Blue Devils get defensive in opening win

The smothering, physical defense of the Old Forge football team transferred over to the basketball court on Friday night as the Blue Devils held Wyoming Area to single digits in each quarter on their way to a 50-21 victory in the 18th annual Badger Game held at Wyoming Area.

The Badger Game honors the late Anthony Marseco, an Old Forge graduate and member of the 1992 PIAA championship baseball team and DIstrict 2 Class 1A champion basketball team, and former Wyoming Area basketball coach. The Blue Devils now lead the series, 12-6.

Old Forge (1-0) forced 14 first-half turnovers and limited the Warriors to just four field goals in the first 16 minutes as it took command. The Blue Devils also racked up six steals on the night.

Wyoming Area’s Mike Carey got Wyoming Area to within 5-4 with 3:30 left in the first quarter, but it would be the Warriors last bucket for the next six minutes as Old Forge went on a 14-0 run to take a 19-4 lead with 6:17 remaining in the second quarter.

Junior sharpshooter Jimmie Aversa spurred the run with eight points - including two three-pointers to get the Old Forge offense in gear.

The lead could have been bigger for the Blue Devils, but the visitors struggled from the free throw line in the first half, shooting just 1-for-8 from the charity stripe during the first two quarters.

Brian “Bubba” Tomasetti added eight of his 12 points in the first half - six in the second quarter - as Old Forge took a 23-10 lead at intermission.

Wyoming Area would get no closer as the Old Forge lead ballooned to 47-17 with 3:!5 left in the game. The Blue Devils outscored the Warriors, 27-11, in the second half. 

Aversa and Tomasetti each finished with 12 points to lead Old Forge. with Aversa burying three triples. Tomasetti added six rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Brenden Wahl added seven points, three rebounds and two assists for the Blue Devils, and Jake Manetti chipped in with six points, four rebounds and two steals. Jorden Sekol pulled down 12 rebounds for Old Forge.

The Blue Devils will host Northwest on Monday night, and East Stroudsburg Notre Dame on Wednesday. Old Forge the travels to Valley View on Saturday to take on the Cougars. That game will be broadcast on www.vvcougars.com.

Blue Devils blocked by Bucks

(Publisher’s Note: Yes it has taken me a little of four weeks to come to terms with writing the final chapter in the 2012 Old Forge Blue Devils Football Season. And it has taken me that long because a certain team is still playing and will be playing for a state championship on Friday. Yes we all know it easily could have been the Blue Devils, yet it is not. So it is with great pride and satisfaction that I pen - er type - this final edition of the Big Blue Wrecking Crew Chronicles for 2012).

The rematch between Old Forge and Dunmore was nothing short of what was expected between the two small school foes, however for Blue Devil fans, it came up short - one point short - of what was expected to be a second straight home-field coronation for the defending District 2 Class 1A champions.

The Bucks used a second-quarter Daiqaun Buckley touchdown - and a blocked extra-point - to edge previously unbeaten Old Forge, 7-6, in front of crowd of 4,000-plus at Veterans Memorial Stadium to dethrone the Blue Devils for district gold.

The game got off to an auspicious start for Old Forge (11-1) as the Blue Devils were flagged for illegal participation on its first play from scrimmage after Anthony Piccolini returned the opening kickoff 35 yards to the Old Forge 45.

The penalty was a sign of things to come as the Blue Devils made mistakes at crucial intervals of the contest - something they hadn’t done all season.

The teams played scoreless football during the first 16 minutes of action as both teams chewed time of the clock in each of their first two possessions. After Old Forge punted on its first possession, Dunmore chewed four minutes off the clock with an eight-play, 33-yard drive before punting the ball back to the Blue Devils.

Old Forge took over at its own 12, and after quarterback Brenden Wahl completed four passes for 35 yards - including a hookup with Piccolini for 30 yards, the Bucks buckled down and forced another Blue Devils punt.

