Friday, April 19, 2024
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Warwick out-duels Mounts


ImageEntering Friday's game with Ephrata, Warwick head coach Bob Locker and his staff tried to explain the meaning of the George Male Trophy to his players.

Having lost the last three games against Ephrata, no one on his team had experienced a victory against the Mounts.

"We told the seniors that they might not know it now, but you don't want to graduate without winning the Male Trophy," Locker said.

It came as no surprise then, that four seniors helped lead the Warriors to a 39-18 (boxscore ) win at War Memorial Field.

The Warriors quickly marched 88-yards down field in seven-plays on their first possession to go up 7-0 on an six-yard run by senior fullback Teal Stutzman.

Just 50 seconds into the second quarter, Warwick junior quarterback Jon Resch doubled the lead, capping a 64-yard drive with a 11-yard pass to senior tight Ed Tobin. Tobin had four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown in the game.

Resch dumped a short pass off to Stutzman late in the second and with some help from a couple of blockers, Stutzman took it 24 yards to give Warwick a 21-0 lead at half-time.

To start the second half, Resch connected with junior wide receiver Matt Fitzpatrick in the back of the end zone for another touchdown and a 27-0 lead.

Ephrata's offense found pay dirt about midway through the third quarter when senior Sam Wiest bowled through the Warwick defensive line on a four-yard touchdown run. The Mounts looked to make a game of it when they recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The kick was dropped by sophomore Randy Yost at the Warwick 17 and Ephrata recovered at the 11-yard line.

Ephrata junior quarterback Blake Crowther ran the ball twice from there, including a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 27-12. Crowther was 11-for-20 for 125 yards in the air and rushed for a pair of touchdowns.

Outside of the great play by the Warwick seniors, the story was Resch. For the game, Resch was 9-for-10 for 132 yards and three touchdowns.

"Before he tried to make things happen," Locker said about Resch after the game, "Now he manages the game. He hasn't thrown any interceptions this year; that's huge."

Resch will lead the Warriors into Section One play next week, and if they can duplicate the offensive performances of the last two weeks, their opponents might be in for a surprise.