Spring Grove's Messersmith passes for five touchdowns against William Penn
One week ago, Spring Grove adjusted to heavy rains and slogged its way to a win using the ground game.
On Friday, the rains largely held off, and the Rockets let their quarterback, Jake Messersmith, air it out with devastating success.
Messersmith threw five touchdowns for Spring Grove, who celebrated homecoming with a 48-20 victory over William Penn and secured their first winning streak of the season in the process.
Messersmith completed 10-of-18 passes for 171 yards, and he wasted little time picking apart the Bearcats defense. Facing a third-and-21 on his first drive, the junior found Brady Stein for a 22-yard pickup. Messersmith then located Connor Reed in stride for a 50-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
William Penn (0-6, 0-3 YAIAA Division I) countered with Khalid Dorsey's 71-yard touchdown run on its next drive, but the Rockets answered with 27 straight points to put the game out of reach.
Ryan Daugherty, so potent a week ago with his multiple touchdowns against New Oxford, set up Messersmith this week on defense, coming up with an interception on the first play of the second quarter at the William Penn 21-yard line. Messersmith responded by hooking up with Stein again, this time for a 23-yard score that extended the lead to 21-6.
Even when Spring Grove (3-3, 2-1) made a miscue it ended up with points on the scoreboard. Messersmith fumbled a second-quarter snap, but he retreated back to pick it up and was still able to find a wide-open L.J. Chisholm in the middle of the field. Chisholm took it in for a 23-yard touchdown and a 31-6 lead.
Teammate Andrew Luckenbaugh hit two field goals in the second quarter, including a 40-yarder, and the Rockets enjoyed a 34-12 halftime lead.
Spring Grove travels to Central York next Friday, while William Penn heads to Northeastern.
William Penn6608—20Spring Grove1420140—48
First quarter
SG — Connor Reed 50 pass from Jake Messersmith (Andrew Luckenbaugh kick), 8:59.
WP — Khalid Dorsey 71 run (kick failed), 5:26.
SG— Nick Erickson 7 run (Luckenbaugh kick), :39.8.
Second quarter
SG — Brady Stein 23 pass from Messersmith (Luckenbaugh kick), 10:30.
SG — Luckenbaugh 40 field goal, 8:22.
SG — L.J. Chisholm 23 pass from Messersmith (Luckenbaugh kick), 5:34.
SG — Luckenbaugh 32 field goal, 2:36.
WP — Nyshaun Ritter 37 pass from Angel DeJesus (pass failed), :30.7.
Third quarter
SG — Stein 16 pass from Messersmith (Luckenbaugh kick), 9:04.
SG — Anthony Beddia 9 pass from Messersmith (Luckenbaugh kick), :49.9.
Fourth quarter
WP — Andrew Radzik 3 run (Justin Colston run), 4:57.
WPSGFirst downs69Rushes-yards31-15241-108Passing5-2510-18Passing yards80171Total yards232279Punts3-25.44-24.7Fumbles-lost2-21-0Penalties4-205-43
Individual statistics
Rushing — WP, Khalid Dorsey 14-106, Andrew Radzik 5-44, Angel DeJesus 7-12, Markeis Cash 1-0, Justin Colston 4-(-10). SG, Nick Erickson 17-83, L.J. Chishoim 5-21, Ryan Daugherty 2-10, A.J. Fridinger 7-15, Messersmith 10-(-21).
Passing — WP, Colston 4-17-1-61-1, DeJesus 1-8-19-2. SG, Messersmith 10-18-171-0.
Receiving — WP. Nyshaun Ritter 1-37, Cash 3-31, Jose Santiago-Curet 1-12. SG, Brady Stein 4-86, Connor Reed 1-50, Chisholm 3-32, Anthony Beddia 1-9, Erickson 1-(-6).