Wildcats' defense shuts out 'Roaders

October 04, 2008|By JACK HILL III

WILLIAMSPORT -- The Williamsport Wildcats used a combination of excellent defense and timely execution on offense to earn a 21-0 shutout victory over the Brunswick Railroaders on Friday night in an MVAL Antietam football game.

Junior quarterback Blake Bandeff threw two touchdown passes to lead Williamsport (2-3, 1-0) past Brunswick (1-4, 0-1).

"The line blocked good and the receivers ran a good route," Bandeff said. "We ran some play-action passes. I felt real confident throwing to the receivers. We had good offensive practices all week."

Williamsport coach Adrian Custer could not give enough praise to his defense.

"The key to the win was defense," Custer said. "The defense came out and played with a total team effort. We put pressure on the quarterback. Our defensive line had a good push and that rattles the quarterback. ... They couldn't get into a rhythm because of the pressure from our line."

Senior linebacker Andrew Likely made 12 tackles and intercepted two passes for the Wildcats. Likely also made all three of his extra-point kick attempts.

"Andrew had one of the best games for a linebacker at Williamsport that I have ever seen," Custer said. "He is our defensive leader. He is the heart and the soul of the defense."

Likely's second interception came with 7:53 remaining in the second quarter, after which Williamsport put together a scoring drive. The Wildcats got on the scoreboard with 3:46 left in the period when Bandeff threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Rico Thompson.

Just 2:22 later, senior defensive end Chris McSherry recovered a fumble and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown for a 14-0 halftime lead.

The Wildcats got their third touchdown with 40 seconds left in the third quarter when Bandeff fired a 26-yard TD pass to Joey Sutch.

"When we got the ball on a short field, we were able to punch it in," Custer said. "Once we got the momentum, we were able to keep it. That's what made it exciting."

"We got outplayed in every phase of the game," Brunswick coach Patt Foster said. "They were an inspired team. They got up on us and took it to us all night. We have got a long way to go. We are in the infancy stage on the offensive side of the ball. We are still learning what to do. We played well enough defensively to be in the game. We made turnovers on offense that gave them a short field. They took advantage of their opportunities."

|

|

|