Daniel Boone survives Twin Valley
BIRDSBORO >> There wasn’t much that could stop Cinque Ramsey early on in Daniel Boone’s game against Twin Valley on Friday night at Parzinsky Field.
Through the team’s first five possessions, Ramsey took it for 155 yards on five carries and scored three touchdowns.
On the shoulders of the senior running back’s early efforts and a heroic interception from corner Jake Kuhn with under a minute to play, Daniel Boone held on to defeat Twin Valley 38-33.
But Ramsey’s night eventually came to a stop.
On the opening play of the Blazers’ sixth drive with about two minutes left in the second, Ramsey was in the midst of a 54-yard gain with plenty more room to run, but pulled to the sideline clenching his left leg.
His night came to an end after taking six carries for 209 yards, including touchdowns from 20, 60 and 70 yards out.
The only other touchdown that came from the Blazers was Ryan Okuniewski’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown on the Raiders’ opening drive.
“(Cinque) going down like that definitely changed our dynamic on offense,” said Daniel Boone (3-0) quarterback Nick Hughes. “He’s definitely a guy we try and build our offense around. But we need to learn to regain our focus and pull together when someone goes down.”
The Blazers definitely felt the effects of being without Ramsey in the second half, as the team registered just 71 yards on the ground and one yard through the air en route to being outscored 12-0 by the Raiders (0-3) in the final two quarters.
Running backs Sean Seifert and Spencer McIntosh split time in the backfield in Ramsey’s place.
Seifert punched it in for a two-yard score late in the first half while McIntosh took it seven times for 29 yards on the night.
Hughes also carried it 11 times for 42 yards.
On defense, the Blazers were also without Ramsey on the front line, after he registered a sack and two tackles for a loss in the first half.
“We’ve got to step up on both sides of the ball,” said Blazers head coach Bill Parks. “We’ve got plenty of guys who can make plays down the stretch.”
Twin Valley’s offense got in sync, scoring 20 points-unanswered starting late in the second half.
Quarterback Alec Ranck threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions on the night while running back Dan Ziegler carried it 18 times for 80 yards.
Chris Goebel came up with six catches for 86 yards and two scores while Zach Weber made five catches for 84 yards and two scores.
But it was Kuhn in the secondary who stopped the Raiders in their tracks to seal it.
On fourth and six with just under a minute left, Kuhn picked off Ranck’s deep pass to Weber to secure the win for the Blazers.
“I was watching his eyes and knew the ball was coming,” said Kuhn. “I knew we needed a play there. If he catches that pass, who knows, it might be a different game. I’m glad I was able to help us win it.”
Despite swallowing the loss on a last-minute interception, Raiders head coach Steve Gaunt says his team made a lot of steps in the right direction.
“We told these guys from the get-go, if we fight hard the whole way and minimize our mistakes, we’d be in a dog fight in the fourth quarter,” he said. “We’re not satisfied with this game by any means – but there are a lot of things we did well and a lot of things we can take away from it.”
“Those guys played their hearts out,” said Parks of Twin Valley. “They’ve got a lot of strong, physical, fast players and they played us hard.
“We’ve got some things to work on for next week, but I know the guys will be ready,” he added.
With a difficult Conrad Weiser opponent looming on the horizon, the Blazers will look to earn their fourth straight win.
NOTES >> Coming into the game Friday night, Daniel Boone had shutout its previous two opponents (Cocalico 7-0; Octorara 28-0). … Daniel Boone kicker Drew Kresge nailed a 24-yard field goal.
