By Ben Destefan
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October 11. 2015 4:15AM
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HERSHEY — So much for last week’s heartbreaker derailing the season.
Instead, as evident Saturday night, it may have been the fuel Greencastle­Antrim needed.
Coming off a difficult loss to East Pennsboro, G­A quickly silenced any doubters on the road against Hershey,
responding with a signature 41­31 non­league victory at Milton Hershey’s Henry Hershey Field.
Despite winning by a relatively slim margin, the Blue Devils (5­1) were simply the better team in every phase, starting
fast before methodically closing things out down the stretch.
Offensively, Greencastle hit on all cylinders in the first half, producing a 27­10 lead at the break. Serving as a hard­
PHOTO/ BOB STOLER
hitting complement, the Blue Devil defense held Hershey’s slew of athletes in check, rising to the occasion at several key
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For those that have been around this team since Week 1, and considering the opponent, it was arguably G­A’s most RI WKH HQG ]RQH DV +HUVKH\
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impressive performance to date.
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“That was some quality football tonight,” Blue Devil head coach Chuck Tinninis said. “We knew we were capable of it,
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and I’m really proud of our guys. We came out ready to play and just kept battling. This is a great win for us.”
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Although dropping to 2­4, Hershey was widely viewed as one of the toughest matchups on G­A’s schedule, boasting size
and speed commonly associated with the high­powered Mid­Penn Keystone Division encompassing the Harrisburg area. Not to mention, the Trojans rolled
past the Blue Devils in a 40­18 rout a season ago.
During this rare Saturday night meeting, however, it was Greencastle’s wealth of playmakers that proved to be the difference.
None more so than Derek Measell.
After Luke Robertson returned the opening kickoff to the Hershey 25, Measell took a sweep around the right side for a 14­yard touchdown and the game’s first
score, giving G­A a 7­0 lead less than two minutes in.
Following a Trojan three­and­out, the versatile senior continued his emergence as one of the area’s premiere receivers, reeling in a 29­yard catch on a post
route before making a sensational grab in the corner of the end zone, pushing the Blue Devils’ margin to 13­0.
With a booming 42­yard field goal by Vincent Paioletti cutting Hershey’s deficit to 13­3, Measell’s third highlight­reel reception — this time along the sideline
for 26 yards — again had G­A threatening deep in Trojan territory.
One play later, Bailey Parker made a tremendous leaping snag of his own on an 11­yard scoring strike from quarterback Spencer Meyers, extending the cushion
to 20­3.
Suddenly on their heels, the Trojans got a much­needed answer on the ensuing possession, with signal caller Ryan Nerino scrambling to his left and finding
James Sheehan for a 21­yard touchdown, bringing Hershey to back within 10.
Granted with solid field position after the defense forced a turnover on downs, G­A added to its advantage seconds before the half, as a 36­yard connection
from Meyers to Measell set up first­and­goal from the Hershey 6.
With time winding down, Meyers hit a wide­open Zach Koons in the back of the end zone for his third passing touchdown of the night, sending the Blue Devils
to the locker room leading 27­10.
Seemingly in control, G­A’s advantage was quickly erased early in the third quarter, as a pair of Hershey scores separated by less than two minutes abruptly
shifted the momentum.
A 26­yard burst by tailback Jesse Ogbo preceded Nerino’s second touchdown pass to Sheehan, capping Hershey’s promising opening drive.
Two snaps later, J’Michael Wedderburn intercepted a busted screen play, returning possession to the Trojans at the G­A 20. Hershey cashed in, as Nerino
gained 16 yards on a keeper prior to Ogbo crossing the goal line from a yard out, cutting the Blue Devils’ margin to just 27­24.
Suddenly in need of a response, Greencastle leaned on its rushing attack to regain command, with the duo of Measell and James Hines splitting six carries for
42 yards to flip the field. Now at the Hershey 23, Demetrius Burton broke loose off left tackle, reestablishing some breathing room at 34­24 late in the third.
Consecutive pass breakups by Parker and Sam Sprague — both of whom starred on defense throughout — stifled Hershey’s next drive, giving G­A the ball back
heading to the fourth.
Aided by three Trojan penalties, the Blue Devils found themselves with first­and­goal from the 5, where Burton scampered to paydirt around the left side,
pushing the lead to 41­24.
Refusing to go away, Nerino launched back­to­back deep balls to Elijah McNelley covering 63 yards before Ogbo powered in from 4 yards out, keeping Hershey
lingering down 41­31 with 10:42 remaining.
Having to punt, Greencastle relied on its defense to maintain the two­score cushion, as the Trojans had a fresh set of downs in Blue Devil territory.
Pressuring receivers at the line, four straight incompletions ensued, returning possession to G­A with 6:34 to play.
Wanting to work the clock, the Blue Devils stayed true to their ground game, spreading the workload between Hines, Measell and Burton for a pair of first
downs. Facing third­and­10 after Hershey called its final timeout, Meyers hit Brae Peck for 17 crucial yards, keeping the drive alive. Again in third­and­long,
Parker pounded forward for 7 yards and a fresh set of downs, allowing Meyers to kneel on the victory.
“Everybody played well on both sides of the ball,” Tinninis said. “Coach (Clark) Flohr and coach (Devin) McCauley work hand­in­hand with the offense, they’re
the guys that run it. I oversee some of it, but they’re the guys that deserve the credit. Then coach (Jason) Small with the linemen. Scoring 41 points against a
team of this caliber says a lot about our kids and our staff.”
Measell finished with four catches for 97 yards and carried 10 times for 61 yards, finding the end zone twice. Meyers went 9­of­18 for 145 yards and three scores
through the air while Burton led the rushing attack, ending with 84 yards and two second­half touchdowns.
Defensively, the likes of Parker (8 tackles), Sprague (6 tackles) and Tyler Graham (6 tackles) headlined a well­rounded effort at each level, limiting Hershey’s
production.
Ogbo rushed for 98 yards in the loss while Nerino completed 13­of­28 passes for 174 yards.
The Blue Devils return to Mid­Penn Colonial Division play on Friday at James Buchanan.
Contact Ben Destefan at 717­762­2151, [email protected] or on Twitter: @bdestefan_RH
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