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H.S. FOOTBALL: Greencastle-Antrim runs away in second half for win over West Perry


GREENCASTLE >> Greencastle-Antrim's defense wasn't quite up to par in the first half.

The Blue Devils gave up over 200 yards, including three plays of 50 yards or more, which led to a 21-21 tie game at halftime with West Perry on Friday night.

But after the break, something clicked, and the Greencastle defense gave up fewer than 50 yards in the second half to run away with a 56-21 non-league football win.

"It's assignment football," G-A coach Chuck Tinninis said. "We made some minor adjustments in the second half, but mostly it was just our kids deciding to play."

After giving up 212 yards in the first half, including plays of 52, 54 and 55 yards, Greencastle (3-0) turned things around in a major way in the second half. The Mustangs (0-3) mustered just 46 yards of offense after the break, and 15 of those came on the final play of the game. They managed just two first downs and ran only four plays inside Blue Devil territory.

West Perry slowed down mainly because its playmakers were held in check in the second half. Running back Hunter Wilson had 105 rushing yards in the first half, but was held to just 27 yards in the second. Wide receiver Cameron May had three catches for 65 yards in the first half, including a 54-yard grab, but Derek Measell, who shadowed May all night, held him without a reception in the second half.

"After that big catch he had, I just told myself that I had to shut him down," Measell said. "I think as a defense we just lacked some intensity in the first half, but we really stepped up in the second."

"Part of it is just that they're a good team," West Perry coach Robert Boden said. "But it's not like they totally stopped us. We had those two fumbles pretty much back to back, and that just blew the game open."

With a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter, Greencastle was driving down the field. On a play from the West Perry 25, Spencer Meyers went to dump a pass off to the tight end, but Austin Wonders came up with a nice, one-handed interception.

But two plays into its drive, West Perry fumbled, and after three incomplete passes from the 10-yard line brought up fourth and goal, the Blue Devils faked a field goal, and Matt Christman hit Measell for a touchdown. Measell finished with three catches for 41 yards and three scores.

On the ensuing kickoff, Austyn Smith hit a bouncing liner down the middle of the field, but the Mustangs couldn't corral the ball, and Greencastle recovered. The Blue Devils needed just five plays to score from there, and Demetrius Burton capped it off with a one-yard plunge. After G-A's defense quickly stopped West Perry on four plays, Burton ran in untouched from 16 yards to turn a close game into a 49-21 blowout. He finished the game with 110 rushing yards and 23 receiving.

Said running back James Hines, who finished with 10 carries for 89 yards and also had a 13-yard touchdown reception, "Demetrius and I have been doing this together for a while now, and I think we make a great 1-2 punch. The line was making huge holes for us tonight, and we just did our thing from there."

NOTES >> Meyers finished 10-for-20 for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the Devils, who racked up 498 total yards ... Kyrin Zimmerman touched the ball just three times for Greencastle, but turned it in to 55 yards ... Measell scored a pair of receiving touchdowns in the first half, and Cade McDowell capped off the scoring with a 21-yard scamper late in the game.

Greencastle 56, West Perry 21

West Perry14700—21Greencastle714728—56

First Quarter

WP — Hunter Wilson 6 run (kick missed), 7:24

GA — Derek Measell 6 pass from Spencer Meyers (Austyn Smith kick), 4:01

WP — Wilson 52 run (Scott Messner kick), 2:31

Second Quarter

GA — Measell 25 pass from Meyers (Smith kick), 10:26

GA — Kyrin Zimmerman 25 run (Smith kick), 5:13

WP — Wilson 6 run (Gabe Puchalsky pass from Nate Salinetro), 3:07

Third Quarter

GA — James Hines 17 pass from Meyers (Smith kick), 6:12

Fourth Quarter

GA — Measell 10 pass from Matt Christman (Smith kick), 11:53

GA — Demetrius Burton 1 run (Smith kick), 9:18

GA — Burton 16 run (Smith kick), 7:23

GA — Cade McDowell 21 run (Smith kick), 0:58.

WPGAFirst downs919Rushes-yards34-13143-323Passing6-19-111-21-1Passing yards127175Total yards258498Punts5-1451-42Fumbles-lost5-21-1Penalties-yards5-304-30
Individual statistics

Rushing — WP, Wilson 17-132, John Searer 11-23, Dom Salinetro 1-15, Cameron May 1-(-2), N.Salinetro 4 (-37). GA, Burton 14-110, Hines 10-89, Zimmerman 2-36, Meyers 6-30, Caleb Schaeffer 5-28, McDowell 2-23, Joseph Burns 2-9, Measell 1-3, Bailey Parker 1-0.

Passing — WP, N.Salinetro 6-19-127. GA, Meyers 10-20-1-165, Christman 1-1-10.

Receiving — WP, May 3-65, Wilson 1-55, Jake Quaker 1-5, Gabe Puchalsky 1-2, GA, Parker 2-50, Measell 3-41, Christian Gleichman 2-34, Zimmerman 1-19, Burton 2-18, Hines 1-13.