Banged-up ’Hounds blank Northwestern
Wilmington (28) vs. Northwestern (0)
Written: Nov 05, 2011
 By Dan Irwin
New Castle News
A first-round postseason bye may be just the medicine Wilmington needs for its banged-up offense.
Last night, though, the Greyhounds’ defense had things covered.
The “Hammer” limited visiting Northwestern to just 92 yards total offense while back-ups took over key positions on the offense and helped the ’Hounds close out the regular season with a 28-0 win.
With District 10’s announcement last week that it would take only six Class AA teams into the playoffs rather than eight, Region 3 champ Wilmington (9-1) earned a first-round bye, as did Region 4 winner North East. The extra time may be a blessing since quarterback Josh Tekac (foot) and leading rusher Ryan Crawford (ankle) both missed last night’s game (although Tekac punted twice), and guard Kyle Jones left with a knee injury in the first quarter.
“You never know with those little nagging injuries,” head coach Terry Verrelli said. “Hopefully, that week off will get us back on track. Normally, we’d like to keep going but this time, we can use the bye.”
Senior Nick Vasko and junior Tyler Donati started for Tekac and Crawford, respectively, and both stepped up admirably. Vasko, normally a cornerback, completed 4 of 6 passes for 101 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown to Gunnar Donati.
Tyler Donati, meanwhile, carried the ball 16 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
“I feel bad for Josh that he didn’t get to play (on senior night),” Vasko said, “but it was great. I was having fun out there.”
Another part of the fun was an 18-yard pass to Gunnar Donati that set up Donati’s 1-yard scoring run two plays later.
“We worked on those plays all week,” said Vasko. “They worked well the rest of the season. We just came in and executed them.”
Tyler Donati, meanwhile, could get used to carrying the ball. A defensive starter at inside linebacker, Donati also relieved Crawford late last week against Warren John F. Kennedy and rolled up 64 yards on just eight carries.
“The last two weeks have been the most I’ve gotten the ball lately,” he said. “I usually get one or two carries, then we got our backups in. These past two weeks have been good.”
So will it be tough to go back to defense only when Crawford returns?
“Well, I’d rather be a whole team going into the playoffs,” he said. “And it’s better being fresh going in on defense. But running the ball is fun.”
The ’Hounds defense, meanwhile, seemed none the worse for having Donati and Vasko — and later, end Marc Lehman who filled in for Jones at guard — playing both sides of the ball. The playoff-bound Wildcats (5-5) eked out just 48 yards rushing and had just two first downs through three quarters.
“There’s no question the defense really shut them down,” Verrelli said. “The thing is, when you lose a couple of your starters, it just throws off your momentum, it throws off your timing and moving people around and so on.
“It took them a while to get going and find their identity, but it ended up a good game, so we’re happy with it.”
(Email: d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com)
NORTHWESTERN WILMINGTON
5First downs 15
67 Yards Rushing 231
19 Yards Lost 11
48 Net Rushing 220
9 Passes Attempted 6
4 Passes Completed 4
0 Passes Intercepted 0
44 Yards Passing 101
92 Total Yards 321
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
6-35.8 Punts-Average 2-24.5
3-30 Penalties-Yards 2-20
NORTHWESTERN 0 0 0 0 — 0
WILMINGTON 7 7 7 7 — 28
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON — Gunnar Donati 69-yard pass from Nick Vasko (Slavi Pontius kick).
WILMINGTON — Tyler Donati 6-yard run (Pontius kick).
WILMINGTON — Gunnar Donati 1-yard run (Pontius kick).
WILMINGTON — T. Donati 6-yard run (Pontius kick).
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