| BataviasBest.org
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Beginning with an Attica fumble during the first minute of the game, Friday night began on a positive note for the Dragons. Despite the immediate good fortune, however, Pembroke was unable to capitalize and eventually surrendered 35 points to the Blue Devils and lost the game by four possessions.
Following a three and out which came off the heels of the Dragons’ first quarter fumble recovery, Attica’s Jake Strzelec picked up right where he left off in Week 1 and led his team down the field for the game’s first score. A drive which was capped off by a Strzelec 15-yard touchdown run gave the Blue Devils an early 7-0 lead and put Pembroke behind the 8 ball immediately.
On the next drive the Dragons showed signs of life offensively, as tight end Bryce Dibble caught a Mitch Lewter deep ball over the middle to put his team in business early in the possession. Although the completion was impressive, the success was short-lived as the Pembroke offensively line began to feel the abuse of the Attica defensive front and the Dragons were forced to punt the ball away.
Throughout the rest of the first half the score remained close, with the Blue Devils scoring just one more time over the course of the next quarter and a half. At the break the score was 14-0 in favor of Attica and Pembroke went to the locker room searching for answers. During the intermission, I saw Attica’s coaches getting the team ready for the second half:
To open the second half of play, the Dragons again showed signs of life on the offensive side of the ball. On their first drive of the third quarter Pembroke put together several positive plays, highlighted by a long run from Cal Neurohr:
Just as quickly as they had gotten their offense going, however, their drive came to an abrupt end. On the backside of several positive runs to begin the half, Pembroke chose to open it up on a second down and long just as they had passed midfield.
As Lewter dropped back to pass, he was once again swarmed by a slew of Attica defenders in his face and forced a deep throw down the sideline into tight coverage and the ball was intercepted. Creating the turnover was defensive back Derek Walker, who also had a nice night on the outside for the Blue Devil offense. Here is a video of Pembroke’s fateful drive following the run from Neurohr:
The long drive ending in the interception was a snapshot of how the night went for the Dragons. Though they were able to show plenty of promise on both sides of the ball as they did against a tough Elba team in Week 1, Pembroke simply could not finish enough plays to win, and fell in a landslide as a result.
Leading the impressive performance put forth by Attica were Jake Strzelec and Nick Shadbolt. Strzelec had 104 rushing yards on 9 carries and one touchdown while Shadbolt, filling in for the injured Strzelec primarily during the second half, had 82 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns on the ground. The Shadbolt TD runs were 1 , 3 and 12 yards, as the backup RB displayed shades of the starter.
On defense Phil Wilshire and Kyle Green led the way for the Blue Devils. Wilshire had 10 total tackles on Friday night and Green chipped in 9 tackles and a sack. It was another outstanding defensive effort for the Blue Devils as a team with their defensive line being the bright spot.
Next up for Attica will be Alexander (1-1) next weekend, as they again head on the road for the third straight game. The Dragons will meet Oakfield (1-0) next Friday.
Other articles you may like:
Here are my Week 1 HS Football Players of the Week
Photo Gallery: Week 1 of Genesee Region League Football
Blue Devils start slow, finish strong; Strzelec unstoppable as Attica steamrolls Holley
