Yoon comes up big as Spring-Ford downs Wayne Valley

ROYERSFORD >> Heading into his first varsity start on Friday, Andrew Yoon was feeling pretty nervous. Pressed into action after an injury to Spring-Ford’s starting safety, the sophomore felt a little intimidated as he stared across the field and saw the size of his opposition.

But unfortunately for the Wayne Valley Indians, Yoon got comfortable real quick, intercepting a pass, rushing for 57 yards and leading the Rams to a 31-21 victory at Coach McNelly Field.

“I feel really good,” Yoon said minutes after being hoisted on his teammates’ shoulders in the home locker room. “I was feeling nervous today, but I calmed down once the game started and was able to make some plays to help us win.”

Spring-Ford got on the board first in the second quarter on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Engro to Dante Bonanni. The touchdown ended a 14-play, 85-yard drive that saw Spring-Ford convert three fourth-down opportunities, two due to defensive encroachment penalties and one on a 24-yard quarterback draw by Engro.

Just two plays after taking a 7-0 lead, the Rams forced a fumble inside the Indians’ own 20-yard-line and capitalized on the turnover with a 14-yard Engro touchdown run.

However, Wayne Valley responded quickly on their very next drive as Elijah Lugo snuck behind the Ram defense and was hit in stride by a pass from Ryan Michels for a 54-yard touchdown. Spring-Ford went three-and-out and Wayne Valley took over just 27 yards from the end zone after Taylor Smith was tackled while attempting a punt.

The Indians quickly went to work as they moved the ball inside the 10-yard-line with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Facing a fourth-and-4 from the 9, Wayne Valley elected to kick a field goal, but a Spring-Ford defender jumped offside, negating the missed kick and giving the Indians four more shots at tying the game.

Wayne Valley capitalized on the mistake three plays later when Michels hit Lugo on a play-action pass to tie the game just 10 seconds before the half.

“I was really disappointed in our effort in the first half,” Spring-Ford coach Chad Brubaker explained. “We made a lot of mistakes, especially on offense that cost us some points and put our defense in a bad position.”

The Indians continued their attack in the second half as they forced Spring-Ford into a three-and-out before James Jun blocked a punt and gave Wayne Valley the ball inside the 10-yard-line to start their first drive of the second half. The Rams run defense held strong, forcing a third-and-goal from the 12-yard-line, but Michels tossed his third touchdown of the game to give the Indians their first lead of the game.

Minutes later, the Indians had a shot to put Spring-Ford away, but faced a fourth-down situation at the Rams’ 28-yard-line.

That’s when Yoon took over.

The sophomore picked off the fourth-down pass from Michels and returned it 35 yards to the Wayne Valley 40, before taking his talents to the offensive side of the ball and scampering for 23 yards to set up a 32-yard touchdown pass from Engro to Noah Baker.

“My running backs coach said I probably wasn’t going to play on offense since I was starting on defense,” Yoon said. “I was a little surprised when they told me to stay out there.”

“We have a lot of inexperience on our team and we were a little shorthanded tonight,” Brubaker explained. “Andrew, to his credit, plays hard and knows his stuff and that’s what we need from our guys.”

On the ensuing Wayne Valley drive, Yoon broke up a pass on third down before Leo Van Hulst returned a punt down to the Indians’ 15-yard line. Two plays later, Engro kept the ball on a zone read and bulled his way into the end zone to put the Rams ahead, 28-21.

“My offensive line did a great job blocking tonight,” Engro said. “I just had to put my head down and find some space.”

Wayne Valley responded with a 13-play, 57-yard drive, but stalled at the 4-yard-line and ended up turning it over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal. From there, Engro ripped off Spring-Ford’s longest offensive play of the night, a 37-yard scramble on third-and-12 to set up a field goal and effectively ice the victory for the Rams.

“I knew we needed a first down and I knew I needed to keep the clock moving,” Engro said. “I got around the edge and there was so much space, I just kept running.”

Engro finished the night with 200 total yards and all four of Spring-Ford’s touchdowns. Michels tossed all three of Wayne Valley’s scores and finished the day 10-for-21 with 126 yards.