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 DC Explosion: 12 - Central Penn Piranha: 36 |
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DC Explosion vs |
12 |
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Central Penn Piranha |
36 |
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Game Played 8/29/2009 6:00PM
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Piranha Notch Another Road Victory
It had been six years since the Central Penn Piranha (7-0) had made a two-hour trip to the nation's capital to battle the DC Explosion (3-5). A lot has changed. The Explosion now play their games at Woodrow Wilson High School, which is home to a newly-renovated football facility (turf field and new press box). The locker rooms and other aspects of the high school will be improved in the near future.
On the field, the rivalry hasn't changed. Central Penn and DC put on a competitive display of minor league football last Saturday evening. The end result was a hard-fought 36-12 victory for the Piranha.
Running back Ali Johnson started the game's scoring with an 8-yard run midway through the opening quarter. Defensive tackle Brian Sanks recovered a fumble on DC's ensuing drive, giving the Piranha possession at the 37-yard line of the Explosion. The drive stalled, and Andar Rehm connected on a 29-yard field goal (10-0 CPP).
Just when it looked like the rout was on, DC responded in a big way. Back-up quarterback Keino Thompson connected with tight end Keith Austin on a 54-yard pass play. A couple of plays later, Thompson completed a pass to a wide-open John Thomas for a 22-yard touchdown strike. A failed 2-point pass attempt made the score 10-6 with 3:34 left in the first half.
The Piranha made a valiant effort to respond to DC's new-found optimism. The Central Penn offense drove down to the 37-yard line of DC before being stopped. Andar Rehm trotted onto the field to attempt a 55-yard field goal. Rehm came up about one yard short. With less than two minutes remaining, the Explosion had plenty of time to possibly take the lead. What happened next is something that is very rare at any level of football.
A couple plays later, there were three consecutive plays with a turnover. Josh Killen (DC starting quarterback) was intercepted by cornerback Mike Baldwin, who returned it 30 yards to the DC 21-yard line. On the very next play, Ali Johnson fumbled the ball right back to DC (recovered by Joe Pillow). On the next play after that, linebacker Donnell Donaldson recovered a DC fumble at the 13-yard line of the Explosion. It's not often you see a sequence of plays like that.
The Piranha had time to take a couple of shots at the end zone, and failed. Andar Rehm connected on another 29-yard field goal as time expired, making the score 13-6 in favor of Central Penn.
Brimming with optimism, the DC Explosion felt they had the Central Penn Piranha on the ropes heading into the third quarter. In a matter of seconds, Darren Echols put to sleep any hope that DC had of upsetting the Piranha. Echols returned the opening kickoff of the second half 50 yards down to the 30-yard line of DC. On the first play from scrimmage, running back Emne'ko Sweeney (5-69 yards, TD) darted and dashed 30 yards to pay-dirt. The extra point attempt by Andar Rehm was blocked, making the score 19-6.
Late in the quarter (0:43), Rehm nailed his third 29-yard field goal of the game.
Early in the final quarter (12:07), Jeremy Ricker tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ed Giddings. DC answered with a 40-yard bomb from Jacob Foster to Arnell Wooten. Again, the 2-point pass attempt failed, now making the score 29-12.
Ricker notched his second scoring strike of the game on a 7-yard pass to wide receiver Kay Jay Miller, finalizing the score at 36-12.
The Piranha defense was led by safety Jermaine Thaxton (6 tackles, 1 INT-38 yards), defensive tackle Brian Smith (3 tackles, 1 sack), linebacker Darren Oswald (5 tackles), and defensive tackle Brian Sanks (2 tackles, 1 sack, fumble recovery).
Darren Echols was the offensive star for Central Penn as he garnered 147 combined yards (72 KOR, 26 PR, 49 rushing).
Defensive standouts for the DC Explosion included cornerback Roland Minor (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT-25 yards), cornerback Joshua Murray (6 tackles), and linebacker Rob Petty (5 tackles).
Now that the Central Penn Piranha have completed their regular season road schedule for 2009, they will return home to East Pennsboro High School for their final two games. First up will be the Chambersburg Cardinals (4-3) on Saturday September 12th (7:00 PM), and lastly will be the South Central Yard Dawgs (4-3) on Sunday September 20th (4:00 PM).
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