Big plays doom Delone Catholic in Zortman's coaching debut
It was bound to happen. With two rookie head coaches making their debuts on Friday night, one was destined to celebrate with his team and one was bound to wait another week for that first taste of victory.
Unfortunately for the home fans at J.T. Flaherty Field, it wasn't Corey Zortman's night to celebrate. It was Trinity's Troy Jensen celebrating his first career win — a 42–28 victory over the Squires in what some in recent years have deemed, 'The Holy Bowl.'
On a bizarre night that included two weather delays totaling nearly two hours, it was big plays (three pass plays of at least 60 yards) and special teams woes (two kickoff returns for touchdowns) that doomed Delone.
"The things I was worried about coming in were special teams and big plays," Zortman said. "And they got us on both. I'll do a better job getting them ready."
Things on the field got crazy in the second quarter. Delone and Trinity alternated scores for four touchdowns in 40 seconds. Sean Sneeringer punched the ball in from the 3 to put the Squires on the board, then Andrew DeBastiani took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a score. Tavian Dorsey answered right back on the next kickoff when he broke two tackles and exploded up the middle for 80 yards, evening the score 14-14. On the first play of Trinity's next drive, Hunter Geisel hit Jordan Moore in stride down the right sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. When the dust settled, Delone trailed 21-14 at the half.
DeBastiani struck again in the third quarter with an 89-yard return for a score on the opening kick, then an 85-yard touchdown catch – his shortest scoring play of the night - on the Shamrocks' next possession.
"Coming out of the half, the kick return right out of the gates was pretty tough on us," Zortman admitted. "We gave up some big plays where we could've folded. But our guys didn't do that. They fought til the end."
Delone quarterback Brian Shermeyer, who was sacked five times, connected with Zach Hart for a 39-yard touchdown up the seam, then hit Larry Lefler III in the corner of the end zone early in the fourth. But with Delone down 42-28, the junior was picked off by Sean Scott on an errant throw deep in Shamrocks' territory, essentially sealing the Squires' fate.
Trinity714147—42Delone Catholic01477—28
First Quarter
T — Hunter Geisel 1 run (kick good), 7:55.
Second Quarter
DC — Sean Sneeringer 3 run (Brandon Hall kick), 7:59.
T — Andrew DeBastiani 90 kick return (kick good), 7:48.
DC — Tavian Dorsey 80 kick return (Hall kick), 7:35.
T — Jordan Moore 65 pass from Geisel (kick good), 7:19.
Third Quarter
T — DeBastiani 89 kick return (kick good), 11:45.
T — DeBastiani 85 pass from Geisel (kick good), 7:10.
DC — Zach Hart 39 pass from Brian Shermeyer (kick good), 2:08.
Fourth Quarter
T — Geisel 7 run (kick good), 9:35.
DC — Larry Lefler III 17 pass from Shermeyer (kick good), 8:12.
TDC First downs1113 Rushes-yards30-10937-229 Passing5-115-16-1 Passing yards24389 Total yards352318Punts5-365-29 Fumbles-lost3-00-0 Penalties-yards4-406-40
Individual statistics
Rushing — T, Hunter Geisel 10-44, Drew DeBastiani 1-4, Dominick Manetta 10-20, Colby Rigg 9-41. DC, Tavian Dorsey 12-63, Sean Sneeringer 10-98, Brian Shermeyer 5-16, Zach Hart 5-18, Ryan Hart 2-18, Andrew Hernandez 3-16.
Passing — T, Geisel 5-11-243. DC, Shermeyer 5-16-89.
Receiving — T, Jordan Moore 2-134, DeBastiani 1-85, Alex Schlager 1-11, Colby Rigg 1-13. DC, Larry Lefler III 3-25, Zach Hart 1-39, Alec Maitland 1-25