Dunmore chewed up four more minutes on its next possession but only gained 25 yards as linebackers Jorden Sekol and Shane Schuback combined for six tackles. Sekol and Piccolini stopped Buckley on third-and-7 to force another punt.

The Blue Devils then went to the air.

Wahl hooked up with Jake Manetti on first-and-10 from the OF 30 for 11 yards and a first down. The 1,600-yard passer then found Mike Vieira for a 23-yard gain and Old Forge was in Dunmore territory at the 36.

That’s when things fell apart.

A 16-yard completion to Shane Schuback was nullified for Old Forge having an illegal man downfield, and on the following play, Wahl was flagged for intentional grounding to push the Blue Devils back to the 50 with a second-and-24. Dunmore forced two incompletions and ultimately another Old Forge punt.

The Big Blue Wrecking Crew stood tall on the ensuing possession but a special teams mistake proved to be the costliest of the game.

Schuback and Tony DeSando stopped Austin Seamon for a one-yard gain on first-and-10, and then Sekol sacked Dunmore QB Brandon Kujawski for a three-yard loss. Old Forge then forced an incompletion and the Bucks to punt on fourth-and-12 from its own 22.

But a personal foul roughing the kicker penalty was called on the Blue Devils after Piccolini had fair caught the 28-yard punt on the 50, giving the ball back to Dunmore.

Three plays later, Buckley trucked through three tackles before sprinting 57 yards for the only Dunmore touchdown in eight quarters of play against Old Forge in 2012. Mike Boland’s extra-point was good, and the Bucks led 7-0 with 5:10 remaining in the second quarter.

Old Forge responded by moving to the Dunmore 33 on six plays, including four rushes by Bubba Tomasetti for 17 yards, a scramble by Wahl for eight yards and a 15-yard personal foul face mask penalty on the Bucks.

But on second-and-8 Wahl’s intended pass to Piccolini over the middle sailed and was intercepted by John Rinaldi to turn the ball over with 2:05 left before halftime.

With all three timeouts left, Old Forge was able get the ball back one last time after holding Dunmore to just four yards on three plays forcing another punt.

Tomasetti returned the 33-yard punt to the Dunmore 43 and the Blue Devils had another shot before halftime.

Wahl found Tomasetti in the flat for nine-yard before spiking the ball on second down with 45 seconds left in the half to set up third-and-1 from the 34.

This time bad luck struck the Blue Devils.

While scrambling away from defenders trying to find an open receiver, Wahl headed back toward the home sideline and toward the line of scrimmage with at least 20 yards of open field ahead of him. But when the signal-caller avoided the last would-be Bucks defender, the official whistled the play dead, thinking Wahl had been downed as he kept his balance with his hand on the ground.

The play cost Old Forge at least a field goal attempt before the half expired, or a shot at tying the game with the touchdown. Wahl’s incompletion on fourth down ended the half.

Old Forge needed to start the half by changing momentum and it got the break it needed when Joey Bruno recovered a fumble at the Dunmore 38.

Wahl hooked up with Schuback for 11 yards and Tomasetti followed with a 12-yard gain on the ground to move the Blue Devils into the redzone. Three plays later, Tomasetti cashed in from three-yards out for a touchdown to electrify the Blue Devils faithful.

But the excitement was short-lived as Dunmore burst through the right side of the Old Forge offensive line on the PAT attempt to block Matt Mancuso’s kick. Still the Blue Devils were within 7-6 with 9:34 showing on the third quarter clock.

Dunmore then played keep-away, keeping the ball on the ground on 12 of its next 13 plays as they registered four first downs as it moved to the Old Forge 17. 

The defense came though again for Old Forge, stopping Seamon for zero yards on his next three carries to set up fourth-and-10. On fourth down, Bruno came up big again for the Blue Devils - sacking Kujawski for a 10-yard loss.

Wahl went back to the air but was stymied on first and second down before throwing a second interception on third down. Old Forge got the ball back three plays later when Buckley fumbled while trying to gain extra-yardage and Tomasetti recovered at the Blue Devils own 11.

Tomasetti - Old Forge’s all-time single-season rushing leader - carried three straight times for 16 yards to move the Blue Devils out of a hole. But on second-and-8 Old Forge’s dip into the playbook backfired and Manetti was sacked while trying to throw a pass on an end around. Two plays later Old Forge punted and the Bucks went into the playbook as well.

After Seamon was stopped on first down for a two-yard loss, Dunmore went to the air with Kujawski finding Josh Zilla for two straight seven-yard gains to set up a first down at the Old Forge 31 as time ran in the fourth quarter.

The Bucks moved to the 12, but Piccolini shot through the line to drop Seamon for a four-yard loss on third-and-5. 

Back-to-back offsides penalties on the Bucks moved the ball back to the 26, and on fourth down, Manetti and Tomasetti broke up a pass in the endzone to give the Blue Devils one last shot.

Taking over on its own 26 with 3:54 left, Old Forge opened its last gasp with an incompletion on first down and a nine-yard gain on second down Wahl found Schuback over the middle.

The Blue Devils then turned to Tomasetti.

Tomasetti carried six straight times for 22 yards to push Old Forge into Dunmore territory with 1:57 remaining.

On second-and-eight, Wahl scrambled for six yards to put the ball at the Dunmore 37 before the Bucks stopped Tomasetti for no-gain on third-and-2.

Dunmore then made the play of the game.

Old Forge fed Tomasetti again on fourth-and-2 but the Bucks were up to the challenge and held the 1,800-yard rusher to no gain to regain possession and claim the title.

Tomasetti finished with 89 yards on 26 carries to lead the Old Forge ground attack. Wahl completed 9-for-19 for 100 yards. Schuback caught four passes for 33 yards to lead the receiving corps.

Devil dominate Vikings

If he wasn’t emphatic enough about who the best player on the field was the first time Old Forge and Riverside met on the gridiron, Brian “Bubba” Tomasetti put forth a repeat performance as the Blue Devils smashed the Vikings, 42-7, in the opening round of the District 2 Class 1A playoffs on Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Tomasetti rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries to become the OFHS single-season rushing and touchdown leader with 1,728 yards and 30 TDs respectively. The senior also picked off two passes and returned a kickoff 70 yards to set up a score.

The game started precariously for the Blue Devils as Mike Vieira injured his ankle on the opening kickoff, but the senior continued to play during the first quarter.

And he made a difference.

After Tomasetti rushed for five yards on first down from the OF 32, Vieira took a speed sweep for nine yards and a first down.

Two plays later hauled in a 29-yard pass from quarterback Brenden Wahl for a touchdown. Matt Mancuso banged the first of his six extra-points on the night and Old Forge (11-0) led, 7-0 with 9:52 showing on the first-quarter clock.

It didn’t take long for the offense to get back on the field as linebacker Jorden Sekol picked off his first pass of the season when he intercepted Riverside quarterback Nick Dranchak at the Vikings 28-yard line.

A 23-yard toss from Wahl to tight end Shane Schuback for a touchdown was nullified by an illegal motion penalty, but a 13-yard scramble by Wahl on third-and-12 set up the Blue Devils in the red zone on the 14-yard line.

Two plays later, Jake Manetti took the speed sweep out of the spread formation nine yards into the end zone for a 14-0 lead with 7:24 left in the opening stanza.

The Vikings picked up its first first down of the game on its next possession, but the Blue Devils forced a punt and took over at the Riverside 43.

Old Forge moved to the Riverside 20 as Tomasetti carried four times for 22 yards and Wahl picked up six on a scramble. But a two holding penalties forced a punt, giving the ball to the Vikings at the 15.

The teams traded the next two possessions, and Riverside caught a break when Manetti fumbled a punt at the Vikings 44 which Jim Tucker recovered for Riverside.

