Brady Beckner earns 1,000th yard in Waynesboro win
It took awhile for Brady Beckner to get going.
Averaging nearly 150 yards going into Friday night's Mid Penn Colonial Division game versus Greencastle-Antrim, the Waynesboro running back had a huge target on his back. The Blue Devils were certainly gunning for him as he tracked down a season milestone.
But after gaining just 65 yards in the first half, Beckner broke off a 55-yard touchdown on Waynesboro's first play of the second half. The run put him at 1,024 yards, and helped lift 'Boro to a 42-10 victory.
"I think the nerves played a part in it, but also, our line wasn't getting the greatest push," Beckner said. "At halftime, they really beat themselves up about it, so in the second half, they came out and made some really great blocks."
Beckner is the third Indian in as many seasons to earn 1,000 rushing yards.
"Brady is great ballplayer, and each kid that has done it has done it differently," Waynesboro coach Steve Myers said. "Brady has been our workhorse this year - he runs hard, and is tough to tackle. He's done it on very few carries, so we've mixed up it, and when he touches it, he's been able to break for some big runs."
Despite Beckner's slow start, the first half was all Waynesboro, as the Indians (5-3, 4-1 MPC) outgained Greencastle, 257-45. And they did it in a myriad of ways - quarterback Brady Riddell had 132 passing yards in the first half, while the Indians added 125 yards on the ground.
Riddell led the scoring with a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first half, and he threw for two more in the second. Mason Frampton also had a 33-yard rushing touchdown, and Cameron Keck and Dylan Cummins each caught passes in the end zone.
"They can run, they can throw and they can play defense," Greencastle coach Chuck Tinninis said. "(Forrest Rhyne) makes them over the top on defense. He's a stud. When we're blowing assignments and giving up touchdowns, it doesn't help, but I saw a lot of grit from kids on our team."
After Beckner's touchdown, the Blue Devils (1-7, 1-4 MPC) managed to get a bit of momentum going. Ian Gelsinger booted a 46-yard field goal, and G-A finally found the end zone when QB Cade McDowell connected with Kyrin Zimmerman for a 17-yard score.
"I think after the second half of Ship (a 24-21 loss), that was a big momentum booster," Frampton said. "We've been playing great defense since (averaging 5 points against in last 4 games), and that's helped our offense. We're on the field more, and we can build up more points."
Despite Beckner's big night, it was Keck who actually led the offense. He finished with four catches for 121 yards - Beckner totaled 120 on the night.
"(Keck) goes up and gets the ball wherever it is," Beckner said. "You could throw a ball 10 yards over his head, and he'll go down there and make the play. He'll dive for it; he'll catch it. I don't know how he does it, but he gets it wherever it is."
Waynesboro 42, Greencastle 10
Greencastle _ 0 _ 0 _ 0 _ 10 _ — _ 10
Waynesboro _ 21 _ 14 _ 7 _ 0 _ — _ 42
First Quarter
Way — Brady Riddell 3 run (George Souders kick), 9:39
Way — Mason Frampton 33 run (Souders kick), 3:53
Way — Riddell 2 run (Souders kick), 0:56
Second Quarter
Way — Cameron Keck 5 pass from Riddell (Souders kick), 6:24
Way — Dylan Cummins 11 pass from Riddell (Souders kick), 2:17
Third Quarter
Way — Brady Beckner 55 run (Souders kick), 8:24
Fourth Quarter
GA — Ian Gelsinger 46 field goal, 11:54
GA — Kyrin Zimmerman 16 pass from Cade McDowell (Gelsinger kick), 0:23
Team Statistics
_ GA _ Way
First downs _ 6 _ 12
Rushes-yards _ 35-83 _ 29-178
Passing _ 2-9-0 _ 5-5-0
Passing yards _ 49 _ 132
Total yards _ 132 _ 310
Punts _ 6-24.2 _ 1-42
Fumbles-lost _ 2-0 _ 1-1
Penalties-yards _ 2-20 _ 3-43
Individual Statistics
Rushing — GA, Tanner Bain 4-29, Demetrius Burton 12-29, Caleb Schaeffer 7-19, Cade McDowell 6-5, Ian Gelsinger 1-3, Zimmerman 4-(-1), Team 1-(-1). Way, Beckner 13-120, Mason Frampton 2-45, Riddell 5-13, Cummins 1-4, Rhyne 2-2, Hunter Clever 2-1, Tom Drumsta 1-0, Trevor Jones 1-(-3) Jerry James 1-(-10).
Passing — GA, McDowell 2-9-49-0. Way, Riddell 5-5-132-0
Receiving — GA, Antwoine Carter 1-32, Zimmerman 1-17. Way, Keck 4-121, Cummins 1-11.