By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter
SLATING TON – Speed kills. Then when you add size to that speed it makes a strong weapon. Dunmore found that out the hard way on Saturday afternoon at Northern Lehigh High School, as the Bucks were defeated in a PIAA 2A quarterfinal game by District 12 champion West Catholic by a score of 28-10.
West Catholic forced three Dunmore turnovers in the first half, two on consecutive drives to start the game. The second was a high snap on a Bucks punt to give the Burrs the ball on the Dunmore two yard line led to a Calil Wortham touchdown and a 6-0 lead after a missed two-point conversion.
Dunmore was able to get on the board midway through the second quarter after a punt pinned the Burrs on their own three. The Bucks defense forced a three and out and Dunmore took possession on the West Catholic 43. The drive stalled on the 14, and Pat Orr delivered on a 31-yard field goal to cut the lead to 6-3.
West Catholic’s quarterback Joshua Evans, who had 77 yards rushing in the contest, scored on a 15-yard run, avoiding several would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone. The two-point conversion again failed but gave his team a 12-3 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
“This team was the most athletic we faced all year. We did some things that were out of character for us, to try to negate their advantage.” Dunmore coach Jack Henzes said, “We are proud of our kids and what they accomplished this season. They won 26 games over the past two seasons and that is a tremendous job.”
West Catholic received the second half kickoff and proceeded to drive to the Bucks 22. From there. Evans, who also completed on 8 of12 passes for 98 yards in the game, connected with Amir Postley on a corner route for a touchdown giving his team a 20-3 advantage.
“I thought our scout team did a really good job in giving us a look at what they do both on offense and defense this week,” said an elated Evans afterwards. “We were well prepared for them {Dunmore) over there today.”
Dunmore would not go down without a struggle though. After forcing a Burrs’ fumble on the Bucks eight-yard line, they marched down the field and scored on a four-yard run by Garrett Murray to cap the drive and cut the lead to 20-10 with about two minutes left in the game.
The Burrs recovered the ensuing onside kick at their own 47 yard line. Two plays later Calil Wortham sealed the deal with a 48 yard touchdown run. West Catholic converted the two-point conversion to complete the scoring.
West Catholic {10-4} advances to state semifinals next week against District 4 champion Southern Columbia at a site to be determined. Dunmore finishes their season at 12-2.
