Kevin Pacan scored three touchdowns and rushed for 229 yards (yardage courtesy of Kevin Kolodziej of courierpostonline.com) behind a dominant offensive line to beat Williamstown, 41-6. It was also a game where Cherokee scored in all three phases of the game.
**Please note this is off the YouTube broadcast from SJ Sports Talk. The picture wasn’t always perfect for identifying the numbers of the players, but it was workable.
First Quarter: Williamstown had 20-yard run by Harold Hill on the jet sweep to the 50-yard line, but the tables turned on them when Roman Dougherty ripped the ball out of the ball carrier’s hands and went 53 yards for a touchdown, as he was already ahead of the pack before anyone on Williamstown noticed. Cherokee moved down the field on their first possession, moving inside the 10-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs. Williamstown went three-and-out and their punt was blocked inside the end zone and recovered by Cherokee for a touchdown.
Second Quarter: Cherokee had a nice drive going behind the running of Pacan, driving deep into Williamstown territory, but penalties hurt them and turned the ball over again on downs. But it didn’t take long for the Chiefs to get the ball back when Evan Bryfogle intercepted on the Williamston 42. Pacan broke off two runs of 21 and 9 yards and capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown run to put Cherokee ahead, 21-0.
Third Quarter: Cherokee came out with the ball, but on the second play, Hill intercepted for Williamstown and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. The Braves then recovered a Cherokee fumble on the 15-yard line, but Cameron Burti intercepted in the end zone and the Chiefs settled down. After Pacan went 11 yards to the Williamstown 29, quarterback Ryan Bender rolled right on fourth down for a 23 yard touchdown. Cherokee forced a WIlliamstown punt that gave the Chiefs the ball on their 45. Pacan ripped off 16 yards and Bender went 38 yards to the 1 on a rollout – this time to the left. Pacan scored on the following play to make it 34-6. After a Williamstown punt, Pacan went 59 yards for a touchdown on the drive’s first play. Pacan went through the middle, as the Cherokee line forced the defenders to the right, with Pacan going to their left and off to the races.
Fourth Quarter: The entire fourth quarter was played on a running clock with no scoring.
Comments: The stars of the game are a co-billing of Paccan and the Cherokee offensive line. Pacan was a third-string running back, but injuries to one of the state’s best backs in Brandon Boria plus Murad Campfield gave Pacan his chance. While Cherokee was missing a man or two on the line, the unit of left tackle Aidan Edelson, left guard Andrew Geisenheimer, center Jake Ellis, right guard Dom DeChurch, and right tackle Dylan Grau dominated the line of scrimmage. Another player who played well was WR/DB Cameron Burti, who caught at least one pass, had a 24-yard run on the jet sweep, and intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Williamstown struggled to get their running game going and their more successful runs seemed to come on the jet sweep with Hill and Julian Noel, while they were stifled between the tackles. They were without running back Zach Zerbe, but I don’t know how much of a difference it would have made.