Wayne County Life

   ERG set up shop on the Newark 21-yard line with 2:31 left in the first half. A false-start penalty moved the Bombers back five yards, then quarterback Collin Dotterer sent ace receiver Trey Pascazi down the left sideline and floated a perfect ball to him in the end zone.

   Pascazi made a graceful play for the ball – and the touchdown – but Newark defender Micah Wright made an even better move, doing a half-twist in the air and grabbing the ball out of the humid night sky – with one hand. Wright fell into the end zone with the ball fully tucked away.

   “That interception hurt us. It was a key to the game,” said ER/Gananda coach Dennis Greco.

   In their first drive of the second half, the Bombers once again tried to connect with Pascazi on a long ball. Again, Wright was there, making his second interception of the game. 

   “We wanted to score on our first drive in the second half,” Greco said. “Those interceptions hurt us.”

   ER/Gananda got on the board first, David Raskopf scoring from five yards out, capping a seven-play, 64-yard march that made it look like it would be a long night for the Reds, who were still smarting from the thrashing Wayne delivered in the first game of the season last weekend.

   It wasn’t until there was just 3:14 left in the half that Newark was able to answer, sophomore quarterback Phil Tack patiently guiding his squad 61 yards in 11 plays, taking the ball into the end zone himself. That made things 6-6.

   After Micah Wright stopped the first Gananda drive in the second half, he was given the opportunity to do something on offense. With 4:46 left in the third quarter, Tack wanted to throw the ball to the right side. When all his receivers were covered, he scampered left and lofted a pass to Wright, who scored from 13 yards out to give the Reds their first lead, 12-6.

   Three minutes later, Josh Williams, who seemed to own the middle of the field, came down with a 49-yard touchdown pass by outleaping a convention of Bomber defenders, and Newark had an 18-6 lead.

   And three minutes after that, Jake Shear, who to this point had run six times for a total of nine yards, went zooming around left end and motored like the County Sligo banshees were chasing him down the sideline for a pretty, 68-yard touchdown run. He added a little spice to his evening’s work by kicking the extra point, and Newark was up, 25-6.

   The Bombers put together one last, long drive, covering 42 yards in eight plays, with Tyler Roessel doing the honors from the half-yard line. Nick Castelli’s kick was the last point of the night, 25-13.

   “We really bogged down,” said Greco, noting that his kids seemed to start quick and then lose their way. “We’ve had a problem with consistency. We wanted to establish the run and we couldn’t do it. Our defense played well and kept us in the game. Newark got a couple of big plays, and that was it.”

   Ian Palmer had a big night for ER/Gananda, catching 10 passes, for 101 yards. Roessel led the rushers with nine carries, good for 23 yards and a touchdown.

   For Newark, the night was a class in Football 101 for sophomore quarterback Phil Tack, who ran 15 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, and threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

   “A lot of people stepped up for us tonight,” said McGavisk. “We have a sophomore quarterback, and he stepped up. He had a tall task tonight. Micah Wright had a tall task guarding Pascazi, and he made two big interceptions.

    “We were winning the battle statistically in the first half (153 yards to 65 yards), but the score was still 6-6 at halftime. ER was executive very well down the field, but finally we stopped them when we had to.”

   He said the loss to Wayne, where the Reds were throttled, had the coaching staff concerned about how the team would respond. But the Newark defense stretched...it didn’t break, Williams had a huge night (four catches, 134 yards, a TD), Wright made two picks and caught a touchdown himself, “and Phil Tack did a better job of seeing the field. He’s just starting to come of age. He needs the experience. We’re happy with the win.”

   The Reds (1-1) take on Pal-Mac next week.