Ligonier Valley rides ground game to win over Derry in ‘Riot on the Ridge’

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, August 23, 2024 | 11:09 PM

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From the start, this year’s rendition of “Riot on the Ridge” looked more like a whimper.

Derry Area and Ligonier Valley seemed to have a good bit of nerves in the first game as the teams had mental lapses leading to turnovers and penalties.

“We have to clean up communication,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said. “We had too many pre-snap penalties, most of them illegal substitution. We had four or five. That’s my fault for not having them prepared, but we’ll correct it.”

Added Derry coach Mike Arone: “There’s always going to be mistakes. Dealing with young high school players, so you expect some nerves or jitters in the first game.”

Ligonier Valley (1-0) was able to stabilize in the second half and rode its ground game to a 20-7 home win over Derry (0-1) at Weller Field.

It was the tandem backfield of seniors John Jablunovsky and Demetrious Owens who helped push the Rams offense 91 yards for a score on their first possession of the second half.

Owens had runs of 12, 17 and 14 yards, and Jablunovsky finished off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown after carrying for 3 and 11 yards on the two prior carries.

“I wasn’t myself early on,” Jablunovsky said. “We had a little trouble in the first half, but we came out in the second half ready to go and I give credit to my teammates for the job they did.”

Added Owens: “I told everyone at halftime, if you mess up, forget about it and move on to the next play. The line really tightened up. All I saw was green in front of me.”

Jablunovsky finished with 128 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, and Owens ran for 54 yards on six carries.

The Rams could get nothing on the outside in the first half, as Derry sophomore linebackers Max Doherty and Chris Kubistek were able to set the edge and shut off any gains.

“We wanted to get our athletes to the perimeter,” Beitel said. “Their front controlled the line in the first half. We watched first half film at half and made some adjustments.

“I thought in the first half we played well defensively, but they were on the field way too long. That’s something we’re going to have to correct offensively.”

The Trojans’ offensive game plan was simple: come out and grind down Ligonier Valley. But that never materialized.

“Our line and our running backs are our strength,” Arone said. “It was just a case of some blown assignments.”

Said Beitel: “I credit our defense. They didn’t tackle as well as we would have wanted in our scrimmage last week, and it was an emphasis in practice. Derry has some big backs, so we had to get low and take their legs out.”

Derry had two chances to get on the board via special teams.

On the opening kickoff, senior Damauri Robinson made a cut into a lane and was about to escape for a long gain, but the ball was knocked out from behind by Jablunovsky and the Rams recovered at the Trojans 25-yard line.

Then in the second half, with his team down two scores, Robinson broke a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding penalty.

Robinson scored the only Trojans touchdown on a reverse in the third quarter, scampering 42 yards.

“We just got caught in a hiccup on that play, had the wrong rotation,” Beitel said. “When you do that with an athlete like Robinson, he’ll make you pay.”

Neither team did much through the air.

Ligonier Valley’s Hoden Schreyer made the most of his passing opportunities, going 3 for 4 for 49 yards and a touchdown. He found freshman Greyson Daugherty on a 7-yard fade for the first score of the game in the second quarter.

Derry’s Anthony Sacco was 5 for 11 for 31 yards and an interception, with most of his throws coming late in the game when Derry needed a play.

“We have a very young and inexperienced quarterback, so we didn’t want to put too much on his shoulders,” Arone said. “He’s got a good arm, and he’ll get better as the season progresses.”

Next week, Ligonier Valley travels to Greensburg Salem, and Derry hosts Freeport.

Tags: Derry Area, Ligonier Valley