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Cumberland Valley's captains help carry load in shutout win vs. Spring Grove


Cumberland Valley used an experienced backfield, and a great defensive outing to defeat Spring Grove, 33-0, on Friday at Papermakers Stadium.

"Our entire backfield (senior quarterback Josh Ferguson, along with senior running backs Nick Rhodes, Cole Kline, and senior wide receiver Connor Long) are our captains, and they showed why they lead our team everyday," Cumberland Valley coach Michael Whitehead said.

His captains accounted for 161 of the Eagles' 241 yards on the ground.

In the first half, the Eagles scored touchdowns on three of their five possessions.

On their first drive, Rhodes took a fourth-and-1 handout and bounced it outside for a 41-yard run to set the Eagles up inside the 10-yard line. Two plays later, Kline plowed through the line and punched in the first touchdown of the season and a 6-0 score after a failed two-point conversion.

After punting on their second drive, Long reeled in an 11-yard back-shoulder pass from Ferguson to put Cumberland Valley up 12-0 after another failed two-point conversion.

Spring Grove was then stopped on fourth down after Kline sacked Jake Messersmith. After that, it took the Eagles two plays to get into the end zone, thanks to senior wide receiver Kier Miner breaking a 39-yard run to put the Eagles up 19-0 heading into the half.

"We mixed up the run and pass pretty well in the first half, and the run game was crucial coming out of the half," Whitehead said.

With the wing-T styled offense, the Eagles threw only twice in the second half.

The Eagles used a four-play, 34-yard drive to pound in their third touchdown of the night. Senior fullback Joey Heikel ran one in from 3 yards out with 9:19 to go in the third to put the Eagles up 26-0.

Spring Grove went three-and-out on its next possession. After a 46-yard run by Long, Ferguson scampered in off a bootleg from 9 yards out with 5:09 to go in the third quarter.

From there, the defenses took over barely allowing any yards from either side.

"I was proud with the defense, they set the tone up front tonight. Overall, I am proud of what I saw tonight. But we got to get ready for next week," Whitehead said.

Cumberland Valley hosts Central York next week, and Spring Grove hits the road to face Mechanicsburg.

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First Quarter

CuV — Cole Kline 1-rush (kick failed), 8:49.

Second Quarter

CuV — Connor Long 11-pass from Josh Ferguson (pass failed), 8:22.

CuV — Kier Miner 39-rush (Long kick), 6:17.

Third Quarter

CuV — Joey Heikel 3-rush (Long kick), 9:19.

CuV — Ferguson 9-rush (Long kick), 5:09.

CuVSGFirst downs147Rushes-yards39-24120-17Passing6-9-016-26-1Passing yards79145Total yards320162Punts5-40.87-37.1Fumbles-lost1-00-0Penalties-yards7-553-25
Individual statistics

Rushing — CuV, Nick Rhodes 8-70, Cole Kline 6-24, Connor Long 3-70, Josh Ferguson 3-(-3), Kier Miner 6-38, Joey Heikel 5-22, Tyler Sunday 4-15, Colby Pearson 2-14, Ridge Bachman 1-(-9). SG, Nick Erickson 13-21, LJ Chisholm 1-5, Ian Slaven 1-4, Jake Messersmith 5-(-13).

Passing — CuV, Josh Ferguson 6-9-79. SG, Messersmith 16-26-143-1.

Receiving — CuV, Long 3-54, Charles Kashir 2-17, Miner 1-8. SG, Chisholm 5-47, Anthony Beddia 3-60, Erickson 2-18, Brady Stein 4-12, Adam Warehiem 1-4, Slaven 1-4.