Germantown Academy rolls on offense against Father Judge

WHITEMARSH >> The Germantown Academy roster lists Jerry Griffen-Bacthler as a wide receiver on offense, but that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what he can do.

The 5-foot-10 junior is about as versatile as they come and can impact a game on special teams, set out wide, in the slot or even in the backfield. Basically, he’s a weapon and the only thing limiting him is the fact he can’t line up two places at once.

Griffen-Bacthler had a big day Saturday, catching a pair of touchdowns as part of a 139-yard effort in GA’s 42-30 win over Father Judge at Carey Stadium.

“My coaches just trust me to make big plays when we need big plays,” Griffen-Bachtler said. “I want to step up to the occassion, I can play any position and make big plays. I have a good o-line and our team has jelled together where I can move anywhere and be comfortable.”

Last week, Griffen-Bacthler ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown against Bishop McDevitt and while he didn’t have a big special teams play against Judge, he was all over the field in other ways. On top of his six grabs for 139 yards, the junior carried the ball three times for 11 yards and played defensive back.

He would have scored a third touchdown if not for a holding call, but GA scored on that drive anyway. He’s sort of the perfect puzzle piece, one the offensive coaches can plug in anywhere and have it fit.

“Jerry is so much fun to coach,” GA coach Matt Dence said. “”If there was an Advanced Placement for football, he’s at the head of the class. He knows everything we’re doing, it’s important to him, he loves it, he eats football and he could play every skill position we have.”

With Trae Vance still sidelined by injury, the Patriots (3-0) have asked more of  Griffen-Bachtler and running back Lacey Snowden, with both responding in a big way.

Part of what makes Griffen-Bacthler so effective is that he isn’t afraid to take chances. He’ll fight for extra yards but also wants to be unpredictable, at one point in the first half Saturday trying to go for a hurdle over a Judge defender. It didn’t quite work out as planned, but it’s not going to stop the junior from looking for more opportunities to be a playmaker.

“That hurdle, it just gives me more options, I want to have different things to do to these defenders so they don’t know which way I’m going,” Griffen-Bachtler said. “If I’m going left or right it doesn’t matter, but that stuff makes it harder to guard me or even tackle me.”

Griffen-Bacthler credited his success to chemistry with quarterback Jordan Longino. They’ve been a duo since middle school and just have a good knack of knowing where the other is going to be looking.

“We are doing well,” Griffen-Bachtler said. “We just need to keep practicing hard, keep working and we’ll be fine.”

TRENCH WARFARE

GA’s offensive line lost a lot after last season, both in terms of talent and in a strong coach in Greg Isdaner but the Patriots haven’t seemed to miss a beat up front.

Steve Moll moved over from the defense to coach the o-line and the group has responded with some really good blocking to spring a high-scoring offense. Junior Jeff Decker, who played right tackle on Saturday, said the new-look group came together pretty quickly.

“We’ve taken Coach Moll in, we’ve learned this whole new offense and being a family and a group, when we make a mistake, we can go to each other and work that out,” Decker said. “I think that’s what made us better and even these mistakes are making us better.”

The rest of the line – left tackle Don Lattanze, left guard Seamus Dean, center Matt Voutsinos and right guard David Savidge – cleared a path for an offense that threw for 236 yards and rushed for 184 against Judge.

Most of the time, that happened at a good pace, with the Patriots rushing up to the spot of the ball and looking to get the next play snapped quickly. Decker said the offensive line group really worked on condition in preseason and they don’t mind the quick pace, especially when the opposing defense looks tired.

“It helps us a lot because you can see the other teams start to slow down and we’re just looking to keep pushing,” Decker said. “It probably took us through camp, we’re all different players so we had to jell right, said we’re a team and we’re a family so we have to figure out this unit.”

It helps having skill position players who don’t need a whole lot of time or space to do their thing. Decker credited back Lacey Snowden for having great vision and being decisive early and quarterback Jordan Longino for being able to keep plays moving with his feet and getting the ball out quickly.

“These guys are really coming off the ball well,” Dence said. “They have talented guys behind them but I love the way they come off the ball. Jeff Decker’s a beat, Seamus Dean is a four-year varsity guy, Matt Voutsinos as a senior has become a very good varsity center and Dave Savide and Donnie Lattanze are right there. Sean Spinosa’s been out, but he’s another one we like and Steve (Moll) really has these guys on the same page.”

Decker added there’s a pretty healthy competition in the offensive line room that’s helped spur the group’s strong play out of the gate.

“We actually have an ‘Offensive Lineman of the Week,’ we get graded so it’s a competition for us,” Decker said. “I’m always telling the other guys I’m coming for their offensive line spot, we’re messing around but at the same time pushing each other.”

SLUGFEST

Saturday’s game was a challenge-and-respond type of game between the two offenses. Judge (1-3) scored first on a field goal, but trailed 21-3 late in the second quarter before grabbing a touchdown just before the half.

The Crusaders got within 21-17 with 4:34 to go in the third quarter, starting a back-and-forth scoring spree between the two. Just prior to the score, Judge starting quarterback Aidan Dooley was injured when he was wrestled down and landed on his right shoulder on a keeper in front of the Crusaders bench, eventually leaving in an ambulance, responsive but in serious pain.

“I feel terrible Aidan got hurt, he’s a great kid and a great quarterback,” Dence said. “I’ve been there the last two years with our quarterbacks getting hurt so I hope he gets better fast. That’s my alma mater and I’m really impressed with the job (first year Judge coach) Frank (McArdle) is doing over there.”

Damier Johnson played inspired after his teammate’s injury and ended the day with 129 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Shane McGovern caught a pair of TD passes, including one at the buzzer.

Johnson’s 17-yard third quarter score made it 28-24 in favor of GA but the hosts responded with scores on a seven-yard TD catch by Tayshaun Mack and a five-yard run by Snowden.

SNOWDEN PLOWS ON

Ever since a calf issue slowed him in the season opener, Lacey Snowden hasn’t stopped for anyone else. The junior running back rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns Saturday in another robust outing.

“I have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line, they’ve been giving me a good push,” Snowden said. “I make cuts off of them and the wide receivers, they’re doing their job blocking so when I have the opportunity to get outside and get big yards, I can do that too.”

About the only thing Snowden has struggled with is fumbles early in games. After two last week against McDevitt, he lost two in the first half on Saturday but said it only fueled him to be stronger the rest of the way.

He’s not trying to lose the ball, it’s often the result of his competitive nature telling him to fight for extra yards.

“I’m really hard on myself about holding onto the ball because I want to be great,” Snowden said. “It put a fire in me to hold the ball and come out stronger, so that’s what I did. I’ve had that since I was younger, I’ve always felt an extra two yards is better than an extra one yard.”

Dence doesn’t mind his guys fighting for that yardage, but said they do have to do a little better realizing when they’re not going any further and just get down before a defender can get hands on the ball.

GA has next week off, but Snowden will be at work continuing to build a rapport with the guys up front.

“I’m building a really close relationship with our offensive line,” Snowden said. “That’s making things a lot easier all together.”