Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Wayne stands tall, holds off Newark for road win

by Leave a Comment

Wayne head Coach Dave Marean addresses his team after Friday’s game. (PHOTO: JOHN LIKANJE)

By JOHN LIKANJE

NEWARK, N.Y. – “Hey, we’re alright!,” Wayne head coach Dave Marean shouted to his squad after Newark scored on their first two drives of the third quarter. Marean was right. The 16th-year head coach managed his defense and used the clock to his advantage as the Eagles held off the Reds, 26-20, at Coach Floyd Greene Field, Friday night.

“Winning cures a lot of things for sure,” Marean said as his squad chewed up 27 out of 48 minutes throughout the game. “I think our kids have always trusted in our system and they just need to believe in it completely. They proved a lot to themselves not only with a win, but a win in this environment.”

Senior Brian Sills hauled in a red-zone interception with four minutes left after Newark threatened to tie the game on a drive that started from their 18-yard line. Wayne stands tall, holds off Newark for road win

“Unbelievable adversity. I think there were five flags and four pass interference calls on that drive,” Marean explained. “Our guys stepped up, responded.”

“I was so proud of our defense. Four plays in a row, to make a big pick in the end zone and to knock the ball down at the end was tremendous.”

The Eagles kept the Reds off the scoreboard for the final 17 and a half minutes of the game. Marean’s defensive line only allowed 38 yards on 10 plays in that span.

“When it comes down to crunch time, it all comes back to technique and trusting your brothers to do their job and not try to do more than their job because that’s where big plays get up,” Marean said.

Senior defensive back Richard Cassano led the defense with five and a half tackles. Patrick Embury and Jonah Pullen had four apiece. Along with his interception, Sills added three tackles.

Since allowing 42 points in a season-opening loss to Batavia, the Eagles’ defense has only given up 40 in the last three games combined.

Andrew Hamel carried the offense with 32 rushes for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including an 80-yard dash to the house to give the Eagles a 26-13 advantage three minutes into the second half. The junior running back had two catches for 18 more yards.

“He’s our second-string tailback,” Marean said about Hamel. “We asked a lot of him.”

“He lights it up, opens up the pass game for me,” Blakenberg said about his teammate.

Mason Blakenberg completed 17-of-28 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore quarterback connected on his first seven attempts of the game. Blakenberg has 546 passing yards in four contests this season.

“I trusted the game plan that Coach put in,” Blakenberg said. “I trust the wide receivers. The line did great.”

“Mason’s come a long way as a sophomore,” Marean said. “I’ve been proud. He stepped up. He’s calm, cool and collected. That’s what you need at this level and he’s mature beyond his age with that stuff. He’s got the skill set and I’m excited to be part of his future as he grows through it.”

For Newark, Zachary Ludolph found paydirt from three yards out to cut the deficit to 26-20 with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter.

Junior running back Travontay Murray scrambled for 18 carries, 88 yards and a touchdown.

Nicholas Bernardi completed nine passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. The senior quarterback has 349 passing yards over the last two games.

The junior receiver duo of Dillan Hernandez and Jayden Shepherd hauled in 73 yards apiece.

Wayne will head home to host Hornell next Friday night at 7 p.m. Newark heads to Livonia Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *