Ironmen outlast Jays
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — As Central marched 79 yards on its final drive, Danville’s defense showed it would bend, but not break Friday night.
With the Blue Jays feet from the end zone and looking to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining, Ironmen defender Jack Smiley swatted Garrett McNelis’ fourth-down pass to help secure Danville’s 16-10 win over Central in PHAC-II football.
There was a lot of confusion after the play because Danville had been called for both pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct from the sideline after the play.
Instead of the Blue Jays (3-2) being awarded a new set of downs from the 1-yard-line, the Ironmen (4-1) were instead handed the ball where they sealed the deal.
“(The refs) claimed neither of the penalties were grounds for a first down,” Central coach Scott Dennis said.
The decision tripped up both coaches.
“I thought that was a first down, too,” Danville coach Mike Brennan said.
Prior to that stop, the Blue Jays —who set up shop at their own 20-yard-line — took nearly five minutes off the clock. Though they relied heavily on the run game, it was a 38-yard strike by McNelis to Eli Morrison on a post route that was the most successful play of the drive.
The Ironmen, though, have made it tough sledding for the Blue Jays all night. It showed when they were held to three rushing yards on the first two plays of the goal-line stand with Smiley knocking away back-to-back passes.
“With our backs against the wall, it looked like we were in trouble there,” Brennan said. “Our defense battled and bailed everybody out. I couldn’t be happier for our kids.
“There were a lot of times we could have folded, but we didn’t. We kept going and tonight was a game that we took a huge stride together.”
All told, Central finished with 213 yards of total offense with McNelis passing for 136 yards and Troy Johnson finishing with a team-high 64 yards on 19 carries.
Danville didn’t face much adversity in the low-scoring affair until a pair of late fumbles gave the Blue Jays new life.
The first occurred late in the third quarter. With Central punting for the sixth time, the ball went through Carson Persing’s hands and legs and the Blue Jays recovered at the Ironmen’s 26.
“Our kids were fired up,” Dennis said. “They started in good position and overcame some adversity. We weren’t moving the ball particularly well and had something positive happen and the kids felt re-energized.”
They only needed three plays to close to within three points, with McNelis finding Gillaspy from 9 yards out.
It didn’t take long for the Blue Jays to get the ball back as Zach Gordon fumbled on the Ironmen’s first play from scrimmage.
The Blue Jays were stopped at the Ironmen’s 21 but tied the game on Mason Yorty’s 38-yard field goal.
And despite the game starting to slip away from Danville, quarterback KJ Riley showed he can run, throw and play the game’s hero. He accounted for 39 yards — 27 passing and 12 rushing —with his lone rush of the series accounting for the game-winning touchdown.
“He’s a big-time player and makes big-time plays,” Brennan said.
Riley faced a Central defense that blitzed and made him rush throws for much of the game but showed he can find ways to get out of the pressure.
As he was getting hit in the second quarter, Riley switched hands and threw left-handed for a 19-yard completion to Brandon Zimmerman. Later, in the third quarter, he moved around the pocket, rolled left and as he came to a complete stop, hit Carson Persing in the back of the end zone for a 30-yard score.
“I think defensively we did things I hoped we would do,” Dennis said. “We kept things in front of us. They made some plays, but we hoped to corral KJ because he’s obviously a really good quarterback — I think the best in District 4 to be honest — but I thought the defense played really well.”
Riley finished with a game-high 69 rushing yards to go with 187 passing yards — 115 of which were to Persing on eight connections. He accounted for all 16 of the Ironmen’s points, hitting a field goal from 30 yards out for the game’s first score.
He and the Ironmen did have difficulties finishing drives as they went into Blue Jays’ territory on their first six possessions and seven of nine drives. Riley also missed a 42-yard field goal attempt in the second and point after touchdown in the fourth.
Danville 0 3 7 6 — 16
Central 0 0 7 3 — 10
Second quarter
C — KJ Riley 30 field goal, 1:58
Third quarter
D— Carson Persing 30 pass from Riley (Riley), 2:39
C — Logan Gillaspy 9 pass from Garrett McNelis (Mason Yorty kick), 0:28
Fourth quarter
C — Yorty 38 field goal, 9:59
D — Riley 12 run (PAT blocked), 6:31
D C
First downs 21 11
Rushing-yds. 29-165 28-77
Passing 8-24-1 8-19-0
Passing yds. 187 136
Total yds. 352 213
Fumbles-lost 4-2 0-0
Penalties-yds. 4-11 5-44
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Danville: KJ Riley 10-69, TD; Zach Gordon 13-68; Aaron Johnson 5-29; Mason Raup 1-5; Team 1-(-1). Central Columbia: Troy Johnson 19-64; Garrett McNelis 2-10; Dylan Devlin 7-3.
PASSING — Danville: K.J. Riley 8-23-0, 187 yds., TD; Carson Persing 0-1-1, 0 yds. Central Columbia: Garrett McNelis 8-19-0, 136 yds, TD.
RECEIVING — Danville: C. Persing 8-115, TD; Brandon Zimmerman 2-35; Ian Persing 2-11; Johnson 1-16; Hayden Winn 1-10. Central Columbia: Garrett Carter 2-32; Zach Smith 2-31; Eli Morrison 1-38; Auston Rainier 1-21; Logan Gillaspy 1-9, TD; Troy Johnson 1-5.
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