West Perry jumps on James Buchanan early in 61-22 win
There aren’t many things a team can do in 23 seconds.
Somehow, West Perry managed to wipe away three years of frustration, fizzling James Buchanan’s optimism in the process.
It took the Mustangs just two offensive plays sandwiched around an onside kick to build a two-touchdown lead on their way to a decisive 61-22 Mid Penn Colonial Division football victory over James Buchanan on Friday night at Rocket Stadium.
“We came out like a ball of fire,” Mustang coach Bob Boden said. “You kind of worry in a game like this with both teams being (winless) … but our kids came out and took it to them from the get-go, which is what we needed to do.”
West Perry finished with 502 yards of offense, quarterback Dom Salinetro accounted for three touchdowns and Terrance Quaker and Kenyon Johnson combined for 245 rushing yards on just 11 attempts.
But the tone was set in the first 23 seconds.
“It was very tough, because we came in very confident,” JB running back Cormac Houpt said. “We were not expecting that out of them at all. We thought we had this one.”
In a battle of winless teams, it was West Perry that scored fast and furious in the first quarter. The Mustangs, who snapped a 26-game losing streak, scored a school record for points in a quarter in building a 33-6 lead.
It was especially crushing for James Buchanan, which entered with an 18-game winless streak and real hope of gaining its first win of 2016.
JB coach Andy Stoner said, “I don’t know what to say. I sensed (their excitement) in pre-game, but when you let them score on the first play and the second play on offense, it puts you behind the eight-ball real quick.”
Johnson took the opening handoff 70 yards for the game’s first points and West Perry took advantage of a soft spot in the Rockets’ kickoff coverage – something it saw on film – and Quaker recovered a perfectly placed onside kick.
On the next play from scrimmage, Salinetro lofted a play-action pass to Gabe Puchalsky, who rumbled 46 yards into the end zone for a 13-0 lead.
The clock read 11:37 … in the first quarter.
On the onside kick, Boden said, “We watched them on film and they shifted way over. Our kicker is good at onside kicks and we said if they shift way over, let’s try one and it worked out. It was good to come out and get a lead. We scored on our first two plays and that gives the kids confidence.”
Houpt was a bright spot for the Rockets, pulling away from the defense for a 71-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He finished with 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns while freshman quarterback Sebastian Wise found the end zone on a 14-yard keeper.
Fullback Zane Bray added three receptions for 61 yards and Evan Stoner and Houpt punched in two-point runs.
“That’s the type of player (Houpt) is,” Andy Stoner said. “That was effort on him, and we need effort like that out of 11 guys like that on every play. We just aren’t there yet.”
West Perry 61, James Buchanan 22
West Perry _ 33 _ 28 _ 0 _ 0_ — _ 61
J. Buchanan _ 6 _ 0 _ 8 _ 8 _ — _ 22
First Quarter
WP — Kenyon Johnson 70 run (Jake Quaker kick), 11:45
WP — Gabe Puchalsky 46 pass from Dom Salinetro (pass failed), 11:37
WP — Gabe Puchalsky 46 pass from Dom Salinetro (pass failed), 11:37
WP — D.Salinetro 20 run (J.Quaker kick), 3:50
JB — Cormac Houpt 71 run (pass failed), 3:29
WP — Johnson 10 run (J.Quaker kick), 40.7
Second Quarter
WP — Cameron May 25 pass from Johnson (kick failed), 9:21
WP — Safety, snap out of end zone, 7:07
WP — Nate Salinetro 1 run (J.Quaker kick), 6:42
WP — Terrance Quaker 66 run (kick failed), 4:21
WP — Christian Puchalsky 1 run (J.Quaker kick), 1:07
Third Quarter
JB — Houpt 19 run (Houpt run), 8:22
Fourth Quarter
JB — Sebastian Wise 14 run (Evan Stoner run), 8:14
Team Statistics
_ WP _ JB
First downs _ 18 _ 10
Rushes-yards _ 28=389 _ 32-230
Passing _ 8-10-0 _ 3-9-1
Passing yards _ 113 _ 61
Total yards _ 502 _ 291
Punts _ 0-0 _ 3-19.7
Fumbles-lost _ 1-1 _ 2-2
Penalties-yards _ 5-20 _ 8-52
Individual Statistics
Rushing — WP: T.Quaker 7-133, Johnson 4-112, N.Salinetro 3-45, Nevin Sheilds 2-37, Cade Morrison 2-28, D.Salinetro 2-18, C.Puchalsky 2-12, Jon Negley 2-2, David Geiswite 1-2, Tad Zeigler 2-1, Jacob Campbell 1-(-1). JB: Houpt 15-140, Wise 10-53, Stoner 5-29, Sawyer Egolf 1-8, Logan Knable 1-0.
Passing — WP: D.Salinetro 7-9-0-88, Johnson 1-1-0-25. JB: Wise 3-9-1-61.
Receiving — WP: May 6-62, G.Puchalsky 1-46, Reisinger 1-5. JB: Zane Bray 3-61.
Interceptions — WP: N.Salinetro.