In front of what might have been the largest non-Riverside crowd in almost 25 years, the Old Forge football team gave their fans what they have been longing to see - a victory over a state-ranked, former Big 11 team.
And it was a convincing victory at that.
Playing before a paid crowd of 4,487 the Blue Devils posted a 21-0 shutout of Dunmore at Veterans Memorial Stadium last Friday night to remain undefeated on the season.
Anthony Piccolini opened the game with a 29-yard kickoff return to set Old Forge (4-0) up at their own 31. Brian “Bubba” Tomasetti rushed five times for 34 yards on the first five snaps of the game, but an incomplete pass on third down forced the Blue Devils to punt.
On the punt, Bobby ‘BR3” Rinaldi forced a fumble by the punt returner and junior Jake Manetti was there to pounce on the loose pigskin at the Dunmore 14.
Tomasetti picked up where he left off, and on his fifth straight carry, the senior tailback followed guards Paul Papi and Tony DeSando, and center Tyler “Tippy” Clark into the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown. Matt Mancuso blasted the extra-point, and the Blue Devils led, 7-0 with 6:06 showing on the Big Board.
Tomasetti carried the ball on 10 of the Blue Devils first 12 plays, including the punt, for 48 yards.
Defensively, the Big Blue Wrecking Crew set the tone on Dunmore’s first series - and they needed to.
Mike Kolcharno returned the Old Forge kickoff 55 yards to the Old Forge 32. But Jorden Sekol and Tony DeSando made sure the Bucks would get no further, stopping Dunmore for a 2-yard gain, and a 2-yard loss on first and third down.
In between, the Bucks gained five yards on a shot pass and jumped offsides for a 5-yard loss. A fourth down pass then fell incomplete and Old Forge took over.
The Dunmore defense was just as tough, but it would be the Blue Devils who shined on that side of the football, holding the Bucks without a first down until the third quarter.
After the teams traded possessions, Old Forge was stopped on three downs. But punter Shane Schuback was run into on fourth-and-12 so the Blue Devils elected to punt again from their own 28.
Schuback kept the snap and tried to run for the first down, but Dunmore stopped the Old Forge TE/LB on his on 26 to take possession.
On first-down, Piccolini tipped a pass behind the line of scrimmage and Schuback scooped up the fumble and returned it to the Old Forge 40 to give the Blue Devils the ball right back.
Old Forge picked up four first downs on the possession, but with first-and-goal from the 9, the Blue Devils stalled and Mancuso missed a 27-yard field goal after a bad snap.
Taking over at its own 20, Dunmore went a quick three-and-out, and after Mike Vieira returned the ensuing punt 16 yards to the Bucks 29, Old Forge went back to Tomasetti who rushed four straight times for 32 yards.
But on third-and-6 from the Dunmore 7, Old Forge quarterback Brenden Wahl was flagged for illegal grounding which resulted in a loss of down. The Blue Devils again sent Mancuso on the field to attempt a 34-yard field goal, but the kick was short after a bad hold mistimed the kick.
Old Forge held the Bucks once again, and Wahl took a knee as time expired in the first half.
The Blue Devils completely dominated the first 24 minutes of action, limiting Dunmore to just 19 yards of total offense on 14 play. Meanwhile, Old Forge gained 154 yards of total offense with 94 coming from Tomasetti who had 20 carries.
The Bucks looked like a different team after the break, gaining two quick first downs before Joey Bruno and Sekol stopped Kolcharno for no gain on second-and-8 from the Dunmore 41.
Momentum changed on the next play.
Tomasetti intercepted a Mike Kujawski pass in front of the Dunmore bench at the Old Forge 35, came back across the field at the 50 toward the home sidelines before picking up a block from Piccolini at the Bucks 40 which paved the way to the endzone for a 65-yard touchdown return.
Mancuso drilled the PAT and Old Forge led 14-0 with 9:13 remaining in the third quarter.
Three plays later the Big Blue Wrecking Crew forced another turnover. Sekol recovered an errant pitch to give the Blue Devils the ball at the Dunmore 40.
Old Forge went back to Tomasetti, giving the powerful back the ball six straight times before No. 21 found the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown with 5:37 left in the third quarter. Mancuso added the extra-point and the Blue Devils led 21-0.
Dunmore tried to respond but DeSando came up with a crushing sack on third-and-2 for a 6-yard loss, and a fourth down incompletion gave Old Forge the ball back at its own 27 yard-line.
Old Forge ran the final three minutes off the clock in the third quarter, and then forced Dunmore into an incompletion on fourth down after the Bucks drove inside the Blue Devils 30 on 12 plays.
On the next series, Wahl hit Piccolini for a 46-yard completion on third-and-7 to put the game away as they ran the clock down to under three minutes before giving the ball back to the Bucks.
Sekol led the defense with 14 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Schuback added seven tackles and a fumble recovery and Piccolini added five tackles and forced a fumble.
Tomasetti also checked in with five tackles to go with his interception, and DeSando added four tackles and a sack.
B&G Blog Player of the Game: Brian Tomasetti. This award is going to have to be renamed the way Tomasetti has been playing. Bubba dominated the game on both sides of the football, carrying the Old Forge offense on his back and turning the momentum of the third quarter in the Blue Devils favor with his INT return for a touchdown.
B&G Blog Defensive Player of the Game: Ryan Paulish. I did’t have Paulish for an official tackle in the game, but the Big Boy did his fair share on the defensive front. Paulish - along with his mates on the DL - dominated up front allowing BBWC linebackers Jorden Sekol, Shane Schuback, Anthony Piccolini, and Warren Welsh “Welker” to run free and collect 28 tackles. Paulish neutralized Dunmore stud tackle Mike Boland, allowing the Blue Devils to hold the Bucks to just 74 yards rushing.
B&G Blog Play of the Game: This week’s play of the game is obviously Bubba Tomasetti’s 65-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter which gave the Blue Devils a 14-0 lead. But it was the play within this play that should get the recognition. After Tomasetti crossed the 50, he needed one block to spring him to the endzone. Enter Anthony Piccolini. Piccolini, a generous 5’8, 170 pounds, sacrificed his body to get in the way of hulking Dunmore tackle James McHale - all 6’6, 285 pounds of him. The block allowed Bubba to get to the house.
B&G Blog Coach’s Adjustment of the Game: Coach Mike Schuback did what every coach is supposed to do in the big game - feed the ball to his horse. And that’s what Schuback did by giving the pigskin to Bubba Tomasetti a career-high 29 times as the Blue Devils kept control of the game by keeping the football on offense.
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