On the next play, tailback Dave Sweetman took a flare pass 37 yards down the visitors sideline to the Old Forge 19. Only a touchdown-saving tackle by Anthony Picoolini kept the senior speedster from getting to the end zone.

The tackle by Piccolini proved to be a huge turning point as the Big Blue Wrecking Crew kept the Vikings off the board when Schuback stepped in front of a Riverside receiver at the goal line for an interception that he returned to the Vikings 15.

A completion from Wahl to Schuback for 17 yards on third-and-8 moved Old Forge across its own 30, and two plays later Tomasetti put the highlight reel in motion.

Tomasetti took a handoff to the right, bounced off right guard Paul Papi before reversing field to the left where he found a hole that he sprinted to. The only 1,700-yard rusher in a season in school history for the Blue Devils then stepped over a defender grasping for his shoestrings and galloped 57 yards to paydirt for a 21-0 Old Forge lead with 4:56 to go before halftime.

Riverside had another chance to get on the board before the end of the first half after Schuback shanked a punt for just eight yards from his own 11. But the junior linebacker atoned for his first bad punt of the season by leading the defense in forcing incompletions on third and fourth down from the 13. Sekol almost had his second INT of the game on fourth down, getting his hands on a pass at the goal line.

The top scoring defense in all of District 2 held the Vikings to just 72 total yards in the first half – 37 of which came on one play. Old Forge forced Dranchak – who had throw for over 2,500 yards coming into the game – into a 4-for-15 first half for just 15 yards with two interceptions.

Riverside did not quit at the half.

The Vikings came out in the third quarter and went 69 yards on five plays for its first – and only – score of the game.

Dranchak hooked up with Nico Munley on third-and-9 down the Old Forge sideline for a 58-yard touchdown with 10:08 showing on the Big Board. Mat Lucas drilled the PAT, and the Vikings were with in 21-7 and built some momentum to start the half.

But Tomasetti would once again impose his will on the Blue Devils arch-rival.

Subbing for Vieira who did not play the final three quarters because of his injury, Tomasetti took the ensuing kickoff on his own 25 and returned in 70 yards to the Riverside 5 to set up his second touchdown of the game. It was the first time this season Tomasetti had been on the field to return a kick.

Two plays later, Tomasetti was in the end zone and Old Forge regained momentum and command with a 28-7 lead with 9:17 left in the third period.

On its next possession, Old Forge opened with two carries by Tomasetti for 20 yards before turning to Manetti.

Manetti carried once for 16 yards then hauled in a short pass from Wahl before turning the dump off into a 29-yard touchdown for a 35-7 lead less than four minutes later.

Riverside tried to answer after Dranchak connected on two passes for 19 yards, and the Blue Devils were flagged twice for personal foulds. The series of events put the Vikings on the Old Forge 30-yard line. But on first down outside linebacker Warren Welsh recovered a Dranchak fumbled to give the ball back to the Blue Devils.

The Riverside defense forced a punting situation on the ensuing series, but on fourth down, Schuback – the punter – saw an opening and audibled to a direct snap to Tomasetti.

Tomasetti – who again was replacing Vieira on a special teams unit – took the snap and went up the middle untouched for a 63-yard touchdown. Kyree Toomey threw a crushing block at about the 30 on the Riverside return man to spring Tomasetti to the end zone.

The PAT was good and the Mercy Rule was invoked as Old Forge led 42-7 with 1:05 left in the third quarter.

Riverside tried to answer by going to the air, and after Dranchak hooked up with tight end Mike Loftus on a 29-yard completion in front of Tomasetti, the senior cornerback got even.

Tomasetti would intercept Dranchak’s next two passes – one in the end zone, and one at the OF 35 – to end two Riverside drives.

Old Forge then ran most of the remaining time off the clock with Brandon Yescavage picking up 35 yards and Toomey running for 33.

Devil Details….

• Old Forge has outscored Riverside, 143-20, in their last three meetings – including two playoff victories - to take a 33-30-4 lead in the all-time series.

