by TYLER HATHAWAY
VICTOR, NY– After falling behind by a touchdown on a scoop-and-score less than two minutes into the game, Victor (3-2) found the endzone on its next three drives while also forcing a safety on defense to score 23 unanswered points that ended up being the difference in a 36-13 home win over Spencerport on Friday night.
The Blue Devils overcame two first-half giveaways to build a 23-13 halftime lead and scored twice in the fourth quarter while forcing a pair of turnovers to ice the game.
“It feels good,” Victor head coach Geoff Mandile said of the win. “We were kind of sloppy in the first half with the turnovers, which isn’t like us. We dominated the first half but were only up by 10 points. So to come out in the second half and wear them out a little bit, doing some nice things offensively, and our defense was able to turn them over.”
The win is the second straight for Victor after opening the season with a 1-2 record. Mandile believes the string of wins is allowing his squad to build up some momentum.
“I think so,” Mandile said. “We preach improvement every week, we’re pleased but never satisfied. So we gotta keep improving.”
The Blue Devils’ opening drive got cut short after Spencerport’s Kendall Brinson ripped the ball away from a running back and took it 65 yards to the endzone less than 90 seconds into the game. Victor responded with a quick drive that was capped off by a 35-yard touchdown pass from Gus Pappajohn to Kevin Booth. The touchdown combined with a safety on a bad snap two plays into Spencerport’s following drive quickly made the score 9-6 in favor of Victor.
“We were moving the ball on that first drive,” said Mandile. “Then I turn my head and I missed it (the strip and score). “But yeah we bounced back. Gus made a good throw, Boothie made a good catch. We got the lead back and then the safety kind of sucked the air out of them (Spencerport).”
The Blue Devils’ ensuing drive featured a mix of different plays, including a screen pass to Booth that turned a 2nd-and-long into a third and short to help preserve the drive. The three-and-a-half minute drive was capped by a wildcat touchdown from Matthew Langan to make it 16-6, just seven minutes after Victor was down 6-0.
Spencerport would threaten on their next drive, but turned it over on downs just outside of the redzone. A big run by Langan would move the ball deep into Ranger territory, and the next play saw tailback Nathan Harris scamper for a 21-yard touchdown to extend Victor’s lead. Both backs finished the game with over 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
“They’re different kinds of guys,” said Mandile. “Nate’s more of a punishing runner, Mattie’s a little more shifty. It obviously worked out really well for them tonight.”
Spencerport’s only offensive touchdown came just before halftime, after quarterback Cole Ciao found David Blahowicz for 40-yard gain that set up a one-yard touchdown run by Amari Marianetti-Smith the next play. It was the only play the Rangers would run inside Victor’s 20-yard line.
“They played great,” Mandile said of his defense. “To only be up 10 at half was a little confusing. I think we had 270 total yards of offense and they had 70 something. The score didn’t really say that. But we came out in the second half and did what we needed to do.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Langan started the fourth quarter off with a bang on a 70-yard touchdown run. A few plays later, Jordan Dawson came up with a tip-drill interception that led to Harris’ second touchdown and made the score 36-13. A forced fumble on the ensuing Spencerport possession sealed the win.
“I think the intensity and then the finish,” Mandile explained as the things he was most proud of. “We got some guys in at the end there and got another turnover. Nate’s last touchdown put it away. With our intensity we were in pretty good shape and we were able to finish the game.”
“The turnovers are gonna bug me,” said Mandile. “But defensively we played really well, offensively we had two backs over 100 yards. It’s a good formula.”
Victor hits the road to take on Brighton next Friday.
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