Riley makes history in victory
DANVILLE — After Danville worked out some of its early kinks, the Ironmen struck for 42 unanswered points and some individual history in a 55-22 win over Midd-West in PHAC-II football Friday night.
It was K.J. Riley who found himself at the center of the offensive success. On the Ironmen’s (1-0) first scoring drive, they faced a third-and-23 at their own 1-yard line. Riley didn’t fret any, getting all the time he needed to hit Carson Persing in stride for 43 yards.
“We drew up a slant-and-go, and they didn’t know what to do with it,” Riley said of the pass to get the Ironmen out of bad field position. “They couldn’t keep up with him, and I got it there. I’m glad he came up with the catch.”
The duo later connected on the drive for 50 yards before Riley rushed for the game’s first score on a 16-yard keeper.
Persing and Riley were far from done, but first Riley had to make some history with Carson’s brother, Ian.
Just before halftime, Riley threw the ball between two Mustang (0-2) defenders. Ian Persing did the rest, forcing a missed tackle and running another 30 yards for the 72-yard score.
That particular throw put Riley atop Danville’s all-time passing record.
“It’s really special,” Riley said. “Coming out here with my best friends and getting such a big achievement is awesome.”
Riley, though, had to go back to Carson one last time to put an end to both of their scoring for the night.
The pair’s last touchdown happened late in the third quarter when Riley bought some time by running to his left. On the run, he got the ball just out of the reach of the Mustangs’ secondary and into the hands of Persing who did a toe tap deep in the left corner of the end zone. Riley just got the ball off in time as he was hit from behind.
Riley says the bond he has with the brothers is near and dear to him.
“It’s a special thing. I’ve been with their older brother and now I’ve spent some time with them,” Riley said. “We all have a really good connection. We hang out all the time — we’re good buddies”
The Persing brothers combined for 234 yards on seven receptions.
As for Riley, he went 8 of 15 for 251 yards. In just two weeks of play, he has accounted for 500 yards passing and 10 touchdowns.
“He’s so elusive. He’s able to get away from people and keep things alive,” Danville coach Mike Brennan said of the senior quarterback. “He’s got the feet and certainly the arm strength to make those throws.”
The offensive momentum never really ceased for the Ironmen. Though they were held to just 40 yards on the ground in the first half, they finished with 223.
Much of the credit goes to Ty Stauffer, who ran for scores of 27 yards and 50 yards to finish with a team-high 146 yards. Jagger Dressler also got off an explosive run, scoring on a 69-yard scamper.
“I think the running game opened up after we cleaned up our game some,” Brennan said. “In the first half, we were sloppy — too many errors, too many penalties and too many situations where we were working behind the chains.
“At halftime, running the football was one of the things we discussed. We got Ty Stauffer going off a little bit and made some plays. We challenged the offensive line and Ty and we had some success with it.”
The sloppiness was on display all night long for Danville. The Ironmen were penalized 14 times for 151 yards. They also fumbled the football four times — three on bad snaps — with one ending up as a safety for the Mustangs.
Defensively, Danville played another great game, having three players — Ian Persing, Jack Smiley and Carson Persing — intercept Midd-West quarterback CJ Regester.
The Ironmen now have eight interceptions in the first two games.
They were also quick to the ball, recording 10 tackles for loss and holding Midd-West to 19 passing yards altogether.
Hunter Wolfley had the best offensive night for the Mustangs, rushing for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Most of that damage was done against Danville’s second string.
Midd-West 0 0 7 15 — 22
Danville 0 28 14 13 — 55
Second quarter
D — K.J. Riley 16 run (Riley kick), 11:54
D — Carson Persing 17 pass from Riley (Riley), 8:48
D — Ty Stauffer 8 run (Riley kick), 1:19
D — Ian Persing 72 pass from Riley (Riley kick), 0:25.4
Third quarter
D — Stauffer 27 run (Riley kick), 11:13
D — C. Persing 28 pass from Riley (Riley kick), 1:38
MW —Hunter Wolfley 71 run (Ethan Schlief kick), 0:8.3
Fourth quarter
D — Stauffer 50 run (Riley kick), 11:50
D — Jagger Dressler 69 run (kick missed), 9:19
MW — Wolfley 36 run (Schlief kick), 4:58
MW — Safety, 2:12
MW — Trey Lauver, 1 run (kick blocked), 0:54
MW D
First downs 11 15
Rushing-yds. 32-247 26-223
Passing 3-15-3 8-17-0
Passing yds. 19 251
Total yds. 266 474
Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-1
Penalties-yds. 6-61 14-151
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Midd-West: Hunter Wolfley 19-174, 2 TDs; Try Lauver 4-46, TD; Austin Dorman 5-16; CJ Regester 4-11. Danville: Ty Stauffer 14-146, 3 TDs; Jagger Dressler 2-71, TD; KJ Riley 4-18, TD; Bronson Krainek 2-7; Jack Gibson 1-3; Sam Maloy 1-2; Zach Gordon 1-0; Team 1-(-24).
PASSING — Midd-West: Regester 3-15-3, 19 yds. Danville: Riley 8-15-0, 251 yds., 3 TDs; Zach Gordon 0-2-0.
RECEIVING — Midd-West: Eli Swan 2-11; Everest Wilson 1-8. Danville: Carson Persing 4-137, 2 TDs; Ian Persing 3-97, TD; Jagger Dressler 1-17.
Link to story: https://www.pressenterpriseonl...
