Wilmington holds off Martinsburg Central

By JOHN D’ABRUZZO

jdabruzzo@ncnewsonline.com

SLIPPERY ROCK — Taking the game to its limit seems to be a new trend for the Wilmington High football team.

For the second straight week, the Greyhounds pulled off a PIAA Class AA playoff victory in dramatic fashion.

With a two-touchdown lead entering the fourth quarter, Wilmington gave up 12 unanswered points but stopped a two-point pass attempt, as well as a final-second drive by Martinsburg Central, to secure a 21-19 quarterfinal victory at Slippery Rock University.

The ’Hounds (13-1), who are ranked No. 4 in Class AA state poll by the Harrisburg Patriot-News, will meet Aliquippa (12-2) in the semifinals next week. A time, date and site has yet to be determined.

The Quips, who are ranked fifth in the state poll, are the WPIAL Class AA champions. They defeated District 9 champion Karns City last night, 42-14.

This will be Wilmington’s third consecutive trip to the western final. The ’Hounds lost to Jeannette in the state semifinals the past two years.

Still, for Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli, last night was nothing to celebrate.

“I’m not real happy with the way we played,” he said. “Both sides didn’t do a very good job — offense or defense.”

MAKING A STOP

The ’Hounds jumped out to a 14-7 lead at the half and found the end zone again in the third quarter. The Scarlet Dragons (11-3), however, weren’t ready to surrender.

Central quarterback Derek Forshey orchestrated the offense, first with a 16-yard pass to Jordon Saylor at 9:20 and then with a 2-yard pass to Shane Cafferty with 34.3 left in the game.

“It just seemed like it was quicksand. You make one mistake and then another, another and another,” senior captain Clint DeRosa said. “It’s hard to come back from mistakes.

“It was a close game and we’re lucky to get through this one, but I’ll guarantee next week we’re showing up ready to play.”

The Scarlet Dragons went for the two-point conversion, but Forshey’s pass attempt was broken up by junior linebacker Chad Palladino.

“We’ve worked on that (type of play) in practice and it was just a natural reaction,” Palladino said. “We covered it, but our linemen put pressure on the quarterback.

“I have to give all the credit to the linemen. They did a great job.”

LATE-GAME ACTION

Wilmington still wasn’t out of the woods.

Central got the ball back with an onside kick and threatened with less than a minute to play.

Forshey, who completed 16 of 41 attempts for 180 yards, failed on his first two attempts before hitting Wes Flaugh for a first down at the Wilmington 34.

With the clock dwindling, Forshey had three more chances.

After gaining nine yards with a hook-and-lateral play, Forshey missed the next three attempts. His last, with 5.8 seconds left, was intended for Flaugh, who had his back turned.

“We somehow managed to pull it out even though in my opinion, it shouldn’t have been that extreme,” Verrelli said. “We’re moving on. I’m not happy, that’s for sure. We’ll go back and straighten things out for next week.”

Wilmington outgained Central in total offense, 288-229.

“(The offense was) clicking, it’s just not scoring,” Verrelli said. “They shoot themselves in the foot somehow before they get in the end zone.”

NEEDED SCORE

The ’Hounds did pick up a needed score in the third quarter.

DeRosa came up with a big fumble recovery and ran it back 30 yards down to the Central 9. That set up a 6-yard touchdown by Sutton Whiting to give Wilmington a 21-7 lead.

“That was a big play, but we still had our chances,” a teary-eyed Central coach A.J. Hoenstine said. “We put our defense in a bad position, but we had a chance to win the game in the end and that’s all you can ask for.”

Whiting rushed for 63 yards on eight carries. Fellow back Jake DeMedal, who scored the ’Hounds’ first touchdown on a 20-yard run, gained 55 yards on nine carries. Derrick Burns, who gained 41 yards on 12 carries, scored the other touchdown on a 16-yard run.

Quarterback Shane Wagner powered the offense by completing 8 of 16 attempts for 107 yards.

Wilmington still struggled at times, racking up 87 yards on 11 penalties.

“But not just penalties, fumbles and just not getting it done, I guess,” Verrelli said.

“(We played) well enough to win and that was it, and that’s going to have to change. We’re not going to win any more if we don’t straighten that out.”

For the better part of the game, Central pushed Wilmington without its top performer.

Sophomore running back Lucas Runk, who entered the game averaging 120 yards rushing, suffered a left knee injury and was carried off the field with 1:49 left in the first quarter.

“Some guys stepped up,” Hoenstine said. “In the first half, we didn’t make plays we usually make and to go in 14-7 at halftime we were really happy with that. We just played very good football and our defense stepped up.

“We’re not one-dimensional, but when a guy who does so much for you goes down, it’s tough. But I thought Derek Forshey really stepped up in the second half and our receivers made some catches.

“Nobody expected us to be here, but we came in expecting to win.”

CENTRAL WILMINGTON

13 First downs 12

77 Yards Rushing 202

28 Yards Lost 21

49 Net Rushing 181

41 Passes Attempted 16

16 Passes Completed 8

2 Passes Intercepted 0

180 Yards Passing 107

229 Total Yards 288

3-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-2

3-33 Punts-Average 4-32.5

2-10 Penalties-Yards 11-87

CENTRAL 0 7 0 12 — 19

WILMINGTON 14 0 7 0 — 21

Scoring plays

WILMINGTON — Jake DeMedal, 20-yard run (Bryce Wilson kick).

WILMINGTON — Derrick Burns, 16-yard run (Wilson kick).

CENTRAL — Derek Forshey, 3-yard run (Devin Miller kick).

WILMINGTON — Sutton Whiting, 6-yard run (Wilson kick).

CENTRAL — Jordon Saylor, 16-yard pass from Forshey (kick failed).

CENTRAL — Shane Cafferty, 2-yard pass fom Forshey (pass failed).