Llewellyn’s return propels Wilmington to victory
Wilmington (35) vs. Cambridge Springs (0)
Written: Nov 08, 2014
By Andrew Koob
New Castle News
EDINBORO — Cody Llewellyn couldn’t wait to tell his coach the good news.
The Wilmington High quarterback received the go-ahead from his doctor Wednesday after missing the last three weeks with a leg injury.
Only problem was, Greyhounds’ coach Terry Verrelli already knew.
“Somehow, he found out before I told him,” Llewellyn said. “I walked into the coach’s office and I have never seen him have a bigger grin on his face. He was excited, he was ready for this game, he and the whole staff prepared us incredibly for this game.”
Llwellyn’s return and a fierce rushing attack paced Wilmington to a 35-0 shutout victory of Region 2 champion Cambridge Springs in the opening round of the District 10, Class A playoffs last night at General McLane High.
The senior only played a part of the first half, splitting time with backup quarterback Reese Bender, but completed four of his six pass attempts for 92 yards and a score. The backfield tandem of Jacob Sotter and Mark Shenker combined for 131 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a game that was all Wilmington from the start.
“I think it’s major for us,” Verrelli said. “We started to get some of our kids back and we started to play better football than we had. You start missing key guys and it gets a little mixed up, out of sorts but we’re starting to get back.”
“It’s a spark for the rest of the team. (Llewellyn) is a senior, he’s our leader at quarterback and just to have him back encouraged the other kids, too.”
The ’Hounds (6-4) forced a three-and-out on the Devils’ first possession and went to work. A fumbled snap on the first play was the only rough patch on an 11-play, 52-yard drive that ended with Sotter scoring from 3 yards out.
Shenker got his own 3-yard score and Llewellyn hooked up with wide receiver Marc Peoples for the two-point conversion and the two-possession lead.
A botched snap gave Wilmington the ball at the Devils’ 21 and Llewellyn struck immediately, hitting Peoples for a 21-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive.
Sotter scored again, this time from 19 yards away, to bring the ’Hounds’ lead to 27-0 at the half.
“One big thing we talk about this year, and that we’ve had some issues with, is starting fast,” Llewellyn said. “We started fast today and it showed. We started fast, we made a mistake but since we started so fast, it balanced out and we were still starting strong.”
Shenker found paydirt again midway through the third quarter and took in the two-point conversion himself. The second team took over from there and kept the shutout intact, even stuffing Cambridge Springs’ first-team offense at the goal line in the waning seconds of the game.
The ’Hounds’ defensive unit put the Devils’ strong rushing attack in a stranglehold. Cambridge Springs (8-3), a team that averages over 280 rushing yards per game, rushed for only 114 yards, 69 coming in the closing quarter against the Wilmington backups.
“That’s when you really have to step it up,” Verrelli said. “I’ve told them over and over again that if you don’t have a good defense, you’re not a playoff team. They did a great job tonight stopping two good running backs and a quarterback. They did a good job stalemating them, that’s key moving on.”
In turn, Wilmington rushed for 169 yards and put the mercy rule in play after Shenker’s second score. The long drives kept the ball out of the hands of the Devils’ offense and forced their defense to make a stop, something that they weren’t able to do.
“Offensively, we moved the football and that’s always a key,” Verrelli said. “Keep them off the field, that’s a good offensive team that’s sitting on the sidelines as you move the ball. We’re very happy with the way they played tonight.”
Wilmington now squares off against a familiar foe in Sharpsville, which won 62-35 against Iroquois in its playoff opener. The Blue Devils are one of five teams named co-champions of District 10, Region 1A and defeated the ’Hounds 40-0 just two weeks ago.
But Llewellyn, who missed the game against Sharpsville, doesn’t think there will be a repeat of that score.
“We have to work harder,” Llewellyn said. “Start fast, that’s a big thing we didn’t do last time. We’re peaking at the right time and I think it’ll be a different ballgame. They’re a great team, they’re a very talented team but I think it’s going to be a different ballgame this time around.”
(Email: A_Koob@ncnewsonline.com)
WILMINGTON C. SPRINGS
13 First downs 8
176 Yards Rushing 139
7 Yards Lost 25
169 Net Rushing 114
11 Passes Attempted 11
4 Passes Completed 3
1 Passes Intercepted 2
92 Yards Passing 25
259 Total Yards 143
4-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-2
0-0 Punts-Average 2-31
5-38 Penalties-Yards 5-55
WILMINGTON 6 21 8 0 — 35
C. SPRINGS 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON — Jacob Sotter, 3-yard run (kick failed)
WILMINGTON — Mark Shenker, 3-yard run (Cody Llewellyn to Marc Peoples)
WILMINGTON — Peoples, 21-yard pass from Llewellyn (James Gardner kick)
WILMINGTON — Sotter, 28-yard run (kick failed)
WILMINGTON — Shenker, 12-yard run (Shenker run)
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