Wilmington smothers Rockets
Wilmington (36) vs. Slippery Rock (14)
Written: Sep 03, 2011
 By DAN IRWIN
d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com
There may have been nothing more suffocating than last night’s sauna-like conditions at the Wilmington High football field.
Unless it was the Greyhounds’ defense.
The ’Hounds Hammer forced turnovers on Slippery Rock’s first three possessions — all of which were converted into touchdowns — and limited the Rockets to just 47 total yards before the mercy rule kicked in during Wilmington’s 36-14 District 10 nonleague win.
Of course, the weather got its licks in, too. By midway through third quarter, two of the ’Hounds’ starting running backs — Ryan Crawford and Anthony Derrick — and starting cornerback Nick Vasko were lying side-by-side behind the bench, trying to rid themselves of nagging leg cramps.
“It was terrible,” said Crawford, who held out long enough to rush for 107 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. “The cramps were horrible. I was trying to fight through it but then — I don’t know. It just got really bad.
“I was getting cramped up in my toes, and I got Biofreeze on, then I came back in the game and made a play (tackling Rockets quarterback Ryan Currie for a 3-yard loss) and it was over. That was it.”
“It” for the Rockets came alot earlier — pretty much by the end of the first quarter. Wilmington’s Bryn Kaufman recovered a Slippery Rock fumble on the game’s second play, and Crawford ran it in from 12 yards out seven plays later.
On the Rockets’ next series, Vasko picked off a Currie pass and returned it 25 yards to the house, then Derrick intercepted Currie on the second play after that. This time, Crawford capitalized with a 59-yard scoring breakaway.
“If you want to be a good football team, possibly a playoff team, you’ve got to have a good defense,” Wilmington head coach Terry Verrelli said. “I thought they did very well tonight.
“It’s difficult getting a look in scrimmages and this was one of those things where we needed to see for ourselves exactly what they would do.”
Wilmington added a 39-yard Brandon Ryder field goal in the second quarter and touchdown runs of 11 yards by Derrick and 40 by Tyler Donati in the third to inaugurate the mercy rule.
The Rockets scored twice against the Greyhounds’ reserves in the final stanza, on a 5-yard Sean White run and a 28-yard Joey Meyer scamper.
Wilmington rolled up 372 total yards with two distinct offensive looks. In the first half, the ’Hounds ran out of a tight T formation behind quarterback Josh Tekac, while after intermission, they broke the T with double wings.
“I’m always looking for something,” Verrelli said of the first-half formation. “We’ve been working on it, and I wanted to see how it would do. We kinda of like it. We had good results with both.”
Crawford’s a fan as well.
“We put this new T series in and it’s been pretty successful in our scrimmages and this game,” he said. “We’re trying to develop that and get better at that, then go back to our original stuff. It’s just throwing a curve ball at the other team and see if works.
“I love them both. It’s tough in the T series, no one knows where the ball is. It’s kind of like a mystery offense.”
SLIPPERY ROCK WILMINGTON
9 First downs 15
180 Yards Rushing 307
#22 Yards Lost 2
158 Net Rushing 305
5 Passes Attempted 6
0 Passes Completed 3
2 Passes Intercepted 0
0 Yards Passing 67
158 Total Yards 372
3-2 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
3-18.3 Punts-Average 3-30.7
0-0 Penalties-Yards 6-52
SLIPPERY ROCK 0 0 0 14 — 14
WILMINGTON 21 3 12 0 — 36
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON — Ryan Crawford, 12-yard run (Brandon Ryder kick).
WILMINGTON — Nick Vasko, 25-yard interception return (Ryder kick).
WILMINGTON — Crawford, 59-yard run (Ryder kick).
WILMINGTON — Ryder, 39-yard field goal.
WILMINGTON — Anthony Derrick, 11-yard run (kick failed).
WILMINGTON — Tyler Donati, 40-yard run (run failed).
SLIPPERY ROCK — Sean White, 5-yard run (Mike Stutz kick).
SLIPPERY ROCK — Joey Meyer, 28-yard run (Stutz kick).
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