Grymes, Kosciuszko key ’Cats rout of Union
Union (12) vs. Shenango (53)
Written: Oct 18, 2010
By DAN IRWIN
New Castle News
With playoff hopes on the line, two guys making their first starts of the year at running back isn’t ideal.
Unless those guys are Shenango’s Aaron Grymes and Anthony Kosciuszko.
Grymes, who had been the Wildcats’ quarterback, became a full-time ball-carrier Saturday night, and responded with 266 yards and three touchdowns to key a 53-12 Big Seven Conference rout of Union.
Grymes carried the ball just 10 times, scoring on runs of 64, 79 and 41 yards while setting up another Shenango score with a 41-yard run.
Kosciuszko, meanwhile, was handed the ball for the first time in 2010, despite having racked up 755 yards as a junior. Torn ligaments suffered in the season’s first scrimmage kept him benched until Week 5, and in his first two games back he had played only on defense. Against the Scotties, though, he rolled up 136 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
The win, combined with Sto-Rox’s 22-6 loss to Western Beaver earlier in the day, allows Shenango (2-3 conference, 3-4 overall) to control its own destiny. If the ’Cats win their final two games — beginning Friday at Sto-Rox (3-2, 5-2) — they would finish no worse than tied for fourth with the Vikings and would receive the conference’s final playoff berth based on head-to-head competition.
Grymes and Kosciuszko got their opportunities when two of Shenango’s other three running backs — Scott McBride, the county’s third-leading rusher, and James Jacobs — were sidelined by injuries. Starter Joe Seaburn also spent part of the week on the bench, although he did end up playing against Union (1-4, 2-5).
“But there was a point in the week,” head coach Ryan Mayo said, “where we just had Aaron and Anthony, and they had no carries at those positions all year long. So it was kind of nerve-wracking, but they’re good football players, so we knew they’d do a good job.”
Grymes had nursed an ankle injury himself earlier in the year, opening the door for freshman Tynen Greer to get some experience at quarterback and alleviating that concern Saturday. He said he’ll be happy to line up at either position the rest of the way.
“As long as we get the win, I don’t really care where I play,” Grymes noted. “I just want to help the team win. It was fun, but the line, was awesome. The comeback was open most of the time, so it was easy.”
Kosciuszko admitted he didn’t think he’d be doing any ball carrying as a senior.
“Even when I came back, the way I had to wrap my hand, I didn’t think I was going to be able to carry the ball,” he said. “We found ways to work around it, get my fingers open.
“This week, with Scotty and Seaburn hurt, they put me in just to get a feel for things, in case.”
Despite the results, Kosciuszko wouldn’t declare himself all the way back.
“The line did very well,” he said. “I missed a lot. He (Grymes) seemed to be hitting a lot more than I did. I was being kind of cautious. He was doing the right thing, just exploding through the hole, getting the yards.”
Grymes was less restrained in his assessment of Kosciuszko.
“I think he’s back,” he said.
“I don’t know about 100 percent,” Kosciuszko insisted, “but I’ll go with what I have.”
Union head coach Stacy Robinson said the sudden appearance of Grymes and Kosciuszko at running back was not something that threw the Scotties a curve.
“No, they came out in their same scheme,” he said. “We knew going into the season Kosciuszko was one of the premier backs in the league.
“Unfortunately for our sake, tonight’s the first time he ran the ball all year. Everybody shows up for the Scotties.”
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UNION SHENANGO
13 First downs 20
181 Yards Rushing 572
46 Yards Lost 6
135 Net Rushing 566
16 Passes Attempted 0
5 Passes Completed 0
0 Passes Intercepted 0
72 Yards Passing 0
207 Total Yards 566
4-2 Fumbles-Lost 4-2
6-30.8 Punts-Average 1-25
2-10 Penalties-Yards 9-80
UNION 0 6 6 0 — 12
SHENANGO 7 26 7 13 — 53
Scoring plays
SHENANGO — Anthony Kosciuszko, 15-yard run (Ronald Davis kick).
SHENANGO — Aaron Grymes, 64-yard run (Davis kick).
SHENANGO — Tynen Greer, 5-yard run (kick failed)
SHENANGO — Grymes, 79-yard run (Davis kick)
SHENANGO — Joe Seaburn, 8-yard run (pass failed).
UNION — Andre Jones, 5-yard run (run failed)
UNION — Jones, 14-yard run (run failed)
SHENANGO — Kosciuszko, 2-yard run (Davis kick).
SHENANGO — Grymes, 41-yard run (kick failed).
SHENANGO — Brent McCormick, 1-yard run (Davis kick).
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