Wilmington pulls away for win over Reynolds
Wilmington (20) vs. Reynolds (7)
Written: Oct 05, 2013
By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
Fourth down wasn’t kind to the Wilmington High football team in the first three quarters last night.
That trend turned around in the Greyhounds’ favor in the second half, though.
Wilmington scored two touchdowns in the game’s final 7:28 on fourth-down plays to pull out a 20-7 District 10, Region 3-AA home win over Reynolds.
The victory vaults the Greyhounds (3-2 region, 4-2 overall) into a third-place tie with Sharon (3-2, 3-3) and Grove City (3-2, 4-2) in the league standings. Grove City topped Wilmington in the region opener, and the Greyhounds still have a matchup looming with the Tigers.
Reynolds dropped to 2-3, 3-3.
“This was a very big win for our football team,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said. “I think that games like this helps gives the kids that cohesiveness.
“We needed time to learn, too. It’s games like this that gets you to mesh together.”
The Greyhounds failed on fourth down at the Raiders’ 32 with 8:50 to go in the second quarter. Wilmington turned the ball over again on downs in the third quarter, this time at the Reynolds 23.
Facing fourth down at the Reynolds 16, Verrelli dialed up another attempt to convert. This time, the Greyhounds wouldn’t be denied.
Josiah Bloise took a handoff and bulled straight ahead through a gaping hole en route to a 16-yard touchdown run. James Gardner’s conversion kick gave Wilmington a 14-7 lead.
“I knew on fourth down, we had to get that run,” Bloise said. “It was crucial. That’s what made the game go our way. The guys up front were on their blocks and they were digging down deep and I appreciate that. That’s where it starts, up front on the line.
“I think we were putting on longer drives. I think we were wearing them down a little bit, but they’re a good defense.”
Bloise finished with a game-high 135 rushing yards on 21 carries.
“I challenged them. I asked for somebody to step up and be the guy that wants that ball,” Verrelli said. “Josiah Bloise did a heck of a job; he was definitely that guy.
“I think the decision to go for it, we just wanted to run the football. That’s a play that we felt would work at that time. There was no particular reason for it, nothing we saw. Josiah was just the guy we wanted to have the ball.”
Bloise’s touchdown was set up by a dropped interception by a member of the Raiders secondary six plays earlier.
Reynolds couldn’t get anything going on its next drive and was forced to punt from its own 22. The punt officially went just 17 yards after it took a favorable Wilmington bounce.
Three plays after the short boot, Verrelli again was faced with a fourth-down decision. This time, the Greyhounds needed four yards from the 33 to convert.
Quarterback Cody Llewellyn found Marc Peoples along the right sideline and Peoples made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch on a pass that appeared to be underthrown. Peoples then sprinted the remaining 10 yards, fighting off a potential tackler, for a touchdown with 3:54 left.
“We were going for it on fourth down those times because our defense was playing well and we were in their territory,” Verrelli said. “I just felt since we’re playing great defense, if we can get the first down, we can keep it moving and we will use more of the clock.
“Marc made a great catch there and a great run to get in the end zone.”
Wilmington’s defense allowed just one first down and 14 yards in the second half.
“Our defense really cracked down,” Bloise said. “We were in good position. We were really tackling well. We had to stop their run and we did that.”
Said Verrelli, “We worked hard with the guys on defense. They’re getting better each game. If you want to win the bigger games, the tighter games, you have to have a defense. Tonight, they did an excellent job.”
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)
REYNOLDS WILMINGTON
8 First downs 16
115 Yards Rushing 205
8 Yards Lost 5
107 Net Rushing 200
6 Passes Attempted 15
1 Passes Completed 5
1 Passes Intercepted 0
13 Yards Passing 86
120 Total Yards 286
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
6-25 Punts-Average 2-38.5
2-10 Penalties-Yards 4-30
REYNOLDS 0 7 0 0 — 7
WILMINGTON 0 7 0 13 — 20
Scoring plays
REYNOLDS — Ian Sapot, 11-yard run (Michael Ryhal kick).
WILMINGTON — Cody Llewellyn, 15-yard run (Kyler Lum kick).
WILMINGTON — Josiah Bloise, 16-yard run (James Gardner kick).
WILMINGTON — Marc Peoples, 33-yard pass from Cody Llewellyn (kick blocked).
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