Opportunistic defense leads Great Valley to win over Unionville

EAST MARLBOROUGH>>Unionville turned the ball over on its first possession, foreshadowing things to come. By the end of the night, Great Valley forced a whopping seven turnovers—four interceptions along with three fumbles. Add a balanced offensive attack and a great kicking game, and the Patriots (7-1 overall, 4-0 Ches-Mont) cruised to a dominant 34-7 win over the host Longhorns (3-5, 2-3).
“We played really well the first half of the season, minus the one week where we struggle against Shanahan,” said Great Valley coach Jeff Martin. “The kids bounced back and tonight played a great game against a traditionally strong program like Unionville. Our guys came in fired up and ready to compete against them.”
Both teams struggled early to get anything going offensively, and the game entered the second period in a scoreless tie before Great Valley finally got on the board.
After a fumble set the Patriots up with a first and ten deep in Unionville territory, quarterback Brandon Melia connected with Joseph Newell on a short pass in the flat, then Newell covered the 18 yards for the touchdown.

With just over two minutes to go in the half, the Patriots struck again. Deep in their own territory following a Unionville punt, Colin Kiselak broke loose for a 70 yard run to the Unionville ten. Two plays later, Tommy Crouse ran one in from 15 yards.
“Everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to do and making plays, and the d-backs really got it done tonight,” said Crouse, who also had one of the four picks for Great Valley. “The o-line made the blocks to get me loose, and then the receivers made their blocks on the outside, and we got it in the end zone, just like we practice it.”
Great Valley’s running game really began to click in the second half. Led by Jack Coffey’s 125 yards on 10 carries, the Patriots rushed for a total of 273 yards on 34 carries. Melia finished with 44 yards on 13 carries, while Kiselak’s big run made up the bulk of his 75 yards on 4 carries.

“We had the game plan to run the ball this week, and our o-line really executed,” said Coffey, who had a long of 46. “I think we’re hitting our stride at the right time. There are, obviously, things we still can work on, but the way we’re playing I believe we can compete with anyone.”
The Great Valley passing game was there when it needed to be, with Kiselak and Melia combining to complete four passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Kicker Seth Turner had a big night for the Patriots. After his first field goal attempt was blocked, Turner connected on field goals from 47 and 43 yards.

“What a great asset to have on our team just makes for a really dynamic team,” said Martin. “He’s hit from 51 this year, to have that in our back pocket is great. Our special teams in general have been really good for us.”
Unionville finally got on the board midway through the fourth, when Ryan Gilday plunged into the end zone on a one-yard quarterback keeper.
“”We’re still growing,” said Unionville coach Pat Clark. “I wish we were further along than we are, but the kids are putting in the effort. We’re not going to lower our standard, but coach these kids to play up to them. But I can’t fault our kids’ effort.”

Great Valley 34 Unionville 7
Great Valley 0 14 17 3 –34
Unionville 0 0 0 7–7
Scoring
Second Quarter
GV—Newell 18-pass from Melia (Turner kick) 7-0
GV—Crouse 10-run (Turner kick) 14-0
Third Quarter
GV—Melia 19-run (Turner kick) 21-0
GV—Turner 47-FG (24-0)
GV—Coffey 30-run (Turner kick) 31-0
Fourth Quarter
UN-Gilday 1-run (Reichert kick) 31-7
GV-Turner 43-FG 34-7
Team statistics
GV–UN
First downs 9—11
Rushes-yards 34-273 30-90
Passing 4-11 9-20
Passing yards 51 128
Total yards 324 218
Punts/avg 2-38.5 2-43
Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-3
Penalties-yards 5-55 3-15
Individual statistics
Rushing—GV Coffey 10-125, TD, Milea 13-44, TD, Crouse1-10 TD, Kiselak 4-75, Johnson 5-7, Orr 1-8 UN Stang 17-52, Gilday 2-12, TD, Habtemichael 2-1, McLaughlin 5-(-1), King 4-14, D’Amico 2-12
Passing — GV Milea 2-6, 25, TD, INT, Kislelak 2-4, 26 UN Stang 8-19, 98, Gilday 1-1, 30
Receiving—GV Kiselak 1-7, Crouse 1-18, Coffey 1-8, Newell 1-18 UN Tarr 5-48 King 2-67, D’Amico 1-4, Weigand 1-9
Sacks—GV Maslowski, Orr
Interceptions—GV Crouse, Callahan, Orr, Diamond UN King