’Hounds run all over Titusville
Wilmington (32) vs. Titusville (7)
Written: Sep 22, 2012
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
TITUSVILLE — The Wilmington High football team continued its dominance of Titusville last night.
But the Greyhounds resumed their education during the 32-7 win in a District 10 Region 3-AA game at Carter Field.
Last week, Wilmington (2-1 region, 3-1 overall) rebounded from its first loss for an emotional 35-28 win over Hickory. Last night, the ’Hounds learned how to handle coming off such a big victory.
They shook off a slow start, which included a fumbled punt and solid Rockets field position, including a 44-yard Titusville punt return touchdown called back due to a penalty.
“You have to be patient. It was a big win last week and it’s not easy to come back the next week and play at the top of your game. After beating Hickory, you think you’re better than anybody then. That isn’t the case at all,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said. “I told them that we’re only as good as the way we play in the next game. I think we got through to them. You have to be patient. You can’t expect to run over them to start. That’s why the game is four quarters. They came through and that was key.”
Wilmington snapped out of its funk late in the first quarter when quarterback Cody Llewellyn found Donnie Watson for a 61-yard pass down to the Rockets’ 5. Three plays later, Tyler Donati rumbled into the end zone for the first of this three touchdowns to give the ’Hounds a 7-0 at the start of the second quarter.
After a defensive stop, Llewellyn’s 40-yard pass to Nic Pugh set up Wilmington’s second TD — a 2-yard Donati dash for a 13-0 lead.
The roles were reversed for the ’Hounds’ third score in the second quarter. Donati’s 54-yard run gave the team solid field position deep in Titusville territory. Llewellyn flipped an 8-yard TD pass to Alex Patton for the 19-0 halftime lead.
“That’s the key to our game — running with a little throwing mixed in there. It was nice to see the backs do well,” Llewellyn said. “We have to come out more intense from now on. We turned it into a strong ending of the first half and a strong beginning of the second half.”
Llewellyn, a sophomore southpaw, finished a perfect 5 for 5 passing for 153 yards and a pair of TDs.
“The line was giving me a lot of time. That’s very useful; I had plenty of time. I just have to make the throw when the receiver’s open,” he said. “Coming off a big win, this is a good team we played. We just have to keep the momentum going.”
Donati opened the second half with a 68-yard TD scamper. Watson hauled in a 30-yard TD strike from Llewellyn to cap the ’Hounds’ scoring.
Llewellyn’s development is key for Wilmington as its passing games helps free up its ground attack.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
WILMINGTON TITUSVILLE
17 First downs 12
296 Yards Rushing 196
7 Yards Lost 18
289 Net Rushing 178
5 Passes Attempted 18
5 Passes Completed 4
0 Passes Intercepted 0
153 Yards Passing 57
442 Total Yards 235
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
2-36.2 Punts-Average 5-33.2
4-40 Penalties-Yards 5-45
WILMINGTON 0 19 13 0 — 32
TITUSVILLE 0 0 0 7 — 7
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON — Tyler Donati, 1-yard run (Brandon Ryder kick).
WILMINGTON — Donati, 2-yard run (kick failed).
WILMINGTON —Alex Patton, 8-yard pass from Cody Llewellyn (pass failed).
WILMINGTON — Donati, 68-yard run (kick failed).
WILMINGTON — Donnie Watson, 30-yard pass from Llewellyn (Kyler Lum kick).
TITUSVILLE — Xavier DeRose, 11-yard run (Dan Stearns kick).
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