Waynesboro capitalizes on early momentum vs. Gettysburg
The word of the day for the Waynesboro football team was momentum.
After starting the season 0-2, the Indians had to find a way to use that force in their favor during a non-league game against Gettysburg on Friday night.
And it didn't take long for them to find their groove.
A pair of interceptions that each led to trips to the end zone boosted Waynesboro to a 38-12 victory over the Warriors, as the Indians found their spark.
An interception by Quintin Gaskill off struggling Gettysburg quarterback Josh Clapsaddle, followed by a swift 39-yard connection between Brady Riddell and top receiver Cameron Keck, then just seconds later another pick by Jimmi Hoffman, which led to a 55-yard run by top rusher Brady Beckner, certainly put a fire under Waynesboro.
"At that point our coaches just told us to not let off because we wanted to keep extending the lead and we didn't want them to get back in the game," Keck said. "We just needed to pound the ball. Brady was running it great in the beginning."
"We were excited of course, but we kept on them," Waynesboro coach Steve Myers said. "Crazy things happen in football and momentum can swing back the other way real easy."
Gettysburg (1-2) tried to change the tempo in the second quarter, with a switch to a hurry-up offense. After Waynesboro's third touchdown of the game, Gettysburg moved 69 yards on five plays for its first touchdown, thanks to a 33-yard rush by Edny Celius. Combined with a Waynesboro fumble recovered by Gettysburg, it spelled trouble for the Indians, who entered the locker room leading 28-6 at the half.
"We started running the ball again and I kept telling our line to get a big push up there, and we'll be fine," Riddell said. "They were changing plays on us and changing defense, but we kept checking things and just changing the plays and it worked out."
Gettysburg held Waynesboro (1-2) to a field goal and a single touchdown in the second half, and added a final touchdown of its own with no time left on the clock after Waynesboro committed a defensive penalty in the red zone.
"We were just trying to regroup and get ourselves to where we could be productive and go from there," Gettysburg coach Matt Heiser said. "Waynesboro did an excellent job, and executed 10 times better than we did."
NOTES: The Waynesboro defense held Gettysburg to 154 total yards, despite Clapsaddle completing 8 of 11 pass attempts in the second half ... Celius finished with 129 rushing yards ... Beckner finished with 157 yards on the ground, while Keck had 128 receiving yards.
Waynesboro 38, Gettysburg 12
Gettysburg_ 0 _ 6 _ 0 _ 6 _ — _ 12
Waynesboro _ 21_ 7 _ 3 _ 7 _ — _ 38
First Quarter
W — Brady Riddell 1 run (George Souders kick), 6:58
W — Mason Frampton 7 run (Souders kick), 4:40
W — Brady Beckner 55 run (Souders kick), 4:16
Second Quarter
W — Forrest Rhyne 1 run (Souders kick), 11:55.
G — Edny Celius 33 run (run failed), 10:00
Third Quarter
WAY — Souders 31 field goal, 5:05
Fourth Quarter
W — Riddell 2 run (Souders kick), 7:34
G — Ammon Robinson 1 pass from Josh Clapsaddle, 0:00.
Team Statistics
_ Gett_ Way
First downs _ 7 _ 13
Rushes-yards _ 35-98 _ 40-228
Passing _ 10-15-2 _ 6-14-0
Passing yards _ 56 _ 142
Total yards _ 154 _ 370
Punts _ 2-21.0 _ 0-0
Fumbles-lost _ 2-1 _ 2-1
Penalties-yards _ 5-35 _ 5-30
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Get: Celius 13- 129, Bryce Newman 5-20, Wesley Gayle 2-3, Ferrious Ashford 5-16, Clapsaddle 8-(-13). Way: Dylan Cummins 2-0, Riddell 5-32, Frampton 7-50, Beckner 13-157, Rhyne 7-29, Jake Gouge 2-(-9), Hunter Clever 1-0, Trevor Jones 1-(-2).
Passing — Get: Clapsaddle 10-15-56-2. Way: Riddell 6-14-142-0, Jimmi Hoffman 0-1-0-0.
Receiving — Get: Oakley Marsh 1-2, Laion Shelton 3-18, Codi Hower 1-4, Celius 1-4, Brady Fouchie 1-7, Ashford 2-10, Robinson 1-1. Way: Jay Alvarez 1-27, Cameron Keck 5-128.
Interceptions — Way: Alvarez, Quintin Gaskill.