Dynamos shut out West Greene, 28-0
ROGERSVILLE 鈥� West Greene hosted a WPIAL Class A first-round playoff game two years ago and shut out Greensburg Central Catholic.
This time, the script was flipped on the fourth-seeded Pioneers with visiting Springdale returning home with the shutout, 28-0.
Springdale (7-4) advances to play Rochester in the quarterfinals. The Rams (8-2) defeated Mapletown, 35-0.
West Greene finished fourth in the Tri-County South Conference last year and missed out on the WPIAL playoffs. The senior-laden Pioneers finished as conference champions this season with a 7-0 record.
鈥淭his group is used to high expectations. They鈥檙e used to the one-and-done scenario,鈥� said West Greene coach Brian Hanson. 鈥淭his group of seniors has been in the playoffs now three out of their four years. So, there is definitely a sense of urgency to win.鈥�
West Greene received the opening kickoff, but turned the ball over on the first play of the drive on an interception.
Springdale was able to take advantage of the short field when Logan Dexter powered into the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of a snowball team. When we get things rolling, it becomes a snowball effect,鈥� said Hanson. 鈥淲e tried catching them out of position on the first play. We鈥檝e been a running team throughout the year, but they鈥檙e such a well-coached team and they made a play.鈥�
Springdale took a 14-0 lead when senior defensive back Chris Savko returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown with 40 seconds left in the first half.
鈥淭hat was a huge play for us,鈥� said Springdale head coach Seth Napierkowski. 鈥淲e were only up a touchdown, and they were driving on us. If they score there, then it would鈥檝e been a whole new ball game.鈥�
The offensive woes continued for West Greene in the third quarter when the Pioneers lost a fumble near midfield. The ensuing drive for Springdale led to points when senior quarterback Legend Ausk found senior wide receiver John Utiss for an 8-yard touchdown.
鈥淟egend does all the small things so well for us,鈥� said Napierkowski. 鈥淗is clock management towards the end was huge for us. He led us on some long drives tonight.鈥�
Springdale ended the night蘑菇视频 scoring late in the fourth quarter with Savko蘑菇视频 3-yard touchdown run.
The West Greene offense was held to 253 total yards. Hanson knew his team had some injuries coming into the game, but credited the Springdale defense on its performance.
鈥淪ome of the runs we鈥檝e popped for big gains this season weren鈥檛 there,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淭heir secondary was super disciplined on the back end, so our passing attack had trouble as well tonight.鈥�
The Pioneers finish with an 8-3 record. Hanson still views the season as a success, despite the loss.
鈥淭his group of seniors is the winningest class to come through here,鈥� said Hanson. 鈥淎 lot of people wrote us off. They had Carmichaels or California to win the conference. Our team played good football all year and made the school proud.鈥