Walton Blunts Point, 28-6, in Football Opener |
September 09, 2014
WALTON — The Walton football Warriors controlled most of the flow of play in Saturday's season opener. After shutting down visiting Whitney Point in the first possession of the game, the home forces needed just four plays to take a lead they never relinquished, and went on to defeat the Golden Eagles, 28-6.
Two incomplete passes around a run that lost yardage forced the Eagles to punt, and Gabe Shrauger's kick blew dead on the Walton 26 yard line. A run by Christian Rutherford and two by Trevor Zandt netted a total of 12 yards and a first down.
On the next play, Quinn Harby got the ball and broke past the Point defense, racing 62 yards for a touchdown. He also carried the ball for a two-point conversion, giving the Warriors an 8-0 lead three minutes and nine seconds into the game.
The Eagles started their second possession, at their 30 yard line, with three running plays that gained a first down. After throwing another incomplete pass, quarterback Jared Bieber hooked up with the 6'5" Shrauger for another first down on a 33-yard gain.
Despite not gaining any yardage with the next two plays, the visitors tried to get a first down with another Bieber-to-Shrauger pass. This time, they did not connect, thanks to good defense by the Warrior defensive backs, and Shrauger was penalized for pushing one of the defenders. On fourth down, Shrauger's punt went into the end zone.
A pair of false starts on their next possession proved costly to the home forces, and they were forced to punt. Robert Merrill's kick was bobbled, but the Eagles were able to recover the ball on their 37. On a third-and-two play, Bieber was sacked by Jacob Wright, bringing up another punt, which bounced out of bounds at the Walton 35.
On the Warriors' first play, Wright galloped 42 yards for a first down. Zandt and Wright combined to gain 13 more yards and a first down at the 10. Wright went five yards on first down, and Harby got the next two carries, the second being a two-yard touchdown burst. Rutherford ran for the conversion, and the Walton lead was up to 16-0, with 8:30 remaining in the first half.
Merrill's kickoff was bobbled, but the ensuing pile-up resulted in a penalty against a Warrior special teams player for a late hit. The penalty was not costly, as the Eagles went nowhere after that. On a third-and-long play, Bieber again tried to hit Shrauger, but the defense was there and Blake Hitt picked off the pass at the 42.
Three runs gained a first down, but two plays later, a running play resulted in a lost fumble, and the visitors got the ball at their 39. The Walton defense allowed just five yards on three plays, and Shrauger's punt found the end zone.
The hosts were pushed back to the 10 by a loss of yardage and a false start, and on the next play, Zandt passed to Merrill for a nine-yard gain. After a first down run by Rutherford, the last play of the half saw Zandt delivering a pass to Wright for 29 yards.
Staying in Control
The Warriors scored their third touchdown of the game on their first possession of the second half. Wright returned the kickoff to the Walton 31, but three plays gained just seven yards. On fourth down, Wright got the call again, and broke away from the Point defense to score on a 62-yard touchdown run. The conversion run was stopped short, but the lead was up to 22-0, just one minute and 56 seconds into the second half.
The Eagles started at their 33, and Bieber tossed two short passes to Shrauger for a total of 13 yards and a first down. A defensive holding penalty brought about another first down, but the "Crush" defense took over on the next series of downs, knocking down a fourth-and-seven pass and forcing a punt.
The Warriors started at their 17 and ran the ball upfield without much resistance. Dawson Beers and Wright combined for 15 yards and one first down; three Beers runs got 10 and a 15-yard facemask penalty on the Eagles. Rutherford ran for seven yards on the next play and on the next, Zandt kept the ball for a 21-yard run to the 10.
Three plays later, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Beers burst into the end zone from the two. Merrill tried a conversion kick, which was strong, but just wide, and with 11:51 left in the game, Walton's lead was up to 28-0.
Playing against mostly reserves, the Eagles executed their best drive of the day. A 21-yard pass from Bieber to Shraugher got the first of three first downs; a short pass by the same combination and a six-yard run by Will Holt gained another; and on fourth-and-five, Bieber hit Shrauger again, this time for 20 yards, to the Walton eight.
Nick Hust got the next two calls to run, and he crossed the goal line from two yards out. With 5:37 remaining, the visitors had cut the deficit to 28-6, and that was where it stayed because, on the conversion attempt, the Eagles were stopped by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The home forces then ran out the clock, gaining 33 yards and three first downs.
Bits and Pieces
"They (the Eagles) never stopped us, but we stopped ourselves a couple of times, because of some little mistakes," commented Walton Head Coach Jim Hoover, who earned his 299th career coaching victory. "Overall, we were very happy with the way we played. We also were able to get a lot of players in, which is something that didn't happen very often last year."
