GAME OF THE WEEK: Pettit lead Pioneers to 42-12 victory
Dave Stofcheck
West Greene’s Zachary Pettit (10) calls his own number and runs past Mapletown’s Ethan Carter (58) during the second quarter Friday night. Pettit rushed and passed for a combined 305 yards in West Greene’s 42-12 Tri-County South Conference win at Mapletown.
Mapletown’s Zach Greene (49) chases down West Greene running back Benjamin Jackson during a game last season. Greene is one of four juniors on the Maples' 2018 roster.
Dave Stofcheck
West Greene wide receiver Nathan Brudnock (22) shrugs off Mapletown’s Kevin Hayes (5) on his way to a touchdown last season. Brudnock caught five passes for 122 yards and scored three touchdowns in the game.
West Greene’s Gregory Staggers (58) provides protection for quarterback Zach Pettit during a game at Mapletown last season. Staggers is one of 11 juniors on the Pioneers' 2018 roster.
West Greene’s Benjamin Jackson stiff arms Mapletown’s Dylan Rush (9) during Friday’s Tri-County South Conference contest at Mapletown.
Dave Stofcheck
Dave Stofcheck Mapletown’s Dylan Rush (9) tries to avoid West Greene’s Zach Pettit (10) during their game Friday night at Mapletown. Both players scored two touchdowns, but Pettit also passed for three scores in the Pioneers’ 42-12 victory. Rush, who broke Derek Bochna’s school record for rushing yards and points during the game, continues to lead the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club standings with 56 points while Pettit is third with 53.
MAPLETOWN — West Greene used a diverse offensive attack and slowed down the run against Mapletown for a 42-12 victory Friday night to remain unbeaten on the season in the Herald-Standard Game of the Week.
Senior dual-threat quarterback Zachary Pettit accounted for five of West Greene’s six touchdowns in the Tri-County South Conference triumph.
The Pioneers (3-0, 2-0) equaled its win total from last year with the victory and snapped a four-game losing skid against its Greene County rival. Currently West Greene and California are the lone undefeated teams in the conference.
“This is a great way to start the season for our guys,” West Greene coach Rod Huffman said. “We have had our struggles the last couple of years, but the guys have stuck with the program. It’s a wonderful feeling to be 3-0, but it’s on to the next week and the road will get tougher for us.”
Mapletown’s senior running back Dylan Rush eclipsed two school records for the Maples (1-2, 0-1) in the loss.
With an eight-yard carry in the third quarter, Rush became the school’s leading rusher and after a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound tailback is the top player in touchdowns scored for Mapletown.
“Dylan is a great kid,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “We have had him the last four years and he does some things on the field that make your jaw drop to the ground. He is really tough and is not afraid to run against nine-man fronts. It’s special for him to get those records and he has been fantastic to coach.”
Rush ended his night with 27 carries for 116 yards and two scores. For his career, Rush now has 4,828 rushing yards and is second in Greene County all-time in rushing yards behind 1994 West Greene graduate Rodney Wilson (6,304 yards).
The Pioneers sprung to a 6-0 lead on their opening drive after Pettit found junior wide receiver Nathan Brudnock for a 45-yard touchdown pass.
“The key to any passing game is protection,” Brudnock said. “Our line did a tremendous job giving us time to hit those big pass plays. We knew we could take advantage of their corners and we hit on some hot-reads. We had a good balance on offense tonight.”
After the teams traded scoreless drives, the Maples knotted the contest up at 6-6 after a 6-yard scoring run by Rush.
Three minutes later the visitors took the lead for good with an 18-yard scoring strike to Brudnock from Pettit. Sophomore tailback Ben Jackson added a two-point conversion run for a 14-6 lead.
Just before halftime, West Greene extended its lead to 22-6 after a 57-yard sprint to the end zone by Pettit and another two-point conversion run by Jackson.
“We have a couple of dynamic players on offense,” Huffman said. “We watched film this week and we thought we could exploit them with our passing game. Both Zach and Nathan were in sync. With them defending the pass more, that opened up some things for our running game.”
The Pioneers tallied the lone touchdown in the third quarter, courtesy of a 42-yard touchdown pass to Brudnock from Pettit for a 28-6 lead.
“Our passing game opened up the running game,” Pettit said. “The line was phenomenal and we were clicking on all cylinders on offense. It comes down to execution and we had to attack their secondary. Nathan is a great athlete and we hit some home run balls.”
Rush converted a three-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, but West Greene responded with the final 14 points of the contest.
Pettit recorded a 60-yard touchdown run, while Jackson blocked a Mapletown punt and recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a score.
“You have to defend both sides of the field against a back like Rush,” Huffman said. “He is a great cutback runner, but we stayed in our lanes. He got his yards, but he didn’t get those big runs against us. He fought for all of his yards tonight, hats off to our defense.”
Pettit rushed for 192 yards on 11 attempts and went 5-for-7 with 123 passing yards. Brudnock caught five balls for 123 yards, while Jackson rushed for 77 yards.
“It means a lot to be where we are right now,” Pettit said. “The guys put in a lot of hard work and dedication over the summer. Everything is paying off for us, but it’s only Week Two. As the season goes along, teams are going to be tougher.”
Senior tight end Ron Burkholder-Walter led the Maples in receiving with five catches for 60 yards.
“We missed some assignments and at times we shot ourselves in the foot,” Messich said. “We made some big mental mistakes that gave them a couple of long touchdowns. We knew they could pass, we just couldn’t cover it. We have to learn from this and we are going to work on the fundamentals this week. We will get better.”
Both teams will be back in TCS action next Friday, as West Greene hosts Carmichaels and Mapletown visits Avella.
“We are excited about our start, but we are taking it one game at a time,” Brudnock said. “We got Carmichaels next week and that’s a big game for us at home. It’s been awhile since we have made the playoffs, but we are taking it one week at a time.”
Tri-County South Conference
West Greene 6-16-6-14 — 42
Mapletown 0-6-0-6 — 12
First Quarter
WG: Nathan Brudnock 45 pass from Zachary Pettit (run failed), 8:02 (6-0)
Second Quarter
MP: Dylan Rush 6 run (pass failed), 8:21 (6-6)
WG: Brudnock 18 pass from Pettit (Ben Jackson run), 5:52 (14-6)
WG: Pettit 57 run (Jackson run), 0:43 (22-6)
Third Quarter
WG: Brudnock 42 pass from Pettit (run failed), 5:06 (28-6)
Fourth Quarter
MP: Rush 3 run (pass failed), 11:53 (28-12)
WG: Pettit 60 run (run failed), 4:53 (34-6)
WG: Jackson blocked punt recovery in end zone (Patrick Brady run), 2:27 (42-12)
Records: West Greene (3-0, 2-0), Mapletown (1-2, 0-1).