• Tomasetti racked up 200 yards for the fourth time this season. His two-game total against the Vikes in 2012 was 50 carries, 422 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

• Wahl’s 75 yards passing put him over the 1,500-yard mark for the season at 1,529. The senior became just the third QB in OFHS history to pass for over 1,500 yards. He also added to his school-record for touchdowns in a season with two more to give him 21.

Video evidence the Blue Devils rock!!!

Devils win LFC Division III Crown

It didn’t take long for Old Forge to get on top last Saturday afternoon at Susquehanna Community High School. And it took even less time to put the game away.

The Blue Devils scored on their first play from scrimmage and added two more touchdowns within 26 seconds during the end of the first quarter as they ran away with a 49-6 victory over the Sabers to claim the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III title for the second consecutive season, and the fifth time in seven years.

Anthony Piccolini put Old Forge (10-0) on the board when he took a screen pass from Brenden Wahl and sprinted 29 yards down the visitor’s side line for a touchdown. The two-point run failed but the Blue Devils led 6-0 just 2:46 into the game.

A penalty and an interception on a trick play cost Old Forge a chance to score one possession later. But the Blue Devils again struck quickly on its ensuing possessions when Wahl hit Jake Manetti for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds remaining in the first stanza.

Wahl hooked up with Piccolini with 14 yards, and Shane Schuback for 41 during the three-play drive. Matt Mancuso took the two-point conversion into the endzone on an option play and Old Forge led 14-0.

Paul Papi recovered a fumble for Old Forge on Susquehanna’s next offensive snap to give the Blue Devils the ball on the Sabers 34.

After scoring twice through the air, the Blue Devils went to the ground and handed the ball to Brian “Bubba” Tomasetti for a 24-yard gain before the senior tailback scored from 10 yards out with 12 seconds left before the second quarter. Mancuso booted the extra-point and Old Forge led, 21-0.

Mike Vieira snatched an interception on Susquehanna’s next possession, and the Blue Devils went back to the air.

Wahl found Schuback for a hookup at the 10, and Old Forge’s junior tight end did work the rest of the way, finding the endzone for a 31-yard touchdown. Mancuso’s PAT was good and the Blue Devils led 28-0 with 9:42 left before halftime.

The defense continued to dominate for Old Forge forcing a punt after Kyree Tomey, Paul Papi and Jorden Sekol sacked Sabers QB Cole Mallory. The Blue Devils then got a piece of the punt, and took over at the Sabers 10.

Two players later, Tomasetti scored from 10-yards out to put Old Forge ahead, 35-0, after Mancuso’s kick.

Tomasetti then got into the act defensively with his seventh interception of the season, and two plays later, the 1,500-yard rusher scored from 11 yards out for  42-0 lead with 4:33 before haltime.

The touchdown also tied Tomasetti with Bob Rinaldi Sr. for the OFHS single-season rushing touchdown record with 27.

Susquehanna tried to get on the board against the Blue Devils second team defense to end the half, but the Sabers had a 71-yard touchdown run by Mallory called back because of an offensive facemask.

At the half, Old Forge had held Susquehanna to minus-23 yards rushing on 18 carries.

The starters took the second half off with the exception of an extra-point after senior Tyler Salerno went 30 yards for this third touchdown of the season with 11:00 left in the game.

Tomsetti finished the day with 78 yards to give him 1,528 for the season – the fourth best single-season mark in school history.

Wahl also moved into fourth position for passing yards in a season after finishing 5-for-7 for 117 yards. His total of 1,453 trails leader Benny Pritchyk by 306 yards for the school record for passing yards in a season. Pritchyk threw for 1,760 in 1996. Wahl’s three TD passes moved him into first place for touchdown tosses in a season with 19 as he surpasses Corey Hodick who had 18 in 2008.

