Wilmington ready for West Middlesex matchup
Written: Sep 18, 2014
 By Joe Sager
New Castle News
A scheduling quirk left Wilmington High’s football team without a game last week.
Now, the Greyhounds are ready to be unleashed when they welcome West Middlesex at 7 p.m. tomorrow in a District 10, Region 1 battle.
“Oh yeah, they are anxious to get going,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said. “It’s nice being in this league. The kids know each other. They get excited about it.”
Wilmington continues its Region 1 slate after the break. The school’s enrollment placed it in Class A for at least the next two academic years and the team moved down from the Class AA Region 3 this fall. The ’Hounds (1-0 region, 2-0 overall) passed their first loop test with a 49-28 win at Mercer two weeks ago. The team is familiar with the Big Reds (1-1, 2-1) after playing then in nonregion meetings the past two seasons.
“They are a very good football team,” Verrelli said. “They have been in the playoffs for years. They are a seasoned team. This should be a great game.”
West Middlesex advanced to the D-10 semifinals last year, but fell to Sharpsville. The Big Reds are coming off a 47-20 win over Farrell last week.
“So far, the kids have been a good second half team. We changed up how we conditioned them in camp,” West Middlesex coach Ed Roberson said. “We have a lot of kids from the wrestling, cross country and basketball teams on our team and those programs have had winning traditions. The never-say-die mentality has been tremendous for this program as we want to keep building it up. We’re just trying to put together a quality product.”
Senior running back Eric Lucich rushed for 230 yards and four touchdowns last week. That’s no fluke as he raced for 1,412 yards a year ago. Junior back Luke Hemminger will get some carries and 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior quarterback Trey Staunch is not afraid to throw or run as well.
“I think they are pretty much a run-oriented team. They will throw and they can throw the ball, though,” Verrelli said. “Staunch is a great quarterback. He runs and throws well. He is big and tough to bring down. The have a big running back, too.
“I think you have to play basic defense. It’s not only Staunch who can hurt you. They have a great running game. So, you just have to play your basic defense.”
The ’Hounds had plenty of preparation time with the off week.
“We just tried to practice as normal and go over basic blocking and tackling. We mainly spent the week on basic fundamentals and timing everything up,” Verrelli said. “You never like to have the third week off. If you want to put it in the positive light, some guys got some more time to heal up and get ready to get back in there.
“It’s a matter of just getting them prepared for something like that. It’s different. I don’t know how it will affect them. I don’t think that can be used as an excuse if they don’t play well, though.”
Jacob Sotter leads Wilmington’s rushing attack with 242 yards on 26 carries, which averages to 9.3 yards per tote. Reese Bender has 88 yards on 23 carries, while Spencer DeMedal has 83 yards on 18 tries. Quarterback Cody Llewellyn has passed for 220 yards and a score.
“There probably isn’t a better coached team around than Wilmington. Terry and his staff do such a great job,” Roberson said. “The frustrating thing about playing them is that you know what they are going to do, but you have a tough time stopping it because they execute so well and they are so disciplined. We have to be on our P’s and Q’s. We stressed to the kids to make sure they are fulfilling their responsibility on defense. If we do that, we have a good shot.
“Offensively, I don’t think our passing game has come together as we thought it would. Trey is throwing to some first-year guys. We’re waiting for a breakout game there, but our bread and butter is running the ball. We have guys stepping up and our offensive line is much improved. We are pleased with where we are. We just want to get better week to week. Our region is one of the toughest around. It’s not a must-win every week, but these region games are shaping up to be tough. We want to be playing our best football.”
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