JONES LEADS MCDEVITT OVER EAGLES, 30-13
September 22- Bishop McDevitt’s 30-13
victory over the Cumberland Valley Eagles this morning at McDevitt Field was
certainly a team effort. Quarterback Kyle Koncar ran for one touchdown and threw
for another, and running back Billy Stair jump-started the game with an
electrifying 88 yard kickoff return. On defense linebackers Dante Ushery,
Jonathan Duckett and Fred Dietz swarmed all over the field, and sophomore tackle
Steve Mosey was a rock on the line of scrimmage. But this was Mike Jones’ game.
The senior running back was the main force behind the Crusader’s 400 yard
effort, constantly fighting for yards, breaking tackles and coming up with
crucial plays that allowed McDevitt to enjoy a significant advantage in
time-of-possession. Jones finished with 205 rushing yards and a touchdown on 27
carries and was in the middle of every McDevitt scoring drive with a number of
crucial third down conversions. Coach Jeff Weachter’s Crusaders have now beaten
Coach Tim Rimphel’s Eagles four consecutive times, as McDevitt moved to 3-1 (2-1
in Mid Penn Commonwealth play). Cumberland Valley is now 3-1 (3-1).
Stair took the opening kickoff at the
McD 12 and moved up behind his blocking wall. The speedy junior waited for a
hole to open and, when it did, he darted through and angled toward the right
sideline. With only CV kicker Andrew Reirson left to contend with, Stair put on
a burst of speed and left the kicker grabbing for air as he finished off the 88
yard scoring return. Mike Comasco booted the PAT and McDevitt had a quick 7-0
lead after 15 seconds had expired. CV responded by putting together an
impressive 14 play, 80 yard scoring drive behind short passes by quarterback
Chris Jordan and tough running by senior Tyler Guise. Guise’s 2 yard TD run and
Reirson’s subsequent PAT knotted the score at 7, with 5:40 left in the quarter.
Reirson’s following kickoff went out-of-bounds and when McDevitt elected to have
the Eagles re-kick, Evan McGovern called for a fair catch at the McD 26. Jones
ran for 2 before Koncar passed to reliable wide receiver Julian Harrell for 12
yards and a first down at the McD 40. Following an incompletion Jones darted
over left guard and broke free into the Eagle secondary before being hauled down
from behind at the CV 6, a 54 yard run. On the next play Jones took the handoff
and skipped through the CV line for a 6 yard touchdown run to give McDevitt a
lead it would keep for the rest of the game. When the snap was fumbled on the
PAT attempt the Crusaders had a 13-7 lead at the 3:50 mark. The Eagles moved
quickly to the CV 46 before Dietz sacked Jordan for a 7 yard loss, forcing a
punt to the McD 30. A Koncar-to-Comasco hookup picked up 10 yards before Jones
rumbled for 20 more, to the CV 40. Following an incomplete pass Jones fought for
another first down with a 12 yard run to the CV 28, and then McDevitt was hit
with a motion penalty as the quarter ended.
The second quarter started with
another motion penalty that killed the drive’s momentum, so Comasco came on to
punt a 38 yarder that carried into the end zone for a touchback. CV managed one
first down on the next possession before punting the ball away to the McD 19.