Old Forge creams Crusaders

Another slow start did nothing to impede Old Forge's quest for a ninth victory as the Blue Devils throttled an undermanned Holy Cross squad, 55-8, in the last regular-season home game last Friday night at Old Forge Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Crusaders took a page out of Carbondale's offensive playbook, milking the play clock while keeping the ball on the ground to keep the pigskin away from he Blue Devils offense.

Holy Cross ran six plays before Old Forge stopped them on fourth-and-1 from their own 46. But the Blue Devils gave the ball back after a Brian Tomasetti 13-yard run when Brenden Wahl threw just his fifth interception of the season on first down from the Holy Cross 33.

The Crusaders again took the play clock to close to zero on each snap running four more plays before punting the ball back to Old Forge with almost eight minutes gone in the first quarter on the Big Board.

It didn't take long for the Blue Devils to put a crooked number on the scoreboard though as Tomasetti jaunted 55 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Wahl added the two-point conversion and Old Forge led, 8-0 with 3:55 remaining in the first quarter.

The Big Blue Wrecking Crew got another stop, forcing a three-and-out as Mike Vieira and Brandon Yescavage each registered two tackles. Then on fourth down, the Holy Cross punter dropped the snap and was tackled for a 15-yard loss to give Old Forge the ball at the Crusaders 11.

On the next play, Tomasetti sprinted in from 11 yards out for a touchdown. The two-point pass was incomplete, but the Blue Devils still led, 14-0, with 1:22 left in the opening stanza.

Yescavage continued his assault on the Holy Cross offense, blocking a punt which Vieira recovered on the Crusaders 2. On the next play, Wahl followed center Tyler Clark into the endzone for the score. The PAT was blocked and Old Forge led 20-0 just eight seconds into the second quarter.

Holy Cross completed its only pass of the game on its next series but on second down from the HC 38 Jorden Sekol forced a fumble which Shane Schuback recovered. The Dynamic Duo linebackers totaled 22 tackles on the night with Sekol registering 12 and Schuback 10.

Schuback then got into the act on offense, hauling in a 35-yard scoring strike from Wahl to put the Blue Devils ahead 27-0 after Matt Mancuso banged his first extra-point of the game with 7:52 showing on the second-quarter clock.

Jake Manetti then gave the ball right back to the offense with his first interception of the season on the ensuing play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Tomasetti surpassed the 1,400 yard rushing plateau when he went 24 yards for a touchdown. The two-point pass failed and Old Forge led 33-0 less than one minute later.

Holy Cross got on the board when Connor Callejas returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Eric Gatto hit Dan Barmes for the two-point conversion and the Crusaders were within 33-8.

Old Forge came right back when Wahl hit Anthony Piccolini on in stride over the middle for a 53-yard touchdown toss with 5:21 left before halftime. Mancuso's kick was good and the Blue Devils went ahead, 40-8.

Tomasetti had a 43-yard touchdown run called back to open the third quarter, but on he next play Yescavage went 35 yards untouched to paydirt behind new right tackle Sekol. The kick was good by Mancuso and the Mercy Rule went into effect with the 47-8 lead.

The Crusaders put together a 12-play drive that travelled just 21 yards from the HC 6 to the HC 27 after a botched punt gave Old Forge the ball back.

The Blue Devils had a 27-yard touchdown run by Matt Trotta nullified by a penalty on its next possession, but Tyler Salerno would get in from the same distance one possession later with Trotta adding the two-point conversion to finalize the scoring at 55-8.

Tomasetti ran for 156 yards and three TDs on just nine carries to put him over the 1,400-yard mark for the season. The Blue Devils gained 248 yards on the ground on just 18 carries while Holy Cross rushed for 75 yards on 54 carries. The Crusaders ran 57 offensive plays to Old Forge's 21.

Sekol led the Big Blue Wrecking Crew with 12 tackles and a forced fumble, while Schuback racked up 10 tackles and forced a fumble. Tony DeSando added a season-high seven stops, as did Mike Vieira who had six tackles.

