Sloppy field, sloppy play do in Blue Devils

[clecinosu]

Newark Catholic 10, Danville 0

MOUNT VERNON -- A muddy field and a quintet of turnovers spelled doom for the Danville Blue Devils as the Newark Catholic Green Wave defeated Danville 10-0 Friday in the Division VI Region 23 Championship game at Yellow Jacket Stadium in Mount Vernon.

A steady rain fell all though the game, turning an already torn up field into a soupy mess, but Danville didn't help themselves in the clutch. The Devils committed five turnovers, two fumbles and three interceptions, many of them during key drives. Newark Catholic's defense rose up during those clutch situations as well, stopping six Blue Devil advances into Green Wave territory.

Danville took the opening kickoff but started at their own 10-yard line after the kick was fumbled on the muddy turf. Six plays yielded just 12 yards, and a short punt bounced out of bounds at the Danville 42.

Newark Catholic drove to the 12 on eight plays, and Green Wave kicker George Biddle hit a 29-yard field goal with 5:13 left in the first quarter, giving Newark Catholic, as it turned out, all the points it would need.

After that, the game was mostly taken over by the defenses. Danville drove to the Green Wave 47, but on third-and-1, Devil quarterback Kasey Doup was stopped for no gain and Danville was forced to punt. Newark Catholic took over after that and drove to the Blue Devil 18 early in the second quarter, but Newark Catholic quarterback Doug Stevens threw incomplete passes on third and fourth down, and the ball went back to Danville.

Danville got the first break when defensive back Ron Wallace picked off a Stevens pass later in the quarter, but could do nothing with the possession. Danville regained possession at the Green Wave 47 following a short punt, but Doup's pass on first down was picked off by Newark's Jimmy Hobson at the Green Wave 20.

Newark Catholic again would drive deep inside Danville territory just before halftime, but a defensive surge stopped Stevens on a quarterback keeper on third down, and an incomplete pass gave the Devils the ball back at their own 25. A Ryan Colopy run ended the first half.

Danville's best drive of the night came on its first possession of the second half. Following a Newark Catholic punt, the Devils drove into the red zone, and a four-yard Doup run on fourth-and-3 gave the Devils a first down at the Green Wave 16. But on the very next play, Colopy took a handoff from Doup and attempted a halfback pass from the near side, but was intercepted in the end zone by Newark Catholic's Scott Lake.

Danville got the ball back after Newark Catholic went three-and-out, and again drove into Green Wave territory, but Dustin Dawson was stripped of the ball on a second down carry by Cy Schell and the Wave's Jacob O'Neal recovered at the Newark Catholic 31.

Newark Catholic again had trouble moving thanks to the combination of the muddy field and the Danville defense and was forced to punt. Danville took over at their own 46 and moved to the Green Wave 36, but on fourth-and-2, Doup tried a quarterback keeper, stumbled through the slop and was stopped a yard short.

The Green Wave took advantage of the stop, completing a 15-yard pass from Stevens to Lake on third-and-10, and Stevens carrying for 37 yards to the Devil six on third-and-3. Three plays later, Troy Nichols, the stalwart Newark Catholic tailback who did most of the team's rushing on the evening, scored from two yards out with 3:39 left to clinch the win.

Danville's final two possessions ended abruptly. Doup was hit by Newark Catholic Eric Barbour and fumbled on a first-down carry, and the Green Wave's Dusty Layton recovered. Danville's final drive was stopped when a Doup pass was picked off by Schell with 54 seconds to play. Stevens took a knee twice and the clock ran out.

Nichols topped all rushers in the game, carrying 35 times for 155 yards and the game's lone touchdown. Stevens 37-yard run gave him a total of 42 yards on four carries and Stephen McDonald had one carry for no gain.

Stevens completed 5-of-12 passes for 63 yards and had one interception through the air. Lake topped all receivers with three catches for 45 yards. McDonald also had a 20-yard catch and Nichols one for a loss of two yards.

Doup used the quarterback keeper to gain 76 yards on 17 carries and lead the Danville run attack. Dustin Dawson had 12 carries for 47 yards, Colopy seven rushes for 23 yards, Kyle Doup four carries for 13 yards and Dustin Bartok one four-yard carry.

Kasey Doup completed just 2-of-11 passes for 18 yards with two interceptions and Colopy was 0-for-1 with one interception. Kyle Doup had one reception for 18 yards and Ron Wallace one catch for no gain.

The Green Wave advances to the Division VI state semifinals next Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against two-time defending state runner-up Mogadore at Canton Central Catholic High School.

Danville.................0.....0.....0.....0...... ....0
Newark Catholic.....3.....0.....0.....7........10

SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
NC - FG George Biddle 29, 5:13. (8 plays, 30 yards, TOP 3:42)
FOURTH QUARTER
NC - Troy Nichols 2 run (George Biddle kick), 3:39. (9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:48)

STATISTICS....................DAN...........NC
First Downs........................11...........11
Rushes-Yards...............41-163....42-195
Passing Yards.....................18...........63
Comp-Att-Int................2-12-3.....5-12-1
Total Offense....................181.........258
Punts-Avg.....................4-27.5.....5-29.2
Fumbles-Lost.....................4-2.........3-0
Penalties-Yards................1-15.......6-53
Possession Time.............23:07.....24:53

RUSHING: Danville - Kasey Doup 17-76, Dustin Dawson 12-47, Ryan Colopy 7-23, Kyle Doup 4-13, Dustin Bartok 1-4; Newark Catholic - Troy Nichols 35-155, Doug Stevens 4-42, Stephen McDonald 1-0, Team 2-(minus-2).

PASSING: Danville - Kasey Doup 2-11-2-18, Ryan Colopy 0-1-1-0; Newark Catholic - Doug Stevens 5-12-1-63.

RECEIVING: Danville - Kyle Doup 1-18, Ron Wallace 1-0; Newark Catholic - Scott Lake 3-45, Stephen McDonald 1-20, Troy Nichols 1-(minus-2).

INTERCEPTIONS: Danville - Ron Wallace 1-0; Newark Catholic - Scott Lake 1-0, Jimmy Hobson 1-0, Cy Schell 1-27.