Renegades vs. Blue Devils 5/16/09

May 17th:
By CHUCK GREENWOOD
Lisbon Morning Journal

COLUMBIANA, Ohio — Displaying a well-organized game plan on both offense and defense, the Crestview Renegades won their first-ever Grassroots Football League game by a 25-6 count over the Pittsburgh Blue Devils on Saturday night.

The game was played at Crestview High School in front of a rain-soaked, but enthusiastic crowd for the team’s minor league debut.

Former Crestview Rebel All-Ohioan Jordan Reynolds passed for three touchdowns and ran for one more as the Renegades picked up 235 yards in total offense. Reynolds paced the Crestview ground game with 61 yards on 14 carries, while completing 7 of 16 passes for an additional 117 yards.

“It’s amazing to be back on this field again,” said a beaming Reynolds. “To see the ‘CR’ fill up again, you can’t describe it, you just have to feel it.” Reynolds was quick to give credit to the Renegades offensive line. “When they (Pittsburgh) first walked in, I thought they were pretty big,” he said. “I kept hoping that our big guys would show up. Our offensive line controlled the game for us. I just ran through the holes they gave me.”

The Renegades got on the board with their first-ever touchdown when former Beaver Local ace Nick Carfagna pulled in a Reynolds’ pass to complete a 27-yard scoring play on the first play of the second quarter.

The Renegades struck quickly following a Blue Devils punt that went for a minus four yards, being downed on the Pittsburgh 5-yard line.

Former United Local all-stater Bubba Taylor outscrapped the Blue Devil cornerback for an underthrown ball in the end zone and a 12-0 lead. Taylor, who is expected to be a big part of the Renegades’ offensive package this season, was slowed by a hamstring injury, and saw only limited action. “I had to curve around him, as he had inside position,” Taylor said. “Then, I had to take it out of his hands.”

Taylor is hopeful of making a quick recovery from his injury.

“It feels like a possible tear. I will just have just have to get as much therapy as I can this week to get ready for next Saturday.”

While the Renegades offense was controlling the ball, their defensive counterparts were busy shutting down the Pittsburgh offense. The Blue Devils had just one yard rushing on 14 carries in the first half. They finished up with 10 yards on 18 carries for the game.

Until they scored on a 52-yard pass play on their final offensive play of the game, the Blue Devils had only been across midfield once all that night. That came on their first possession of the game when they were aided by an offside penalty versus the Renegades.

“We kept blitzing and running stunts to the outside,” said Renegades assistant coach Ed Ondrey. “It’s tough when you don’t have any film or scouting reports to go on. We just kept listening to what our players were telling when they were coming off the field.”

“We switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 based on what we heard,” said defensive coordinator Irwin Kornack. “We just read their offense and observed early in the game. We were then able to make adjustments.”

Those adjustments limited the Blue Devils to just two first downs and 77 yards in total offense, 52 of that coming on one play, as the Renegades constantly got a good push from their defensive line and linebackers.

Reynolds gave the Renegades a safe 18-0 lead in the third quarter, as he scrambled nine for yards for the score on a fourth-and-five play. Former Leetonia Bear Jake Kruegel wrapped up the scoring for the Renegades as he hauled in a Reynolds pass and outraced the Pittsburgh secondary for a 63-yard score with 8:10 remaining in the game.

Columbiana High School senior Brian Warchol — who ran for 1,571 yards for the Clippers last fall — had five carries for 21 yards.

“I really wanted to play football again,” Warchol said. “I had to give up track to do this, but it’s football and that’s what matters to me.

“It’s a lot fun getting to play with guys who have been rivals from other area schools. It’s also different being one of the youngest guys on the team. It was a little intimidating at first, but we have to come be almost like brothers.”

The Renegades are on the road Saturday, traveling to Robert Morris University to square off with the Pittsburgh Colts in a Grassroots Football League encounter. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.

sports@mojonews.com

PITTSBURGH: 0- 0-0-6— 6
CRESTVIEW: 0-12-6-7—25
SCORING
CR—Nick Carfagna, 27 pass from Jordan Reynolds (kick failed)
CR—Bubba Taylor, 5 pass from Reynolds (run failed)
CR—Jordan Reynolds, 9 run (run failed)
CR—Jake Kruegel, 63 pass from Reynolds (Reynolds kick)
P—D. Davis from Jones, 56 pass (kick failed)
———
PITT CR
First downs ........... 2 8
Total Yards ............77 235
Rushes-yards .......18-10 26-118
Passing ..............67 117
Comp-Att-Int .................5-16-0.. 7-16-1
Punts .................... ........5-27 2-31.5
Fumbles-Lost .0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards ...6-48 4-40
———
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING—Pittsburgh, Odom 9-9; Crestview, Jordan Reynolds 14-61, Brian Warchol 5-21, Eric Whittenberger 3-18, Stefan White 4-18

PASSING—Pittsburgh, Odom 4-15-15 yds., Jones 1-1-52 yds. 1 td; Crestview, Reynolds 7-16-117 yds. 3 td, 1 int.

RECEIVING—Pittsburgh, D. Davis 2-58, 1 td; Crestview, Nick Carfagna 2-37-1 td, Corey Rauschenbach 2-5, Bubba Taylor 1-5-1td, Jake Kruegel 1-63-1td

INTERCEPTIONS—Pittsburgh, Davis.