Senior running back Derrell Holland started the next drive with a 6 yard run,
and then Jones ran for 6 more. Holland added a 5 yard run before sophomore
Salath Williams hauled in a Koncar pass for a 15 yard gain to the CV 48. Two
more Jones carries netted 4 yards and then Koncar threw a dart to Harrell for an
11 yard gain and another first down. Three more running plays had the Crusaders
facing a fourth-and-3 when Koncar was dropped for a 3 yard loss to end the
threat. After McGovern broke up a third down pass attempt CV was punting again,
this time to the McD 45. Jones then broke off a fine 16 yard run, but a
blocking-in-the-back penalty moved the ball back to the McD 39. On the next play
Koncar ran an option play to the left and kept the ball. He avoided a tackle at
midfield and reversed his field, breaking another tackle along the way. The
shifty junior skipped through another tackle attempt at the 15 and dashed across
the goal line for the touchdown. Comasco’s successful PAT staked McDevitt to a
20-7 lead, with 3:33 left in the half. The Crusaders looked to add to the lead
when, on Cumberland Valley’s next possession, Jordan completed a pass to Logan
Sheely and the ball was knocked loose. Dante Ushery made a flying recovery at
the CV 47, and the Eagle’s bench was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty that cost CV 15 more yards. The Crusaders returned the favor a play
later, though, when Koncar fumbled and the Eagles recovered at the McD 48. The
McDevitt defense promptly put CV in a hole when Mosey and Derek Harhigh teamed
up to sack Jordan for a 3 yard loss. Two Guise runs later, the Eagles faced a
fourth-and 1 at the McD 43 and Rimphel decided to gamble. Jordan’s short pass
was alertly broken up by Pat Vargo, though, and McDevitt had time for one last
drive. Jones ran for 11 before a procedure penalty cost them 5 yards. Then 2
completions to Harrell moved the ball to the CV 36 before Koncar was
intercepted, and the Eagles ran out the clock to end the half.
Cumberland Valley took the second
half kickoff and embarked on a 16 play drive that ate up a large portion of the
third quarter but produced no points. Aided by an interference call, the Eagles
marched into McDevitt territory before Dietz dropped Cody Page for a yard loss
at the McD 37. One play later Holland and Stephan Belle sniffed out a third down
CV screen pass and dropped Guise for a 3 yard loss and the Eagles punted for a
touchback. McDevitt went back to the reliable Mr. Jones, who combined 2 carries
for 11 yards and a first down at the McD 31. After an incomplete pass Jones
broke 3 tackles on a 22 yard gain, and Holland fought for 3, to the McD 47.
Jones then rumbled for 12 more yards before Harrell caught another Koncar pass
for an 8 yard gain to the CV 24. Then, after a 4 yard Jones carry, the rugged
senior tried to make circle right end and was dropped for a 12 yard loss.
Comasco then passed to Harrell for an 18 yard gain, leaving the Crusaders 4
yards short of a first down. Weachter decided to go for the field goal and
Comasco came on to boom a 32 yard beauty on the first play of the 4th
quarter to extend the McDevitt lead to 23-7. Cumberland Valley wasn’t finished
yet, though. Jordan led the Eagles downfield on short passes and, aided by
another pass interference penalty, reached the McD 38. From there Page weaved
his way for a score to narrow the Crusader advantage to 23-13. When CV decided
to go for the 2 point conversion, Dietz broke through the Eagle line to pressure
Jordan into an incompletion and McDevitt retained a 2 score lead. After McGovern
returned the subsequent kickoff to the 26, the Crusaders were looking to take
time off the clock and move the chains. Jones began the drive with an 8 yard run
and followed that effort with a 10 yard gallop. After 2 more Jones carries
netted only 2 yards, Koncar fired a bullet to his favorite receiver, Harrell,
for 14 yards and a key first down at the CV 40. Jones then ripped off another 15
yard run and Holland dove for 2 more, to the CV 23. Jones then carried 2 CV
defenders for a 12 yard gain and McDevitt’s 4th first down of the
drive. After 2 more Jones carries lost a total of 3 yards the Crusaders faced a
3rd-and-13 at the CV 14. Koncar took a short drop and hit Williams in
stride slanting across the CV secondary. Williams loped into the end zone to
finish off the 11 play, 64 yard scoring drive and, after Comasco’s PAT, McDevitt
had an insurmountable 30-13 lead, with 3:26 left to play in the game. The Eagles
gamely tried to mount a final scoring drive, but the Crusader secondary, keyed
by a couple of Darryl Hadley pass breakups, thwarted the effort and McDevitt
took over on downs at the McD 27. Two Stair carries preceded Koncar taking a
knee to end the contest.
