| BataviasBest.org
Saturday, October 4, 2014
In a game that I picked the Lancers to win, the Blue Devils proved me wrong in a big way by rolling to a 34-6 victory on Friday night. Elba was able to strike first, but could not keep their offense rolling and fell to Attica by a large margin as a result.
Opening Friday’s contest, on the first drive of the game the Lancers were able to move the ball down the field with relative ease. Handing the ball to Mike Shanley several times to begin the drive, and finishing with a John Hochmuth touchdown reception, Elba found themselves ahead by six following a failed two point attempt.
Shortly after allowing the touchdown, however, the Blue Devils got right back on track with a scoring drive of their own, capped off by a healthy Jake Strzelec running for a score on a toss play – which was one of five touchdowns on the day for the Attica running back.
After their first touchdown, the Blue Devils were able to stop Elba on the ensuing drive and get the ball back one again looking to score. Forging another long scoring drive which ended in a Strzelec touchdown, Attica quickly jumped out to a two-score lead and never looked back after that. Three touchdowns later, the score was 34-6 Devils and the game was over.
Clearly, the story of this game was Jake Strzelec.
Returning from injury this week, the Attica running back must have been chomping at the bit for a chance to help his team secure first place in the league, and he certainly proved it on Friday night. With touchdown runs of 8, 24, 15, 5 and 3 yards, Strzelec was also able to accumulate a total of 221 yards rushing on 34 carries, which is far and away the top performance by a GR running back thus far in 2014.
As the Blue Devils approach the end of the season and the beginning of the postseason, it will be key that their starting running back stays healthy in order to help them advance down the stretch. It is apparent that, although Attica possesses more than one capable runner in their backfield (Piechocki finished with 8 carries for 60 yards vs Elba), Strzelec presents an entirely different set of challenges for opposing defenses and will give his team the best chance to win on any given night.
However, without the help from his offensive line, I’m sure Strzelec would tell you he wouldn’t be as successful as he has been.
The big guys up front for Attica have been incredible all year, and really put it all together on Friday night. Behind the big bodies on the Blue Devils’ OL, multiple runners accumulated 377 yards rushing while also earning several first downs throughout the game against Elba. They pushed the Lancers around all day long, which was unexpected, and truly had their way with a defense that had shown flashes of brilliance so far this season.
Rounding out the list of quality performances on Friday night were Jared Waldron and Levi Snyder, each finishing with close to 10 tackles for the Blue Devils.
Next up for Attica will be Notre Dame who faces CG Finney this afternoon at home. A win for the Devils against the Irish would likely clinch the League Title, therefore I am really looking forward to Week 6.
Other articles you may like:
Elba @ Attica Game Preview and Prediction – Can the second place Lancers overcome the Blue Devils?
The GR Report: Week 5 features several quality match ups – including a fight for first place
