Rush runs Maples past Avella, 39-33
MAPLETOWN — Mapletown ran 50 plays on offense for a total of 400 yards in a 39-33 win over Tri-County South foe Avella.
Junior running back Dylan Rush touched the ball on 43 of the 50 plays while accounting for 379 of the Maples’ yards and all 39 of their points.
Rush, who came into the game with nearly 3,100 career rushing yards, totaled 374 yards on 41 carries and five touchdowns, while passing for five yards and another score. The running back also kicked the lone made extra point for the Maples (3-0, 3-1), while also running in the team’s only two-point conversion.
“There were a lot of times tonight where our offense line, our fullbacks and our wide receivers blocked,” Mapletown head coach George Messich said. “If you block for Dylan, he’s going to run the football. Once you get him to the second level, he can do some amazing things. But I think on a lot of those long runs our people did a really nice job blocking for him.”
Messich said that at times he does think about Rush’s workload, but he knows that the junior wants the ball on every play.
“He is in tremendous shape, and he does get beat up every Friday night when we run him,” Messich said. “Do I worry about him tiring out in the fourth quarter? Yes. He tires out a little bit, but I’ll tell you what, no matter if he’s tired if you see something he’s going to give 110 percent.”
Rush admitted after the game how tired he was after accounting for 95 percent of his team’s offensive yardage.
“I am very tired right now,” Rush said. “There’s not really much you can do to prepare for that; just stay in shape throughout the offseason and make sure you’re in shape for the regular season. That’s about all you can do.”
Rush’s legs drove the Maples downfield on their first drive of the game, but the Eagles (1-2, 1-3) stopped them on third down in the red zone. Mapletown set up for a field goal, but Rush, the kicker, took the snap and threw a five-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Caleb Reynolds to put the Maples ahead 6-0.
The Eagles took their only lead early in the second quarter, as senior quarterback Dalton Simonelli threw a jump ball to senior wide receiver Garrett Geresti, who reached over the back of the defender to snag the pass and run in for the 45-yard score. Geresti had 144 yards receiving on nine catches and a touchdown.
“He’s one of the top guys on our team,” Avella coach Ryan Cecchini said. “He’s the focal point of our offense. He makes defense adjust to him. He’s definitely a guy we want to get the ball to.”
The Eagles held Rush in check for most of the first half, but with only a 90 second remaining until halftime, Rush broke off an 89-yard score to put the Maples back ahead 14-7.
In the second half, Mapletown went to a Wildcat offense with Rush taking direct snaps from the center and running the ball on every single play when he was on the field.
With the new formation, the Maples raddled off drives of 62, 54, 60 and 54 yards, with every one of those yards coming from Rush in the Wildcat formation.
Messich said defenses have been loading the box against his offense, which is why he made the switch to a full-time Wildcat offense in the second half. Cecchini said the goal going in was to load the box, but once the Maples made the switch to the Wildcat, the Eagles allowed several big runs to Rush.
“We wanted to load the box,” Cecchini said. “I thought we did a decent job I mean we couldn’t stop the big place he wore us down as the game went on.”
As Mapletown’s offense exploded in the second half, so did Avella’s. Rather than all of the Eagles’ yards coming on the ground — like their counterparts — virtually all of their yards came in the air.
Simonelli passed for 255 yards in the second half, including two touchdowns to sophomore wide receiver Owen English, one from 25 yards out and the other from 16.
The signal caller also ran for a one-yard score on a sneak and threw a garbage-time 10-yard touchdown to senior running back Steven Miller, who caught seven passes for 111 yards and that score.
Simonelli also attributed for nearly all of his team’s yards, like Rush, completing 27 of 42 pass attempts for 366 yards and four touchdowns while also running for a score.
“I think (the passing game) was very good,” Cecchini said. “The pass game wasn’t the problem. The problem was we couldn’t run the ball. We couldn’t have a balanced offense.”
In the middle of the fourth quarter, with the Eagles down six points, Avella recovered an onside kick, giving them a chance to win the game. The Eagles could not take advantage of the opportunity, though, as they turned the ball over on downs, leading to Rush’s last score of the day, a 25-yard scamper to put the game out of reach.