B&G Blog Player of the Game: Brian Tomasetti. All Bubba did this week was average over 17 yards per carry on his way to three touchdowns and 156 yards rushing. He would have went over 200 for the third time this season but a 43-yard TD run was called back after a holding penalty occurred after the senior had picked up 17 yards.

B&G Blog Player who is not Bubba Player of the Game: Shane Schuback. Suga Shane caught one pass for a 35-yard touchdown, recovered a fumble and registered 10 tackles in a do-it-all performance for the Blue Devils.

B&G Blog Defensive Player of the Game: Jorden Sekol. Sekol totaled a team-high and season-high 12 tackles and also forced a fumble to lead the Old Forge defense in limiting Holy Cross to only 90 yards of total offense, including just 75 yards on 54 carries.

B&G Blog Play of the Game: The opening kickoff. When Jorden Sekol leveled Holy Cross kick returner Connor Callejas on the opening kickoff it sent the message early that the Blue Devils were not there to fool around. The Crusaders were able to run more than twice as many plays, but Old Forge scored on 8 of its 21 offensive plays and delivered more hits on defense that normal. And it all started with Sekol setting the tone.

B&G Blog Coaching Move of the Game: No offense to Coach Schuback and his staff, but there was not much coaching needed to be done once the whistle blew to begin the game. The game plan on both sides of the ball was flawless so the CMotG goes to the preparation part of the Week 9 game. Kudos to the staff for its work during practice.

Wahl, Piccolini charge offense in victory

Carbondale came into Friday night’s game on the rain-soaked turf at Old Forge Veterans Memorial Stadium with a solid game plan.

Milk the play-clock on offense to keep the ball away from the Blue Devils high-octane offense, and prevent Old Forge tailback Brian “Bubba” Tomasetti from running wild as he had all season.

However the Chargers did not count on one thing – the play of quarterback Brenden Wahl and his stable of play-making receivers.

Wahl and his six receivers peeled the Carbondale secondary for 267 yards and four touchdowns as the Blue Devils pulled away from the Chargers in a 35-8 victory to remain undefeated and in control of the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III and District 2 Class 1A race.

The game started with a squib kick by Carbondale that was recovered by the Blue Devils, but on the first play from scrimmage, Tomasetti lost the slick pigskin to give the ball back to the Chargers.

Carbondale couldn’t move the ball it is first possession, nor on any other possession in the first half, as the Big Blue Wrecking Crew – led by middle linebackers Shane Schuback and Jorden Sekol – held the Chargers to minus-4 yards on 23 snaps in the first 24 minutes.

Old Forge mustered only five yards on its second possession, but the Blue Devils got going with 6:31 showing on the Big Board in the first quarter with a nine-play, 51-yard drive. The trip into the Carbondale red zone was capped by a 26-yard field goal from Matt Mancuso to give OF a 3-0 lead with 2:27 remaining in the quarter.

The drive was highlighted by a 17-yard run by Tomasetti – his longest of the game – and a 28-yard completion from Wahl to Anthony Piccolini on a slant to put the ball at the CA 3-yard line.

Defensive ends Kyree Toomey and Brandon Yescavage sacked Chargers QB Joey Gigliotti for a 15-yard loss on third down and an errant snap on fourth down forced the Chargers punter to run out of the end zone before being tackled by Michael Vieira to turn the ball back over to Old Forge at the CA 7.

Wahl and Piccolini hooked up on a slant on the very next play for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Blue Devils a 9-0 lead with 49 seconds left in the first.

Carbondale picked up its first two first downs on its next drive, but Schuback and Sekol put a stop to the drive by combining on tackles on second and third down to force a punt.

Old Forge came up short on a fourth-and-4 from the Carbondale 48, but Schuback and Joey Bruno sacked Gigliotti for a 12-yard loss on third down, forcing another punt.

Starting on its own 35 with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter, Old Forge handed the ball to Tomasetti three straight times for 17 yards before going to the air.

