Greyhounds grind past Greenville
Wilmington (34) vs. Greenville (6)
Written: Sep 10, 2011
By Dan Irwin
New Castle News
GREENVILLE — The Hammer doesn’t get any softer around the edges.
Wilmington High’s defense showed that as the Greyhounds rolled to 34-6 win in their District 10 Region 3-AA opener last night.
Apparently loath to test the center of the ’Hounds’ line, Greenville came out looking to hit quick passes to wide receiver Nico Zahniser and running back Tyler Fattman on the perimeter. The result? Quarterback Tyler Gentile completed five of his seven first-half passes — but for a total of 8 yards. Two went for no gain, while a third netted a 2-yard loss.
“It wasn’t happening,” Wilmington defensive end Marc Lehman said. “They tried, but we’re readers, and we know when it’s coming.”
Lehman, a converted middle linebacker, was one of the reasons the Greyhounds (1-0, 2-0) were strong outside as well as in (Greenville finished with minus-17 yards rushing). The 6-foot, 180-pound senior had one sack and two tackles for loss in the first half alone. All came on either third- or fourth-down plays.
“Their line really wasn’t coming off that hard,” Lehman said, “and I just was rushing in.”
Wilmington head coach Terry Verrelli said his staff has been expected big things from Lehman.
“But he’s new in there, so he’s a question mark,” Verrelli said. “Practice, scrimmages just don’t do it, you need that game experience, and he’s really starting to know his way around in there. He did have a great game tonight. ”
Lehman said it was a joint decision by him and the Wilmington coaches to move him to defensive end this year.
“They just knew I liked to hit and get in there and get the ball,” he said, adding that he has been learning the reads and growing more comfortable.
Lehman and the rest of the ’Hounds’ defense limited the Trojans (0-1, 0-2) to just 64 total yards and no points. Greenville averted a shutout only when Andrew Jones picked up a fumble by reserve running back Jacob Sotter and returned it 45 yards for a score with 2:25 to play.
“We were really concerned about the passing game because they do have a good quarterback and some great receivers,” Verrelli went on. “They just weren’t able to connect, and we did a good enough job to stop the pass.”
Offensively, Wilmington threw only three of its own passes while spreading the ground game around. Gunnar Donati rolled up 105 yards and one touchdown on 12 yards, while Ryan Crawford was right behind with 94 yards and two TDs on 13 carries. Anthony Derrick also scored a pair of touchdowns to complement 53 yards on 12 carries.
“That’s our offense, to spread the ball around, and it went well tonight,” Verrelli said. “I’m proud of all these guys. The linemen are experienced, the backs run hard, they have a little bit of speed.”
(Email: d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com)
WILMNGTON GREENVILLE
19 First downs 6
322 Yards Rushing 16
4 Yards Lost 33
318 Net Rushing -17
4 Passes Attempted 14
3 Passes Completed 10
0 Passes Intercepted 0
23 Yards Passing 81
341 Total Yards 64
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
0-0 Punts-Average 3-37
6-60 Penalties-Yards 6-47
WILMINGTON 7 13 7 7—34
GREENVILLE 0 0 0 6 — 6
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON — Ryan Crawford, 2-yard run (Harrison Sturm kick).
WILMINGTON — Crawford, 1-yard run (kick failed).
WILMINGTON — Gunnar Donati, 18-yard run (Sturm kick).
WILMINGTON — Anthony Derrick, 2-yard run (Slavi Pontius kick).
WILMINGTON — Derrick, 15-yard run (Brandon Ryder kick).
GREENVILLE — Andrew Jones, 45-yard fumble return (kick failed).
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