynoldsville (3-3) vs. Brockway
(2-4). The semi-finals will be the following weekend at Reynoldsville, where Punxsy will play at a time to be determined.
For a gallery from Saturday’s varsity game, visit our website, www.punxsutawneyspirit.com/photos, and for a recap from the JV game, see Tuesday’s edition of The Spirit.