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HS FOOTBALL: First play sets the tone for Old Forge win

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ORWIGSBURG - As he prepared to board the bus for Friday's PIAA Class A football quarterfinal against Schuylkill Haven, Old Forge quarterback Jake Manetti was approached by head coach Mike Schuback.

"Coach Schuback, as soon as we got to the stadium for the bus, the first thing he said to me was 'I've thought about this all week, and this is the play we're going to open with,' " Manetti said.

That play - "Screen go" - a fake screen and a deep pass to flanker Joey Gutowski, went for 66 yards and a touchdown. It set the tone for things to come as the District 2 champion Blue Devils eliminated Schuylkill Haven 35-0 at Blue Mountain High School's Eagles' Nest.

"We knew that when we split them out, they were going to bracket (tight end Shane) Schuback,"

Manetti explained. "We ran the motion towards him, faked the screen and it was wide open. Joey Gutowski made a fantastic adjustment to the ball and it was a quick strike."

Manetti, who completed 3-of-7 passes for 99 yards, said getting the early lead on the Hurricanes was Old Forge's goal. He said the Blue Devils ran the same play to open their Lackawanna League contest against Carbondale, and it led to a 43-6 victory.

"We knew that if we can get up 7-0, it was going to be tough for a running team to come back from that," Manetti said. "We were fortunate to make a quick stop, then go up 14-0. We knew after last week against Southern Columbia that coming back from 14-0 isn't easy."

A one-touchdown deficit isn't difficult for any team to overcome, especially when it comes just 15 seconds into the game.

In Friday's game, however, the early haymaker seemed to have a staggering effect on the District 11 champion Hurricanes.

Trailing for the first time since a Week 7 loss to Tamaqua, Schuylkill Haven struggled to move the ball on its first three possessions, gaining a total of just 15 yards and punting three straight times.

Old Forge controlled the line of scrimmage, and the Hurricanes didn't help themselves with a pair of procedure penalties that created long down-and-distance situations.

When Old Forge tailback Brandon Yescavage broke a 56-yard run on a pitch left for a touchdown to give the Blue Devils a 14-0 lead, it almost served as a knockout punch.

The emotion and energy that usually accompanies a game of this magnitude, both on the field and in the stands, was gone on the Schuylkill Haven side of the field.

"We thought that if we could come out and bang, hit a big play early, or another 2-3 big plays early, we'd have a great chance," Michael Schuback said. "Our thought process was just that. Make the big play.

"The bottom line is that first play is huge, especially the way they play offense."

The way Schuylkill Haven plays offense isn't conducive to coming back from large deficits.

Through their six-game win streak that helped them reach the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2010, the Hurricanes followed a similar pattern - get the early lead, control the clock with a punishing ground game and wear down the opposing defense with strong play up front.

Unlike Old Forge, which rallied from a 14-0 deficit last week against Southern Columbia, the Hurricanes don't have a big-play offense.

Of the 35 touchdowns Schuylkill Haven scored during its six-game win streak, only two - a 64-yard run by Ryan Fink against Blue Mountain and an 81-yard kickoff return by Fink against Mahanoy Area - were longer than 50 yards.

"We're in trouble when we fall behind by two touchdowns," Schuylkill Haven coach Mike Farr said. "In the beginning of the game, when you're down a couple of touchdowns, it's not a big deal. But you have to be able to sustain drives.

"You can't make mistakes. You can't line up wrong, you can't jump offsides ... you can't do all those things."

Schuylkill Haven had its chances, putting together a 13-play drive in the first half that last 6 minutes, 19 seconds, but tailback Will Casella (25-111) was stopped on a fourth-and-4 play at the Old Forge 24.

The Hurricanes had another chance right before the half after Zach Kerschner's interception set Haven up at the Old Forge 32, but four straight incompletions turned the ball over on downs.

"We missed one early, which would have gave us a lot of confidence going into the half," Farr said. "At the end of the day, it just wasn't meant to be.

"We had a great year. I'm unhappy it's over, but I'm not disappointed. Our kids did the best they could. They're a good football team."


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