Wahl hit Vieira on a quick five-yard out on first down from the CA 49, then after an incompletion found Jake Manetti in the middle of the field where the junior wide out made an outstanding grab for a 22-yard completion and a first down with less than 1:20 left in the game.

On the next play, Wahl hit Tomasetti in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown and a 16-0 lead that the Blue Devils took into halftime.

Carbondale opened the second half with a simple four-yard gain on a dive, but the Chargers then went into their bag of tricks and on a perfectly executed flea flicker, Gigliotti connected with Jason Martin for a 42-yard touchdown. A halfback option from Brandon Sales to Mike Scotch worked for the two-point conversion and Carbondale was within 16-8 with 11:01 left in the third quarter.

Old Forge responded two possessions later.

After Wahl converted a fourth-and-1 by calling his own number on a sneak from the CA 49, the senior signal-caller hit Piccolini on the home sideline and the senior wideout ran past two defenders – one who was crushed on a block by Manetti – to the end zone for his second touchdown of the game, a 46-yard scoring play. Mancuso nailed the extra-point and the Blue Devils led 23-8 with 6:30 left in the third stanza.

The play of the defense forced yet another punt, and after an illegal man downfield penalty pushed Old Forge back to its own 49, Wahl went back to work.

Wahl completed two passes to Schuback for 20 yards, then hit Warren Welsh across the middle for a 39-yard gain to the Carbondale 1. The first-year starter then called his own number and crossed the goal line for a touchdown, giving the Blue Devils a 29-8 lead with 3:19 left in the third.

A 12-yard kickoff return by the Chargers, and a 15-yard personal foul penalty by the Blue Devils, set Carbondale up at the Old Forge 39. But the defense forced an incompletion on fourth down to give Wahl one more shot.

The 1,000-yard quarterback was sacked on second down for a seven-yard loss but connected with Piccolini for 22 yards on third-and-12 before hooking up again with his favorite receiver for a 55-yard scoring strike and a 35-8 ld with 10:06 left in the game.

Wahl – who had never taken a varsity snap before this season – went over the 1,000-yard mark passing during the game, finishing, 12-for-19 for 267 yards and four TDs in the air.

Piccolini caught five balls for 158 yards and three touchdowns, and Manetti and Schuback each made two catches each.

Tomasetti was held to a season-low 73 yards on 20 carries and was kept out of the end zone on the ground for the first time this season.

The defense, led by Schuback’s 15 tackles, held Carbondale to 40 yards rushing on 34 carries and just 91 yards passing on 18 attempts.

The B&G Blog Player of the Week: Brenden Wahl. Wahl was fabulous against the Chargers, often throwing under pressure or from outside the pocket and CONNECTING on those throws. Wahl has over 1,200 yards passing this season and has been a perfect compliment to the dominating Old Forge running game.

The B&G Blog Defensive Player of the Week: Shane Schuback. Suga Shane has steadily become a wrecking ball in the middle of the Old Forge defense. Schuback made a career-high 15 tackles against Carbondale and seemed to be in on every play let the charge (pun intended) of forcing the Chargers QB into 11 incompletions.

The B&G Blog Play of the Week: Wahl’s pass to Piccolini where the latter split two defenders before racing to the end zone for a 46-yard scoring play gave the Blue Devils a two-touchdown cushion after the Chargers closed to within one score to begin the second half. It was the first time since Week 1 that a team was within a touchdown of the Blue Devils in the second half.

The B&G Blog Coaching Move of the Game: Unlike myself who would have panicked by putting tight end Shane Schuback at right offensive tackle this week to replace stud two-way tackle Ryan Paulish who went down with an injury, late in last week’s game against Trail, Coach Mike Schuback went all Mike Tomlin on us and employed the “Next Man Up” Theory by placing sophomore Corey Souryavong into the starting lineup on Friday night. All Souryavong did was provide a solid replacement for the Blue Devils and a look to the future in being another good offensive lineman for Old Forge.