Hanover Area at Old Forge

Recap

OLD FORGE 42, HANOVER AREA 7

In Old Forge, the Blue Devils rebounded from their first defeat last week to manhandle winless Hanover Area 42-7. Though the Devils struggled through a sluggish first half, they dominated in all three phases on their way to their third victory of the season.

The Devils did score on their opening drive of the contest when senior T.J. DiMattia found his favorite target, Chris Rasmus, for a 12-yard touchdown. Isiah Rodriguez drilled the extra point to give Old Forge a 7-0 edge with 8:57 left in the opening quarter.

Hanover took the ensuing kickoff and mustered the most efficient drive of the night, as Malique Campbell carried the ball into the end zone from a yard out to tie the game at 7-7.

Old Forge’s defense managed to give the Devils a lead they would never relinquish. With 7:11 left before halftime, Campbell was dropped in his own end zone for a safety. The Blue Devils led 9-7.

Following the ensuing free kick, Old Forge, making use of outstanding field position, drove quickly to another score. Senior back, Nick Hewitt, did the honors for the Devils, scoring from 2 yards away to put the Devils ahead 16-7, a lead that they carried into halftime.

The next segment of the game belonged to Rasmus, emerging as one of the true gamebreakers in the Lackawanna Football Conference. On the opening drive of the second half, Rasmus snatched his second touchdown pass of the evening from DiMattia, this one from 36 yards out to put the Blue Devils ahead 23-7 less than a minute into the third quarter.

Less than two minutes later, Rasmus stepped in front of a Logan Richardson pass and sprinted 49 yards for a score. Rodriguez again was on the money and Old Forge led 30-7.

The Blue Devils had one more score left in them prior to the end of the third quarter of play. DiMattia tallied his third scoring toss of the night when he connected with sophomore, Savion Cupil, on a 29-yard catch and run for the six points. The quarter ended with the Blue Devils out in front, 36-7.

The final Old Forge tally of the contest came when Cael Krushnowski scooted in from 9 yards away to make the final score 42-7.

Old Forge (3-1) travels to Western Wayne next weekend to lock horns with the unbeaten Wildcats while Hanover Area (0-4)  is on the road against winless Berwick.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

OF – Chris Rasmus 12-yd pass from T.J. DiMattia (Isaih Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 7-0

HAN – Malique Campbell 1-yd run (Conor Engleman kick) – Tied 7-7

2nd Quarter

OF – Safety – Old Forge 9-7

OF – Nick Hewitt 2-yd run (Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 16-7

3rd Quarter

OF – Rasmus 36-yd pass from DiMattia (Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 23-7

OF – Rasmus 44-yd interception return (Rodriguez kick) – Old Forge 30-7

OF – Savion Cupil 26-yd pass from DiMattia (Kick failed) – Old Forge 36-7

4th Quarter

OF – Cael Krushnowski 9-yd run (Kick failed) – Old Forge 42-7