HS FOOTBALL: Devils outsized, outran by Raiders, 49-7
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Tamaqua RB #35 Nate Curvey attempts to outrun Shenandoah Valley LB #64 Lucas Zelinsky.
SHENANDOAH – “We were outsized tonight, but our kids still played hard, they still were committed, and still did some good things,” said Shenandoah Valley Head Coach Ed Moran. “We would’ve liked a better outcome, but we’re still proud of our kids.”
Shenandoah Valley fell to the reigning District XI champion Blue Raiders of Tamaqua Friday evening by a score of 49-7.
“This was a big challenge for our kids. They [Tamaqua] went to the eastern final last year and they are a school that’s almost three times the size of us,” Moran said. “We’re proud of our kids. They came out and played. In the first quarter, they took it to Tamaqua. Ultimately, numbers and the size differential wore us down as we went through the game.”
Tamaqua’s running game put the first two scores on the board in the first quarter. Just shy of the 1:00 minute mark in the first, a snap soared above junior quarterback #8 Owen Kosar’s head, bouncing into and through the endzone, scoring a safety for Tamaqua and giving them a 16-0 advantage entering the second.
Tamaqua would score three more runs in the second quarter, including a bizarre play around the 5:38 mark in the quarter.
Senior quarterback #11 Nate Wickersham scrambled downfield when, near the 15 yard line, a tackle attempt by senior defensive back #6 Jacob Hernandez knocked the ball into the air. Sophomore tight-end #21 Isaac Curvey caught the ball and continued the run, evading several Devils defenders and scoring a touchdown.
Tamaqua would take a 37-0 lead into halftime, adding two more scores in the second half. A Shenandoah pass play in the 3rd would put the Devils on the board with 7.
Though the outcome wasn’t favorable, Moran is still optimistic about what the season holds, now that they’re beyond one of the biggest challenges on the schedule.
“We knew there were going to be bumps in the road. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Like I told the kids, we have goals for our team this season, tonight does not stop those goals,” Moran said. “We want to end the streak, we want to try to get to a winning season, and we want to beat our rival at the end of the year. We can still accomplish those goals.”
“I didn’t say it was going to be easy, I told them it was going to be worthwhile in the end,” Moran added.
Next week, Shenandoah travels to Williamstown to take on the Vikings of Williams Valley, a rematch of the 2012 District XI semifinal.
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