By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
When the season began, Webster Schroeder coach Mike Stumpf admits he and his staff members weren’t totally sure how Drew Pagano was going to perform as the starting quarterback.
And if they didn’t know, the rest of Section V certainly didn’t.
“No one knew about Drew,” Stumpf said, “because he had never played.”
Four games into the season, Pagano looks like he has been slinging the football on the varsity field for years and has exceeded even the highest expectations – except maybe his own.
The senior threw for four more touchdown passes – giving him eight in the past two games – as the undefeated Warriors (4-0) rolled past previously unbeaten Brighton 27-7.
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Wide receiver Torance Washington caught TD passes of 6 and 9 yards, wideout Casey Berns was the target on a 5-yard TD pass and wideout Justin Maier caught the last on a 21-yard pass for Schroeder, the only unbeaten team in Class A-1.
“We’ve been talking about this moment for a lot of years,” Washington said.
In reality, they’re just getting started. The Warriors are at the halfway point of the regular season schedule, with Webster Thomas, Greece Olympia/Odyssey, Gates Chili and Greece Arcadia still to play.
So what’s working for Schroeder? It’s more like, what’s not. The passing game has been dynamic, in part because the offensive line gives Pagano time to throw, and running back Kaleb Juliano keeps the defense honest.
Much of the success for Pagano (21 of 25 for 192 yards) and his stable of receivers is due to good old hard work, Stumpf said.
“Drew, Torance, Justin Maier, they were at every training session, every seven-on-seven, everything we did,” Stumpf said.
And then there’s the defense. Schroeder has been pretty much lights-out all four weeks.
Since a 21-14 victory in Week 1 at Hilton, Schroeder has allowed just one touchdown, to Brighton in the fourth quarter on Friday. The Warriors shut out Churchville-Chili 17-0 and the only points against in a 35-2 romp at Spencerport on Sept. 16 came against the offense via a safety.
“If you have a defense that can stop people, you always have a chance to win,” Stumpf said. “They’ve been amazing. At Hilton we were backed up and our defense won us that game. Tonight they played great again against a really good team.”
The Warriors scored on their first possession, marching 70 yards in 12 plays, the last being a 6-yard toss from Pagano to Washington in the back right corner of the end zone.
The Bruins (3-1) threatened to match Schroeder, driving from their own 30 to the Webster 6 before the 14-play drive stalled and they turned it over on downs.
Two plays later, Brighton’s Alex Miller intercepted a Pagano pass at the 30 and returned it 16 yards to the Schroeder 14. The Bruins were poised to tie the game.
Except Schroeder’s defense came up with the key play on first down, recovering a fumble in the backfield.
“Big play, bad play, we just have a next-play mentality,” said senior Davis Damelio, who plays on the defensive and offensive line.
Mainly, they just play with a nose for the football.
“We just do our jobs,” said senior Zain Kahn, another senior who plays on the line on both sides of the ball. “Every guy out there is playing for the other one.”
Said Damelio: “The big thing on defense, and our coach (Fred Dear) says it all the time, ‘Play your 1/11th.’ ”
Following the fumble recovery, Schroeder went on a 14-play, 77-yard drive that ended on Pagano’s 5-yard scoring pass to Berns in the back of the end zone with 3:28 left in the half.
When the defense forced a three-and-out punt, just 2 minutes, 37 seconds remained and the Warriors were at their own 30. Plenty of time, as it turned out.
Once at midfield after three plays, Pagano and Washington played catch on five consecutive plays – receptions of 10, 12, 3, 16 and 9 yards, the last on a strike to the corner of the end zone.
“We do this in practice, we do it right and we make the scoreboard look like that,” Washington said, pointing at 27-7.
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