Injuries catch up to 'Hounds in first defeat
Wilmington (7) vs. West Middlesex (24)
Written: Sep 26, 2015
By Andrew Koob
New Castle News
WEST MIDDLESEX — The one downfall the Wilmington High football team had to avoid was injuries on the line.
Already lacking depth on the offensive and defensive lines heading into the season, the Greyhounds kept seeing starter after starter go down as they win their first three games.
The injuries finally caught up and the winning streak ended abruptly as West Middlesex dominated the trenches in a 24-7 victory over the visiting Greyhounds on Friday in their District 10, Region 1-A bout.
Wilmington (1-1 region, 3-1 overall) was without two of its starting offensive linemen in Tyler George and Anthony Berardi. Two more, Ben Patterson and Spencer DeRosa, played despite injuries, but eventually left the game.
“We’re pretty devastated as far as injuries are concerned,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said. “West Middlesex deserves the credit, they did a great job keeping the football and running the football. We just couldn’t get on cue at all offensively.”
A line consisting of mainly inexperienced players couldn’t help the ‘Hounds’ run offense at all as they totaled just three yards on the ground.
West Middlesex, on the other hand, did most of its damage with its rushing attack. The Big Reds (2-1, 3-1) amassed 248 yards, including two fourth-quarter scores from Luke Hemminger.
“We challenged them,” West Middlesex coach Ed Roberson said. “I was brutally honest with my running backs this week, I told them I wasn’t happy with their level of play. They took it to heart and ran hard. They all did an excellent job tonight, the offensive line was outstanding. They played like a family tonight.”
The Wilmington defense held as long as they could, holding the Big Reds to just a field goal before West Middlesex finally found the end zone with eight seconds left in the first half.
The ‘Hounds scored their only points of the night after backup quarterback Robert Pontius connected with Colton Marett on a 48-yard pass midway through the third quarter. Pontius came in for starter Spencer DeMedal, who only missed two plays as Wilmington’s signal caller.
Behind a makeshift offensive line, DeMedal struggled for most of the night, throwing for 188 yards and three interceptions. The junior showed flashes in the fourth quarter, leading the ‘Hounds into the red zone facing a 10-point deficit before throwing his last interception with six minutes remaining.
Coming into the game, the junior had thrown only one interception.
“Spencer didn’t have a great first half, but you just have those games,” Verrelli said. “You have to move on, there are games where you’re not on target, you’re not there.
“Spencer is obviously a great player, but there are times where it’s not on. Then you have a young line that’s not really protecting that well. But he didn’t do a bad job. We just have to regroup and get ready for the next game.”
(Email: AKoob@ncnewsonline.com)
WILMINGTON WEST MIDDLESEX
8 First downs 13
29 Yards Rushing 270
26 Yards Lost 22
3 Net Rushing 248
37 Passes Attempted 20
18 Passes Completed 7
3 Passes Intercepted 0
236 Yards Passing 92
239 Total Yards 340
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
4-38 Punts-Average 4-29.8
4-40 Penalties-Yards 5-45
WILMINGTON 0 0 7 0 — 7
W. MIDDLESEX 0 10 0 14 — 24
Scoring plays
WEST MIDDLESEX — Chase Staunch, 31-yard field goal
WEST MIDDLESEX — Nicky Cannone, 1-yard run (Staunch kick)
WILMINGTON — Colton Marett, 48-yard pass from Robert Pontius (Jacob Winters kick)
WEST MIDDLESEX — Luke Hemminger, 9-yard run (Staunch kick)
WEST MIDDLESEX — Hemminger, 31-yard run (Staunch kick)
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