Garnet Valley’s backfield depth buries Upper Darby
UPPER DARBY >> When Nick Juliano enters the Garnet Valley huddle on a night like Friday, you can imagine him looking like he’s about to spin a prize wheel on a game show.
Pick a running back, any running back, to run the Jags’ veer offense. Between the quarterback’s ability to make the reads that deceive defenders and the offensive line unfailingly doing the dirty work in the trenches, it’s like playing “Wheel of Fortune,” sans the risk of going bankrupt.
That’s what Mike Ricci’s team can do when the offense is humming like it was in Friday’s 66-22 dismantling of Upper Darby — which featured 413 yards on the ground and rushing touchdowns by five players.
“I think we’re at that point where if their line switches up, our line knows how to react to that, which means me and the backs can react to that,” Juliano said.
The quarterback finished with the gaudiest total of an egalitarian attack for Garnet Valley (2-0, 1-0 Central), toting seven times for 98 yards. Danny Guy covered 83 yards, Dominic Bertone picked up 74 on just four carries, and Matt Lassik ground out 70. Lassik, Juliano and Bertone scored twice each, and the final total of 7.5 yards per 55 carries seems inadequate in capturing the Jags’ full dominance.
Matthew Lassik into the end zone. 4th Jag with a running TD. 28-7 Garnet Valley over Upper Darby. pic.twitter.com/62xvFk1xjs
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) September 2, 2016
Part of the reason was a pair of short fields furnished in the first five minutes of the game by a bad punt snap on fourth down and a strip-sack by Charlie Coslett and Joshua Ciarrocchi that Chad Hrivnak jumped on.
With just five carries covering 67 yards, the Jags were up 14 points in 5 minutes, 9 seconds, and they never looked back.
“It’s great because when it hits fast, the defense doesn’t know what’s coming,” Juliano said. “When we’re up 14-0 in the first quarter, that means it’s working.”
The key is interchangeability in the backs, to an extreme degree even for Ricci with all the success he’s fostered in the last three decades. Yeah, the 6-foot, 205-pound Bertone plays the role of bruiser and Guy is the speed merchant. But Lassik and his backfield mates can hurt opposing defenses in a variety of ways and through a variety of schemes, each able to break away from pursuing defenders but not timid between the tackles.
Coupled with how many earned time last season on a senior-thin Jags squad, it’s paying dividends.
“We can all do it,” Lassik said. “Everyone switches up. Danny can go H(-back) and go full(back). I can go H and go full. We’re all able to fit into each position, and it’s really good when we have that.”
“When the line does such a great job like they did tonight, it’s honestly easy,” Juliano said. “We work all week at practice with my reads, and it’s just me on one other guy. When the line does what they do, it’s pretty simple.”
Nick Juliano slips through a gap into the end zone. 46 yards. 21-0 GV pic.twitter.com/y3aaYQyCTc
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) September 2, 2016
It’s lost in the offensive onslaught (Garnet Valley’s most prolific since hanging 76 points on Harriton Sept. 30, 2011) but the Jags’ defense also came up big. They caused two fumbles, several turnovers on downs and held the Royals to an abysmal minus-44 yards rushing.
The Royals (0-2, 0-1) found success through the air, with Nate Rimel and Jalen Camille hooking up for three touchdowns. Rimel was 19-for-34 for 334 yards, finding Camille six times for 165 yards and Sean Burke seven times for 137.
Nate Rimel finds Jalen Camille on 4th and goal at the 18 for an Upper Darby TD. pic.twitter.com/Sxj5yxKT0n
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) September 2, 2016
But that came in panic mode without any semblance of offensive balance, with the UD defense showing no signs of stopping the Jags.
“What set us back the most is mistakes,” said Camille, who caught touchdowns of 18, 65 and 17 yards. “A lot of mistakes, mental mistakes. We weren’t physical off the ball, and that’s why we lost this game.”
Garnet Valley called off the dogs four minutes into the second half. They took the opening kickoff and covered 71 yards in two plays, Guy toting the first 40, Bertone the last 34. GV forced a three-and-out, then converted a fourth-and-1 via Austin Patton (yet another option) before Juliano scampered around right end for 32 yards to pay dirt to make it 45-14.
Backup quarterback Ryan Hamby slid in from two yards out in the second half, and Kevin Doherty returned the kick after Camille’s final score 80 yards for another seven points, complementing Jacob Buttermore’s 34-yard field goal on the stroke of halftime on a day where not much went wrong.
“We definitely know which plays we can run at certain times with certain defenses,” Lassik said. “And we really pride ourselves on executing.”
