By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Two drives separated by halftime proved to be the difference.
One drive consisted of two plays, the other nine. Both showed the Victor Blue Devils’ ability to bounce back.
Victor’s backfield tandem of Rushawn Baker and Joey Pezzimenti carried the Blue Devil offense in a come-from-behind 21-10 victory over Webster Schroeder, Friday night.
“We know our identity,” said Pezzimenti whose one-yard plunge gave Victor its first lead of the night at 14-10. “We’re going to run the ball a whole bunch. The big boys upfront gave us holes. Me and Baker did our thing.”
The two were instrumental in a nine-play 73-yard drive to open the second half.
“It started with the guys up front,” Victor head coach Geoff Mandile noted. “We got on them a little bit (at halftime). They got bodies on people. They moved people. Pezz and Shawny Baker, they make you pay if we do that.”
The drive contrasted a Victor offense which managed little production for the first 20-plus minutes of the game. A pair of three-and-outs coupled with Schroeder showing its quick-strike ability led to a 10-0 Warriors advantage.
Victor’s special teams changed the momentum when AJ Tillotson blocked a punt in Schroeder territory.
“They do that little sugar punt with their quarterback,” Mandile explained. “We put something in this week that we thought we might get to it if it was a little slower than usual. We needed that. We needed a little spark. Going in 10-7 at half instead of 10-0 was big.
The Blue Devils took over on the Webster 21 yard line. Baker cut back and went 19 yards on the second play from scrimmage to get the Blue Devils on the scoreboard.
Rushawn Baker cuts it back to go 19 yards and get @VictorFootballB on the scoreboard. PAT. 5:17 to go in 2nd @SchroederSports leads 10-7 pic.twitter.com/DSse1Et45N
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 28, 2018
Victor’s defense forced a three-and-out and threatened to score again before the break, but Schroeder’s Ty Harrell intercepted a Hudson Alread pass deep in the Webster zone.
3rd and 14 from the 26, Ty Harrell comes down with the interception to get @SchroederSports to halftime with a 10-7 lead over Victor. pic.twitter.com/LyKqsJFD24
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 29, 2018
Victor was not to be denied in the second half.
“I felt like we sleptwalked a little bit through the first half,” Mandile said. “We sent a little message at halftime. I had to raise my voice a little bit. I don’t do that too often. They responded.
“We didn’t change. I didn’t make an offensive adjustment at halftime for the first time all year. We knew what we were doing should be working and just needed to pick it up a little bit.”
The drive chewed up nearly five minutes with Victor going exclusively on the ground. Baker breaking off a run of 14 yards. Pezzimenti getting rushes of 20 and 11 yards before scoring.
9 plays, 73 yards capped by Joey Pezzimenti scoring from the 1 to give @VictorFootballB a 14-10 lead with 7:01 to go in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/i2g7cvtUYx
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 29, 2018
“After the first quarter we knew this was going to be a ballgame and kinda snapped out of it,” Pezzimenti said. “We put a drive together and started rolling from there. It felt good.”
Last weekend, weather postponed Victor’s matchup with Irondequoit. Forced to play on Sunday, the Blue Devils barely resembled the state’s ninth ranked Class A squad early in Friday’s tilt.
Rushawn Baker scores on 3rd and 1 from the 1. PAT gives @VictorFootballB a 21-10 lead with 7:49 to go. pic.twitter.com/ilfQ0d24OI
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 29, 2018
Schroeder’s Ryan Bellavia hit Ethan Fame with a 70-yard strike down the sideline on the second play from scrimmage to give Schroeder the early lead. Two possessions later, Webster took over on their own 46. Looking to add to the lead, Bellavia went deep again. Baker was there with the interception.
Bellavia connected with Victor Snow on a 44-yard pass on the first play of the second quarter. Victor’s defense held the Warriors to a field goal. Two drives later the Blue Devils had their first points.
Ryan Bellavia and Victor Snow connect on this 44-yard strike and @SchroederSports is threatening again. pic.twitter.com/MU65OZl45B
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 28, 2018
“I was talking to my coaching staff,” Mandile said. “I don’t know how the NFL guys play on a Sunday and a Thursday. We even had Friday. It messed up our preparation. Playing Sunday we didn’t want to watch this film too early, so we’re up early Monday, up late Monday. No excuses, but they responded.
“The effort in the second half if we can do that consistently, we’ll be in great shape.”
Victor (4-1) plays at Canandaigua next Friday.
Schroeder (2-3) plays at Webster Thomas also on Friday.
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