Opportunistic defense leads Bishop Shanahan past Avon Grove
WEST GROVE—On a day when the Eagles’ offense struggled at times to get going, the Bishop Shanahan defense was right there to light the spark. Shanahan (6-1, 1-1), locked in a defensive battle with Avon Grove (3-4, 0-2), forced four turnovers, committed none of their own, and topped the host Red Devils 21-7.
“We know going forward, with games against the big boys coming up, we have to take advantage of every opportunity we get,” said Shanahan coach Paul Meyers. “If you don’t, it’s going to come back to bite you.”
The Eagles needed just three plays to get on the board. After returning the opening kick to near midfield, and picking up a first down on the first play from scrimmage, Shanahan quarterback Cooper Jordan connected with Walka Jordan on a second and ten, a pass play that covered 45 yards for the touchdown.
“We were worried coming in,” said Meyers. “We watched the film of their win over Academy Park. Academy Park was ranked high in the district and were undefeated, and Avon grove really took it to them.”
For much of the first period, the Red Devils’ running game was getting the job done, eating up small chunks of yardage with each carry, and a whole lot of time off the clock. Avon Grove’s first drive from scrimmage netted 67 yards on 10 plays before it stalled out because of penalties and a couple key defensive stops.
After the Devils’ defense came up with a stop of their own, Avon Grove went right back to work, and ground out a 13-play, 73-yard scoring drive, capped by a 2-yard plunge by quarterback Connor Walsh to tie the game at 7-7.
The Eagles took a 14-7 lead into the break. With just over two minutes left in the half, Shanahan recovered an Avon Grove fumble, and took over near midfield. Five plays later, Jordan found Simmi Whitehill open in the back corner of the end zone on a 17-yard scoring strike.
“Our defense energized our offense,” said Jordan. “These kinds of games are great, to persevere and win games when we aren’t at our best. We’re getting better as the season goes on, and even though we’re not where we need to be yet, I think we will be for the post season.”
The Red Devils won the offensive statistical battle, topping the Eagles in rush yards (108-93), pass yards (128-122) and plays from scrimmage (62-35.) But games are won and lost on the scoreboard, not the stat ledger. Plus, most of the Red Devils numbers came in the first half.
“We made some adjustments at halftime,” said Meyers. “We gave them some different looks in the second half, and they weren’t as successful moving the ball.”
In the second half, the Red Devils never had another sustained drive longer than five plays, and seemingly each time they began to get some momentum, the Eagles would force a turnover.
“The second half, we just came together as a group and got the job done,” said Nicholas Romano, who had one of the two Eagles’ picks. “I saw the ball headed my way, and I just felt no one else was coming down with it but me. This is a great win. I’m a senior, and we’ve never beaten Avon Grove before, so this is a nice way to go out.”
Bishop Shanahan 21 Avon Grove 7
Shanahan 7 7 7 0— 21
Avon Grove 7 0 0 0—7
First Quarter
BS—W. Jordan 45-pass from C. Jordan (Domsohn kick) 7-0
AG—Walsh 2-run (Okonowicz kick) 7-7
Second Quarter
BS—Whitehill 17-pass from C. Jordan (Domsohn kick) 14-7
Third Quarter
BS—C. Jordan 25-run (Domsohn kick) 21-7
Team statistics
BS–AG
First downs 8–14
Rushes-yards 18-93 33-108
Passing 12-22 15-28
Passing yards 122 128
Total yards 215 236
Punts/avg 5-33 2-27
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2
Penalties-yards 6-55 5-35
Individual statistics
Rushing—BS—C. Jordan 8-56 (TD) McGrory 5-23 Whitehill 5-14 AG—Binstead 16-51, Lorusso 10-19 Connor Walsh 7-42 TD Yoder 1-(-4)
Passing — BS—C. Jordan 12-22-122 2TD AG—Connor Walsh 15-28, 128, 2 INT
Receiving —BS Whitehill 6-36, TD, W. Jordan 1-45, TD, McGrory 2-23, Kapczynski 3-18 AG Delgado 5-32, Yoder 4-15 McDannald 3-56 Cole Walsh 2-10
Interceptions—BS McGrory, Romano
Sacks—AG Reuter
