Soph QB sparks Wilmington comeback
Wilmington (13) vs. West Middlesex (10)
Written: Sep 01, 2012
 By Dan Irwin
New Castle News
Poise is something sophomore quarterbacks are supposed to lack, particularly in season openers.
West Middlesex’s Trey Staunch and Wilmington’s Cody Llewellyn apparently aren’t buying that.
Staunch completed 9 of 14 passes for 77 yards and staked the Big Reds to a three-point lead midway through the fourth quarter of last night’s PIAA District 10 nonconference battle at the Greyhounds’ field.
Llewellyn, though, hit two huge passes in the final four minutes to erase the deficit and lift the ’Hounds to a 13-10 triumph.
With his team down 10-7 and facing a fourth-and-6 just inside West Middlesex territory, Llewellyn found Donnie Watson on a tight end screen that netted 13 yards and a critical first down. Two plays later, he lofted a pass that split end Alex Patton ran under for a 24-yard gain.
Patton’s catch put Wilmington inside the 1, and Llewellyn dove into the end zone on second down for what proved to be the game-winning score with 2:07 remaining.
“My line just blocked great for me all night and gave me the hole on the last play,” Llewellyn said. “The coaches trained me for this. I’m just happy for the whole team here.”
As for the pass to Patton, “We work on that a lot. He’s got good speed, so I try to put it where I can let him go get the ball.”
Senior fullback Tyler Donati also played a key role in the win, rushing for 121 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, while Watson’s reception on the fourth-down screen wasn’t his only big catch of the night.
Early in the third quarter, Watson — also an outside linebacker — intercepted Staunch and gave Wilmington the ball at the Big Reds’ 17. Donati took it in one play later, tying the game after Luke Patten’s 6-yard run in the second period had given the Big Reds a 7-0 advantage.
A 24-yard Staunch field goal midway through the fourth quarter put West Middlesex back into the lead and prefaced Wilmington’s 12-play, 74-yard march to paydirt.
The game’s exclamation point came from senior defensive end Jon Yohman, who sacked Staunch on fourth down at the West Middlesex 2 with 90 ticks left, ending the Big Reds’ hopes.
Wilmington head coach Terry Verrelli called Llewellyn “the difference-maker in our team.”
“He’s the only quarterback on our team, so he won the spot by default, but he has earned his way big time,” Verrelli said. “We have some good linemen, some good backs, but if you don’t have a quarterback, you’re not going to win the big games.
“It’s his whole poise in running the team. There’s a lot more to it than just throwing a pass.”
Still, Verrelli believes that throwing passes is something Llewellyn will need to do more of as the season progresses.
“It’s a really a hot, humid night, and we’re running the backs to death, and we really don’t have anybody that’s quite ready to go in there to sub,” he said. “We’ve got to get people ready to step in there and give them a breather, but I think we need to work on our passing game with Cody. If nothing else, it gives our backs a breather.”
Wilmington squandered two other trips into the red zone on a first-quarter Donati fumble at the 9 and a missed 27-yard field goal attempt just before the half. But, Llewellyn said, those near misses did not impact the ’Hounds’ confidence in their final, do-or-die drive.
“We just have a great heart on this team,” he said. “They work their butts on every day at practice. That’s what got us where we are.”
(Email: d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com)
W. MIDDLESEX WILMINGTON
15 First downs 16
116 Yards Rushing 206
13Y ards Lost 8
103 Net Rushing 198
20 Passes Attempted 12
11 Passes Completed 5
1 Passes Intercepted 0
114 Yards Passing 76
217 Total Yards 274
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
3-38.3 Punts-Average 3-25.7
3-14Penalties-Yards 1-10
W. MIDDLESEX 0 7 0 3 — 10
WILMINGTON 0 0 7 6 — 13
Scoring plays
WEST MIDDLESEX — Luke Patten, 6-yard run (Trey Staunch run).
WILMINGTON — Tyler Donati, 17-yard run (Slavi Pontius kick).
WEST MIDDLESEX — Staunch, 24-yard field goal.
WILMINGTON — Cody Llewellyn, 1-yard run (kick failed).
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