Kloss: Classic coaches humbled by Big 30
Richardson: Drummond continues Big 30 family legacy
Down 14-0 in Saturday’s 44th annual Big 30 Charities Classic, Elk Catholic quarterback Nate DaCanal took a third-down sack, forcing his team of Pennsylvania all-stars to punt.
New York, in control early with its ground-heavy attack led by Gowanda’s Kameron Alexander, looked to take a commanding lead. Instead, its player fumbled the punt return, letting Coudersport’s Aaron Wolfinger fall on the ball at the 26-yard line.
On the next play, Bradford High’s Kyle Kirk (3-for-8, 27 yards, touchdown) tossed to St. Marys’ Parker Smith to jumpstart a stagnant offense. From then on, the Pennsylvania squad never looked back, rolling up 41 points in the second and third quarters combined to come away with a decisive 48-30 victory.
“Well, he is from Bradford so we had to get him a couple throws,” said Tony Gerg, the Elk Catholic coach charged with leading the Keystone state team, about Kirk. “We had faith in him. I just told the kids, do what you do best, make plays. The coaches weren’t going to win this game, it was the kids. Let them go out and let them do what they do and they did.”
After stalling out on the first two drives, Pennsylvania got into a groove. In its last four possessions of the first half, the team scored three times and then coupled that with three straight scores in the third quarter.
“I think we just had to settle in,” said Tony Gerg, the Elk Catholic coach charged with leading the Keystone state team. “Our offense is so eccentric, but I knew they would get into a rhythm. Once they got into a rhythm and settled down, we saw some action that we could exploit and I think we did in the first half.”
Bradford High receiver Dawson Ambrose, who caught four balls for 96 yards and two touchdowns from DaCanal (10-for-11, 157 yards, two touchdowns), credits his defense that came up with two sacks (both by Smethport’s Akete Kindle) and three interceptions as the catalyst.
“When you get a big turnover like that, the offense goes out there and we’re like a train,” Ambrose said, referencing Wolfinger’s fumble recover. “There’s nothing stopping us after something like that.”
Despite a 22-20 halftime deficit, Gerg’s offense was able to make some key blocking adjustments as the game went on and ran downhill in the second half, taking advantage of the luxury of having power backs Seth Drummond (Otto-Eldred) and Matt Marconi (St. Marys). Unofficially, Drummond carried 19 times for 99 yards and two scores, while Marconi had 71 on 14 carries and a 9-yard score in the second.
“It’s kind of nice, isn’t it?” Gerg said. “You’ve got two big bowling balls in there with Marconi and Drummond. That’s what we’re designed for – even back at Elk County. A kid who can just take the ball and drive the ball down the field and have the faith that they’re not going to turn it over. They took the game over. Once you can manage that clock in the end, you’ve won with that lead. They were outstanding.”
While the offense was clicking, the hard-hitting Pennsylvania defense killed any chance of New York momentum with its takeaways. Wolfinger came up with a diving interception on New York’s first drive of the third quarter, setting up Ambrose’s second touchdown as a capper for the 68-yard drive.
Bradford High’s Mitch Vleminckx also picked off a pass, while Ridgway’s duo of Josh Raubenstrauch and Jacob Anderson each had interceptions, with Anderson taking a New York pass 35 yards down the visiting sideline for a touchdown in the game’s lone fourth-quarter score.
With the victory, Pennsylvania begins a two-game winning streak. New York still leads the all-time Big 30 series, 22-20-2. Regardless of records or series, the graduated seniors from Pennsylvania are capping their high school careers with a victory.
“It’s awesome,” Ambrose said. “To end it on a win in the last game of my career on my home field and we end it with a ‘W.’ It can’t get any better than that.”
Scoring summary
First quarter
N.Y. – O’Brien 10-yard pass from Beaver (kick no good), 12:20
N.Y. – Carr two-yard run (Gauthier run), 2:34
Second quarter
PA – Smith 26-yard pass from Kirk (Johnson kick), 7:58
PA – Marconi 9-yard run (Johnson kick), 4:37
N.Y. – Caldwell 60-yard run after 10-yard Beaver pass to O’Brien (O’Brien catch), 3:57
PA – Ambrose 5-yard pass from DaCanal (pass failed), :8.1
Third quarter
PA – Drummond 12-yard run (Johnson kick), 12:04
PA – Ambrose 38-yard catch from DaCanal (Johnson kick), 4:55
N.Y. – O’Brien 46-yard catch from Beaver (Beaver run), 1:13
PA – Drummond five-yard run (Johnson kick), 8:18
Fourth quarter
PA – Anderson 35-yard interception return (Johnson kick), 2:17