Next Friday, September 28th,
McDevitt travels to State College to take on the State College Little Lions. The
game is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM
QUOTES
Head Coach Jeff Weachter
Our kids did a great job in practice
all week. Nobody hung their heads and everyone came to play. Mike Jones was
unbelievable today. He was playing with a heavy heart. His cousin was killed out
in Chicago trying to come back to Harrisburg, so Mike was really down about
that. But we challenged the offensive line to play better than they did last
week and the defensive line played pretty well. After that first drive we made a
few adjustments. Kyle got his confidence back and I thought he threw the ball
well, especially in the second half, and he made good decisions. It was big that
we came out strong, Like I said, we had a good week of practice and nobody hung
their head and everyone was ready to play. Corey Miller played pretty well. John
Koury hopefully will be back next week and we’ll have to see how that goes. It
was real hot and muggy today and some of our offensive linemen aren’t used to
playing both ways cramped up a little bit, but they did what they had to do.
There is no concern about keeping our kids focused for State College. Our kids
know that every week is a battle in the Mid Penn and they have to get ready in a
short week.
Assistant Coach Andy English
I think our kids responded well after
the Harrisburg loss and we had a good week of practice. They were disappointed
because it’s a big rivalry game, but obviously they showed that they know how to
bounce back. The key today was our hard work in practice, believing in each
other and just being a team. I think that, in this league, every game is a
dangerous game for us. For State College we have to make sure that we prepare
like we did this week, expect a tough game and expect to win.
QB Kyle Koncar
It was very important to come out
strong today. We wanted to get past last week and show that that game didn’t
hurt us at all. We wanted to come out and put on a good offensive show. On the
touchdown run, I wanted to redeem myself after fumbling 3 times last week by
putting one in the end zone. It was 23 veer and the end crashed and I saw a lane
and I hit it hard. On the last touchdown it was a play action and it was
supposed to go to Mike (Jones) but he was getting the ball a lot and everyone
thought it was going to him. So we went to Salath and it worked out well. It’s
great to have receivers that can make great catches and block the way they do.
We won’t have a letdown next week against State College. We’re going to come out
strong. We remember them ending our season last year and we want to put it to
them.
RB/KR Billy Stair
We changed up our kickoff return for
this week, the way we lined up. The blocking was perfect and I just took the
hole. The only person I had to beat was the kicker; it was wide open. The kicker
wasn’t much of a problem; he really didn’t come after me too fast. I always try
to get us started strong. If it isn’t a kick return it’s a big block. I always
try to do the best I can. For State College we’ll take it like any other team,
practice hard hopefully get out of there with a victory.
RB/DB Mike Jones
The line did a really good job today.
They gave me the holes and I just did my job and ran through them. The line
worked real hard in practice this week, coming off the ball low and making
holes. Cumberland Valley is a really good football team. They’re going to be in
the playoffs and we may see them again. For State College, the key is another
good week of practice and playing like we can play.
OL/DL Corey Miller
I knew that I was coming in to play
center this week for my friend John Koury; I knew I had to step up some way and
have a big impact on this game. I knew it was going to be a tough game and that
we had to beat them because we’re the only McDevitt team to beat CV four
straight years. They’re tough. For State College, once again we have to come out
tough. They’re coming off a couple of losses and they’ll be a tough opponent.
LB Dante Ushery
We put the Harrisburg game behind us;
we tried not to think about it. We lost, we moved on and we came out and played
well today. On the fumble recovery, I was looking to take it to the house but
there was someone behind me so I dove on it. CV is a tough team but we’re
tougher. We won’t overlook State College; we’re not going to overlook anybody.
We want to give State College their third loss in a row. That doesn’t happen
often to State College.
Click here for Cumberland Valley Game Stats
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