With fresh start, Wilmington looks to squash Grape Pickers
Written: Nov 12, 2010
 
By JOE SIMON
j_simon@ncnewsonline.com
At first, the game plan for Wilmington in its District 10, Class AA playoff opener with North East appears simple.
The Grape Pickers football team (yes, that’s really their nickname) passes for an average of 17 yards per game. They’ve thrown the ball 45 times total in 10 contests, just 4.5 times per game.
So, the way to beat North East at 1 p.m. Saturday at General McLane High School is a cinch: Stop the run. Easy enough, especially for a veteran coach like Wilmington’s Terry Verrelli, right?
“No, it isn’t,” Verrelli said. “They have a well-organized system, and they’re very good at it. One of the problems with a good power running team is that if you can’t stop it, there’s nothing you can do about it. With a passing team, you can rush the passer, drop guys in coverage or the quarterback can throw incompletions. With a power team, you know they’re going to run, but you can’t just put everybody right there because then you’re super vulnerable to the pass. They just want to shove you downfield, and then pass if and whenever they’re forced to. They’re very good at what they do.”
They sure are.
The Grape Pickers (8-2) have two backs who have combined for more than 2,000 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns. Junior Alex Svetz (5-foot-9, 190) leads North East with 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns on 165 carries, while fellow junior Tyler Johnson (5-9, 170) gained 944 yards and 11 touchdowns on 157 carries. Verrelli said both have similar, tough running styles. The tandem runs behind a big, powerful offensive line. The alliance creates a system that can frustrate even the most sound defensive team.
“In their offense, if you can’t block, you can’t play for them, no matter what position,” Verrelli said. “They get off the ball, and that’s their whole offense, to shove you backward and get as many people up there as they can for their running backs.”
The Grape Pickers’ scheme isn’t new to Verrelli. He and the Greyhounds (6-4) beat North East, 45-21, in the second round of the playoffs last year. He said one of the keys to stifling the Grape Pickers is to gain an early lead. North East runs a ball-control offense that methodically moves its way downfield, so if an opponent takes an early advantage, it could spell trouble.
The problem is, taking any type of lead against North East is difficult. It’s giving up 9.2 points per game and hasn’t surrendered more than 21 in any game this year, so keeping the Greyhounds’ offense under control is crucial for North East.
“That’s been a real key for us, because we’re not a quick-strike team by any means,” Grape Pickers coach Matt Shesman said of playing stout defense. “Wilmington, and a lot of the teams we play, ... they can score from anywhere on the field at any time. So it’s important for us to try and slow people down, defensively, and we’ve been fairly successful at that so far this year.”
To continue that success, North East must find a way to derail Sutton Whiting, who moved into third place on the Greyhounds’ all-time career rushing list last week. The 5-9, 160-pound senior, who signed a Division I baseball letter-of-intent with the University of Louisville this week, has amassed 3,604 career yards, trailing only Chris Burns (3,991) and Blair Sweet (4,451). This season he’s run for 1,307 yards and 21 touchdowns on 134 carries. His foot speed and open-field moves make him a menace for any defense.
Shesman said he’s well aware of Whiting, but he’s just as concerned about Wilmington’s aerial attack, which caught the Grape Pickers by surprise last year.
“(Coach Verrelli) went to the air against us more than we expected, and they were very successful, so that’s something we need to be prepared for,” Shesman said. “They run the ball very well, but I’ve been very impressed with the precision of their routes and the time their line gives to throw. And their quarterback puts the ball on the money.”
After all the game planning and watching film, the coaches agreed the two teams are very similar. Both prefer to run the ball and rely on a solid defense. Each school goes to the playoffs routinely — Wilmington has won four straight District 10 titles, and North East has gone to the postseason four straight years and seven out of the last nine. So where do the differences lie? Experience may be the only real distinction. The Greyhounds have just four seniors, while North East has 11, several of whom played key roles last season.
“When you get in a big game, you can’t hide anyone,” Verrelli said. “You need everyone to play big for you. It’s tough when you’ve got so many people in there who are inexperienced. They’ve gotten better all year long. It’s just when you get in big games, you need that experience.”
Shesman likes his veteran squad, and he said he’s not using last year’s loss as motivation.
“We don’t emphasize revenge,” he said. “It’s a new year, with new kids on both sides of the ball. We look at that (loss) as a learning experience. Revenge sounds like you hate someone or something like that, and we don’t. We respect them and we’re excited about playing a great football team.”
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