Blue Devils use big plays, defense to top Wildcats

[clecinosu]

Danville 40, Waterford 6

DANVILLE -- The Danville Blue Devils scored on four big plays while their defense shut down the Waterford Wildcats attack in a 40-6 victory Friday in the Division VI Region 23 quarterfinals at Danville Community Park.

Danville (10-1), playing its 12th playoff game overall, racked up a total of 449 yards of total offense against Waterford (7-4), making its first-ever playoff appearance. The Blue Devil defense was just as strong, holding the visiting Wildcats to 128 yards of total offense and just 34 yards at the half.

The Devils stopped Waterford cold on the first drive of the game, but gave the ball right back when Wildcat senior linebacker Alex Heiss forced Danville senior tight end Luke Colopy to fumble after a 24-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Kasey Doup. Waterford defensive back Travis Schaad recovered at the Wildcat 36-yard line.

Waterford did nothing on its second chance, however, and Danville struck two plays into their next drive when senior running back Ryan Colopy sprinted through the right side of the line and down the near sideline 55 yards for the first touchdown of the game.

Waterford did not earn its first first down until their fourth drive, when the Wildcats took over at the Danville 45 and drove to the Devil 25, but on fourth-and-one, senior quarterback Ben Cunningham was dropped for a three-yard loss by linebackers Steve Payne and Steve Kick.

Two plays later, Danville struck again as senior running back Dustin Bartok bolted through the line and down the far sideline 65 yards for the score, giving the Devils a 14-0 lead after one quarter.

Danville pushed its lead to the 21-point margin they would hold at halftime late in the second quarter, driving 65 yards in 10 plays and capping the march with a one-yard run by junior running back Dustin Dawson.

The Blue Devils opened the third-quarter scoring on their second drive of the period as Ryan Colopy again broke off a big run, this time going 61 yards down the far sideline for his second score.

But Waterford answered on their next possession behind the running of senior tailback Dan Doebereiner, who carried four times for 60 yards on the Wildcats' eight-play, 77-yard drive. Waterford closed the jaunt with an eight-yard pass from Cunningham to junior wide receiver Travis Barth with 1:35 left in the quarter.

Danville quickly recovered, though, and scored again on the first play of the fourth quarter when senior split end Kyle Doup came back to catch a pass from Kasey Doup, shook off Wildcat cornerback Billy Lee and went 45 yards for the touchdown.

Waterford lost a total of 20 yards on its final three drives, and Danville capped the scoring when Bartok scored his second touchdown of the night on a 15-yard run up the middle with 2:34 left to play.

Ryan Colopy led all rushers, carrying 10 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Dustin Bartok carried six times for 90 yards and two more scores, Dustin Dawson added 11 carries, 50 yards and another touchdown, Kyle Doup carried 10 times for 43 yards, Kasey Doup had seven carries for 18 yards and Luke Colopy one carry for five yards.

Kasey Doup completed just 3-of-7 passes and was intercepted once, but threw for 81 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Doup had his 45-yard touchdown catch, Luke Colopy a 24-yard reception and Ryan Colopy a 12-yard catch. Ron Wallace also had an interception and subsequent 20-yard return to go with four extra-point kicks.

Doebereiner topped the Wildcat rushers with 20 carries for 124 yards. Fullback Todd McCutcheon added seven carries for 32 yards. Cunningham completed just 4-of-12 passes for 12 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Barth had two receptions for seven yards, including his eight-yard touchdown catch. Lee also had a six-yard reception and McCutcheon one reception for a loss of a yard. Barth also picked off one pass and had a four-yard return.

Danville will next face the Shadyside Tigers in a rematch of last year's Region 23 championship game Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Crater Stadium in Dover.

Waterford...........0.....0.....6.....0..........6
Danville.............14.....7.....6...13........40

SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
DAN - Ryan Colopy 55 run (Ron Wallace kick), 8:46. (2 plays, 61 yards, TOP 0:18)
DAN - Dustin Bartok 65 run (Ron Wallace kick), 1:49. (2 plays, 72 yards, TOP 0:51)
SECOND QUARTER
DAN - Dustin Dawson 1 run (Ron Wallace kick), 1:34. (10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:29)
THIRD QUARTER
DAN - Ryan Colopy 61 run (kick blocked), 4:24. (5 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:57)
WATER - Travis Barth 8 pass from Ben Cunningham (kick failed), 1:35. (8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:49)
FOURTH QUARTER
DAN - Kyle Doup 45 pass from Kasey Doup (Ron Wallace kick), 11:50. (5 plays, 60 yards, TOP 1:45)
DAN - Dustin Bartok 15 run (kick failed), 2:34. (6 plays, 31 yards, TOP 3:15)

STATISTICS.....................WATER.......DAN
First Downs...............................7..........15
Rushes-Yards....................38-116....46-368
Passing Yards..........................12..........81
Comp-Att-Int.....................4-12-1......3-7-1
Total Offense........................128.........449
Punts-Avg.........................9-28.2.....3-26.7
Fumbles-Lost.........................2-0.........1-1
Penalties-Yards.....................2-20.......3-24
Possession Time..................24:31.....23:29

RUSHING: Waterford - Dan Doebereiner 20-124, Todd McCutcheon 7-32, Travis Schaad 1-(minus-4), Ben Cunningham 10-(minus-36); Danville - Ryan Colopy 10-163, Dustin Bartok 6-90, Dustin Dawson 11-50, Kyle Doup 10-43, Kasey Doup 7-18, Luke Colopy 1-5, Team 1-(minus-1).

PASSING: Waterford - Ben Cunningham 4-12-1-12; Danville - Kasey Doup 3-7-1-81.

RECEIVING: Waterford - Travis Barth 2-7, Billy Lee 1-6, Todd McCutcheon 1-(minus-1); Danville - Kyle Doup 1-45, Luke Colopy 1-24, Ryan Colopy 1-12.

INTERCEPTIONS: Waterford - Travis Barth 1-4; Danville - Ron Wallace 1-20.