Garnet Valley holds off Rustin in injury-plagued affair
WESTTOWN >> In a season opener that was played in sweltering heat and humidity Friday night between West Chester Rustin and Garnet Valley, the contest turned into a turnover-filled game that was one of attrition more than anything else, as countless players left the field with cramps and injuries in a 24-16 Jaguar win.
Although the Rustin defense shut down Garnet Valley’s potent veer offense, limiting the Jaguars to just 148 total yards, turnovers did the host team in.
“I am really proud of the way our kids battled tonight,” said West Chester Rustin head coach Mike St. Clair. “We had a ton of injuries and guys going down but we fought and fought against a real good football team. But, mistakes and turnovers were just too much to overcome tonight.”
Rustin started the turnover fest early as Brandon Frazier fumbled on the Golden Knights’ first offensive play, resulting in a 26-yard field goal by the Jags’ Jacob Buttermore for a 3-0 Garnet Valley lead.
But the Golden Knights came right back, and when quarterback Tim Durant hit JT Alioso with a nifty seven-yard touchdown pass to put the Knights up, 6-3, it would be Rustin’s only lead of the night. Durant, in his first varsity start under center, completed nine of 20 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Garnet Valley scored the next 17 points, but it was one play that spelled the end of Rustin’s hopes.
After Rustin recovered a Garnet Valley fumble, the Knights drove down to the Garnet Valley 14-yard line with 111 seconds to play in the first half.
Durant looked for Ty Pringle on a slant pattern, but the ball skipped off the Rustin receiver’s hands and Garnet Valley’s Jacob Buttermore picked the ball out of the air and scampered 90 yards for the score to give the Jaguars a 17-6 halftime edge.
“That was all Coach (Mike) Ricci,” Buttermore said. “He moved me from safety to cornerback and the ball came out of his hands and I saw it and just reacted and it gave us a boost going into halftime. We just grinded things out tonight. Our defensive line is one of the best in the Central League and although Rustin is a very good team we just kept on grinding it out tonight.”
Things looked bleak for Rustin early in the third quarter when Garnet Valley quarterback Nick Juliano capped a seven-play, 46-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run to give the Jags a 24-6 lead.
But thanks to three lost Garnet Valley fumbles, the Jaguars were unable to totally put the game away.
The first one came early in the fourth period, followed by Durant hitting Collin Hurley with a 42-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to 24-13 early in the fourth. Hurley caught the ball in the flat and made defenders miss on a very impressive scamper to paydirt.
Garnet Valley then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and although the Garnet Valley defense held, Cole Gallagher drilled a 41-yard field goal to make it a 24-16 game with 8:22 left.
Yet another Jaguar fumble put Rustin on the Garnet Valley 35 with just under six minutes to play, but the Garnet Valley defense showed its mettle to put the game away.
Two straight running plays resulted in just two yards for the Golden Knights and an incomplete pass on third down made for a fourth and eight with four minutes to play.
On the fourth down play, Durant dropped back to pass, but Rob Monachello broke free of his blocker and consumed Durant in his massive grasp and the Jaguars held on for the win, getting a crucial first down and running out the clock.
The Garnet Valley defense held Pringle, Rustin’s star running back, to just two yards rushing on the night, and when it was clutch time, the Garnet Valley defense stepped up and sealed the victory.
“Rob is a three year starter for us and he is one of the best around,” Ricci said. “He made a real big play there and that is what he does. And Jacob’s interception at the end of the first half was huge for us. He is that kind of a kid that makes big plays and they are both great kids. We beat a real good football team tonight and it is nice to get out with a win.”
