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.