MANHEIM, Pa. – It had been a while since the North last tasted victory in the Manheim Touchdown Club’s Tri-County All-Star Game. After running off four consecutive victories in the first four years of the series, the North watched the South claim the following four games, evening the series at four wins apiece.
Saturday night at Elden Rettew Field, the North stood up and said, “Enough!”
Behind a workmanlike 138 yards rushing and a timely 19-yard Gary Gristick-to-Nick Pastrana completion on 3rd-and-15 from its own 5 yard line, the North battered the South in a physical 14-7 victory to take a 5-4 series lead.
North head coach Jack Beidler (formerly of Northern Lebanon) really liked the play of Pastrana on the final series. Not only did Pastrana (Lebanon) make the key reception that started the North’s methodical 7:27 drive to kill the clock and end the game, he also made a key block within a three-play span of the catch.
“Here’s a first-year football player, and within three plays he made ‘the block’ and ‘the catch,’” Beidler said.
South head coach Jeff Polites (Donegal) thought that catch was the turning point of the game.
“We had them down deep and they converted,” Polites said. “You bet that’s the turning point (of the game).”
After Pastrana’s catch, Gristlick (Cedar Crest) and running back Charles Kyeremeh (Cedar Crest) took turns toting the rock, and Gristick attempted two more passes – completions of eight yards to Dan Trafford (Manheim Central) and 11 yards to Tyler Purvis (Lancaster Catholic).
The pass to Purvis, which earned the North its 18th first down of the night, served as the final nail in the South’s coffin. The North’s defense took care of the remainder of the nails.
Set up by a Laron Lee (Penn Manor) 46-yard kickoff return to open the game, the South moved to the North 30 yard line, but Kevin Kelly (Conestoga Valley) was stuffed on 4th-and-1, and the North took over on downs.
The South’s best drive came on its second possession. Led by PJ Rehm (Penn Manor), the South moved 72 yards in just six plays, and Stefon Sensenig (Conestoga Valley) hauled in a 14-yard Rehm pass to tie the game at 7.
At that juncture, with 11:45 left in the first half, the South had amassed 95 yards of offense and four first downs. The South finished the game with only 138 yards of offense and seven first downs.
Polites said that he knew his South team had a good defense because the offense struggled at times against it in practice. But, on certain occasions, Gristick and John Yuko (Manheim Township) made moving the ball against the South look like child’s play.
Yuko (9-of-13, 118 yards) led the North’s initial scoring drive of the night, a 12-play, 69-yard, 5:35 drive capped by a two-yard scoring run by Dan Trafford. Joe Gruber (Manheim Central) highlighted the drive with a 32-yard reception on the opening play. Gruber, a 1,500-yard rusher in Central’s run to the PIAA finals, finished with 18 rushing yards and 53 receiving yards on this night.
Gristick, who ran the spread-option last year at Cedar Crest, made plays both through the air and on the ground. Introduced to the mid-line (Beidler ran the Veer offense while at Northern Lebanon), Gristick looked like he’d run the system his entire career.
“It was good to run it tonight,” Gristick said. He finished with 13 carries for 62 yards, which keyed the North’s ground attack. Gristick also completed 8-of-16 passes for 93 yards.
Gristick also threw what ultimately proved to be the winning touchdown pass. That connection, a 17-yard strike to Trafford (5 rec., 38 yds., TD) came with 1:38 left in the first half. That score capped a 10-play, 50-yard, 4:04 drive.
The score could have been much worse than 14-7. Taylor Groff (Manheim Central) missed field goal attempts of 39 and 41 yards in the first half. The North also had two touchdowns wiped off the board in the first quarter – a 17-yard run by Kyeremeh was called back due to holding and Lance Kopp (Ephrata) dropped a sure 32-yard touchdown pass – but the North prevailed anyway, in spite of itself.
Before the North players broke their postgame huddle, one of the team’s assistant coaches made the comment, “The North will rise again.”
This night, the North definitely rose to the occasion.
STATISITCAL LEADERS:
Rushing, North (Carries, yards, TDs): Gary Gristick, 13-62-0; Charles Kyeremeh, 10-34-0; Joe Gruber, 6-18-0; Brian Sourber, 4-19-0; Dan Trafford, 1-2-1; John Yuko, 4-1-0; TOTALS: 38-137-1.
Passing, North (Completions, attempts, yards, TD, INT): John Yuko, 9-13-118-0-0; Gary Gristick, 8-16-93-1-0; TOTALS: 17-29-211-1-0.
Receiving, North (Receptions, yards, TDs): Dan Trafford, 5-38-1; Tyler Purvis, 3-79-0; Joe Gruber, 3-53-0; Nick Pastrana, 2-25-0; Mitch Weidman, 2-1-0; Lance Kopp, 1-9-0; Brian Sourber, 1-5-0; TOTALS: 17-211-1.
Rushing, South: (Carries, yards, TDs): Kevin Kelly, 9-36-0; PJ Rehm, 5-33-0; Chris Schaeffer, 2-19-0; Matt Carty, 5-3-0; Laron Lee, 1-minus-4-0; Adrian Westbrooke, 1-minus-9-0; TOTALS: 21-68-0.
Passing, South (Completions, attempts, yards, TD, INT): PJ Rehm, 5-7-70-1-0; Matt Carty, 0-5-0-0-0; Adrian Westbrooke, 0-1-0-0-0; TOTALS: 5-13-70-1-0.
Receiving, South (Receptions, yards, TD): Mike Rice, 2-10-0; Laron Lee, 1-37-0; Stefon Sensenig, 1-14-1; BJ Enck, 1-9-0; TOTALS: 5-70-1.
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