He was particularly pleased with Wright's contribution to the victory. "Jacob played mostly on defense last year, and most of his offensive play was as a receiver. He didn't run much, but he showed what he can do. That gives us four good running backs and Trevor (Zandt) is also good at running from the quarterback position. Robert (Merrill) is also a good receiver, and he gives more options. He's our tallest player, and he has good hands," he stated.
This Saturday, the Warriors will travel to Harpursville, which, Hoover noted, "Is much improved over what they (the Hornets) used to be. They beat us last year and they made the playoffs. We will have to play very well to beat them."
Wright finished with 144 rushing yards on nine carries, Harby had 73 yards on five rushes, and Zandt and Beers combined for 66 more rushing yards. Eleven rushers teamed up for a total of 389 yards on 41 carries, and Zandt completed both of his passes for a 38-yard total.
The Eagles finished with 118 passing yards, as Bieber was 11-for-19 including the interception. Ten of those passes went to Shrauger, for 112 yards. The visitors ran the ball 23 times, but gained only 11 yards against the "Crush."
Walton 28, WP 6 -----DAILYSTAR
Jacob Wright touched the ball 10 times from scrimmage and amassed 173 yards to lead host Walton to a Section Four Football Conference non-division victory.
Wright carried the ball nine times for 144 yards, including a 62-yard TD run in the third quarter, and caught one pass for 29 yards.
The victory marked the 299th for 39-year Walton coach Jim Hoover. The man who guided the Warriors to state championships in 1994 and 2007 will become the fifth coach in state history amass 300 victories if Walton wins at Harpursville/ Afton on Saturday.
“Right now, the Harpursville game is the one we have to win,” Hoover said of the milestone. “When that comes, it comes. If it doesn’t come, it doesn’t come. We need this next win to keep rolling and get back to where Walton football should be.”
Hoover would join former Bethpage coach Howie Vogts (364 victories); St. Francis Prep’s Vin O’Connor (started season with 340 wins); ex-Shenendehowa coach Brent Steurewald (318); and Roosevelt Tony DeMatteo (started season with 311 wins) in the state’s 300 club.
Quinn Harby capped Walton’s first drive with a 62-yard scoring run. “That was a quick trap up the middle,” Hoover said.
Harby, who finished with 73 yards on five carries, also scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter. The Warriors held Whitney Point to 12 rushing yards.
“Defensively, we did very well,” said Hoover, whose team is coming off a 5-4 season.
Binghamton Press-----Walton 28, Whitney Point 6: At Walton, the Warriors paved Whitney Point to the tune of 41 carries for 389 yards and four touchdowns, with Jacob Wright (9 carries, 144 yards TD) and Quinn Harby (5 carries, 73 yards, 2 TD's) doing the majority of the damage. The Walton defense gave up just 129 yards, and led 28-0 over the Golden Eagles until Nick Hust had a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Whitney Point quarterback Jared Bieber went 11-of-19 for 119 passing yards, with almost all of it going to tight-end Gabe Shrauger (10 catches, 112 yards).
|
WHITNEY POINT |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
— |
6 |
|
Walton |
8 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
— |
28 |
First quarter
W—Quinn Harby 62 run (Harby run)
Second quarter
W—Harby 3 run (Christian Rutherford run)
Third quarter
W—Jacob Wright 62 run (run failed)
Fourth quarter
W—Dawson Beers 3 run (kick failed)
WP—Nick Hust 7 run (run failed)
|
WP |
W |
|
|
First downs |
7 |
14 |
|
Total Net Yards |
129 |
427 |
|
Rushes-Yards |
23-11 |
41-389 |
|
Passing |
118 |
38 |
|
Comp-Att-Int |
11-19-1 |
2-2-0 |
|
Punts-Average |
5-28.6 |
1-35 |
|
Fumbles-Lost |
0-0 |
0-0 |
|
Penalties-Yards |
4-50 |
5-40 |
Individual statistics
Rushing — Whitney Point, Nicholas Hust 9-4, William Hoyt 2-0, Jared Bieber 9-2, Joshua Tyler 2-4, Dylan McClammy 1-2. Walton, Quinn Harby 5-73, Trevor Zandt 4-36, Jacob Wright 9-144, Dawson Beers 7-30, Jordan Summers 3-13, Nick Mills 2-10, Aaron Steitz 2-8, Jacob Merrill 1-3, Austin Brooker 1-5, Alex Sorachinsky 1-5, Taber VanValkenburg 1-1, Christian Rutherford 5-21.
Passing — Whitney Point, Jared Bieber 11-19-1-118. Walton, Trevor Zandt 2-2-0-38.
Receiving — Whitney Point, Gabe Shrauger 10-112, William Hoyt 1-6. Walton, Jacob Wright 1-29, Robert Merrill 1-9.
