Hodgen helps Bermudian race past Delone
Jon DeFoe isn't always accustomed to seeing his offense produce big plays.
The longtime Bermudian Springs head coach has typically led teams that thrive by pounding the ball and sustaining drives. For the Eagles, long passes and runs are few and far between while 3 yards and a cloud of dust is quite common.
The first quarter of Friday's game against Delone Catholic provided some exceptions.
Taking on the Squires at home, Bermudian Springs scored four touchdowns in the opening quarter, with three of them 35 yards or longer. That would be all the scoring the Eagles would need as they cruised to a 28-7 win.
"It was nice to see tonight because we have not had many big plays in our run game, we've had move-the-chains type stuff," DeFoe said. "We haven't had those home runs like we had tonight."
Two of those home runs came from senior Devon Hodgen, who broke loose for 43 and 57-yard touchdown runs on consecutive drives in the first quarter. Hogden finished the game with 145 yards on 13 carries while making several big plays in the return game.
A shy and soft-spoken player, Hodgen has provided the Eagles (6-1, 4-0 YAIAA Division III) with a speedy compliment to the powerful Ashton West this season. While DeFoe has coached plenty of strong running backs in his 18 years at Bermudian Springs, he said Hodgen might be one of the fastest.
"(Hodgen) certainly adds a different dimension," DeFoe said. "He's come a long way in three years. He gets down on himself sometimes and I've go to build him back up and convince him he's got the tools to make plays like he did tonight."
As they have multiple times this season, the Eagles got off to a rough start when quarterback Chase Dull was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage. They would quickly bounce back, forcing the Squires to turn the ball over on downs before converting the rest of their first quarter possessions into touchdowns.
Following Hodgen's two big runs, the Eagles would march down the field and score on a short sneak by Dull. The Squires then fumbled on the first play of their next drive, and Dull made them pay by hitting Trevor Kasulen for a 35-yard score.
"Stopping them (after Dull's interception) was a big factor in the game," senior offensive and defensive lineman Ryan Forsythe said. "It helped Chase get back in stride and helped everyone get their heads up."
DeFoe admitted he expected the game to be much closer, but said he was pleased to see the Eagles give a strong performance with huge back-to-back games against York Catholic and Littlestown coming up.
"I feel better after tonight, but honestly high school football is week-to-week," DeFoe said. "Hopefully we can limit (York Catholic's) explosive guys and give ourselves a chance and play four quarters.
For Delone Catholic (4-3, 1-3), the loss was another disappointing game in a season that began with high expectations. Running back Ryan Hart provided a few big runs, but the Squires struggled to throw the ball and prevent big plays.
"First quarter was a disaster for the most part, we just melted down again," Delone head coach Corey Zortman said. "I am proud of them for stopping the bleeding. Sitting here with three losses is not where we thought we'd be, but we were 4-6 last year and we hope to improve on that."
Delone Catholic_0_0_0_7_—_7
Bermudian Springs_28_0_0_0_—_28
First Quarter
BS -- Devon Hodgen 43 run (Noah Aeppli kick), 9:44
BS -- Hodgen 57 run (Aeppli kick), 6:33
BS -- Chase Dull 1 run (Aeppli kick), 1:01
BS -- Trevor Kasulen 35 pass from Dull 0:01
Fourth Quarter
DC -- Brady Repasky 6 pass from Brian Shermeyer (Brandon Hall kick), 5:10
_DC_ BS
First downs_8_14
Rushes-Yards_30-154_43-279
Passing_5-12-1_1-4-1
Passing Yards_28_35
Total Yards_182_314
Punts_5-32.2_5-30.6
Fumbles-Lost_1-1_1-0
Penalties-Yards_3-15_5-40
Rushing — DC, Ryan Hart 13-115, Zach Hart 8-30, Brian Shermeyer 2-8, Andrew Hernandez 2-2, Alec Maitland 2-(-1), Sean Sneeringer 1-0, Logan Panzer 1-(-1), Ogechi Oparanozie 1-1. BS, Devon Hodgen 13-145, Ashton West 17-93, Addison Wheeler 4-11, Brenton Krebs 5-20, Chase Dull 3-9, Ryan Curfman 1-1.
Passing — DC, Shermeyer 4-9-17-0, Evan Brady 1-3-11-1. BS, Dull 1-4-35-1.
Receiving — DC, Larry Lefler 1-5, Cody Pfaff 1-11, Brady Repasky 1-6, Zach Hart 1-10, Ryan Hart-(-4) BS, Trevor Kasulen 1-35.