Blue Jays blanked by bunch
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — Central knew that if it stood any chance against Montoursville, it would have to win the battle in the trenches.
The Blue Jays unfortunately weren’t able to do so in a 35-0 loss to the Warriors.
The loss marks the fifth consecutive for Central, which has been outscored, 199-9, during that span.
“They ran the ball really well and we did not,” Central coach Scott Dennis said. “Although, defensively, I thought we played them better this year than we did last year with their running and passing game, we lost the battle up front there.”
The Blue Jays started three freshmen inside linebackers, and the Warriors quickly exposed the inexperience.
That was the case when running back Rocco Pulizzi eluded members of the Blue Jays’ secondary and found a lane down the left side of the field for an 83-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
Pulizzi had a 16-yard score earlier in the frame after the Warriors showed a balanced attack in their first series. The 12-play, 73-yard drive featured four passing attempts with quarterback Maddix Delena finding the underneath man every time, taking what the linebackers will give him.
Pulizzi finished with 123 rushing yards — 122 coming in the first quarter. His last carry was a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. He then left the game early due to injury.
The Warriors didn’t miss a beat, instead turning more to Delena to finish drives. He didn’t disappoint, finding Marco Pulizzi for a 12-yard touchdown and Ben Conrad from 11 yards out for the game’s final points.
Delena finished 7 of 12 for 60 yards and the two scores.
“Overall, they’re clearly just the better football team than us right now,” Dennis said. “We’re taking our growing pains and we’ll be better for it.”
The learning lesson extended into the Blue Jays’ special teams.
Rocco Pulizzi’s third touchdown was set up after a fumbled snap on a punt attempt in the Blue Jays’ end zone was recovered by the Warriors at the Jays’ 1.
The Warriors’ last scoring drive started in great field position after Colton Chipeleski fumbled a kickoff return. Montoursville needed just three plays — and a Central penalty — to go 28 yards.
“There’s a handful of things that change games, and turnovers are obviously one,” Dennis said. “Big plays in the special teams like that clearly takes the air out of your bubble.”
The Warriors didn’t make life easy for the Blue Jays offensively either. Central had just three of its eight drives last longer than three offensive snaps. Its longest drive went for 47 yards in the first quarter.
Having to put players in unfamiliar roles proved to be the toughest adjustment for the Blue Jays.
“We’re a little banged up, and down to our third running back,” Dennis said. “We were limited in what we could do because they’re not real familiar with some of the positions.
“We just tried to keep it as simple as possible and tried to run the football and get some easy passes. ... I think the biggest thing is that we didn’t block their linebackers.”
Gage Chipeleski led all Central rushers with 34 yards (on seven carries). Starting quarterback Greysen Shaud finished 7 of 12 for 56 yards passing. The Warriors kept his legs in check too, holding him to three yards on nine attempts.
Safe to say Dennis and the Blue Jays are looking to finish the season on a high note when they make the short trip to longtime rival Bloomsburg.
“I think just in the sense that we’re playing Bloomsburg [the players] are going to be motivated this week,” he said. “I believe they’ll definitely be ready to play.”
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