By Ara Grigorian
Not only did the Pequea Valley Braves win their first Section Three football game in six years by beating Columbia 27-12 on Friday night, they did so in a game where they led from start to finish. The Braves improved to 1-5 in the league while the Crimson Tide, who were the victim of several penalties, were left winless at 0-6 (0-9 overall).
With 335 yards of total offense, key defensive plays and a critical second quarter scoring drive that turned the tide against the Crimson Tide, the Braves put together a winning performance on their home turf.
That key drive came right after Columbia had scored on Seth Lefever's 21-yard touchdown pass. The sophomore signal caller's strike to 6-foot-1 fellow sophomore Michael Burke cut Pequea Valley's lead to 7-6. The Braves blocked the extra point attempt, thus not relinquishing the lead.
But a drive that took just under three minutes and ended on a 1-yard plunge by junior quarterback Ben Myers shifted the momentum back to the Braves. The biggest gain on the drive was sophomore Tyler Schmitt's 31-yarder to the Columbia 9-yard line. Lefever made a touchdown saving tackle on the fleet-footed PV receiver.
Myers gained eight yards and two plays later, put the pigskin across the goal line.
How big was that drive where Pequea Valley responded to Columbia's touchdown?
Head coach Curtis Waltman whose squad improved to 2-7 overall replied, "It was very big, obviously, to go back downfield and go up 14-6. And later we were able to go up 21-6 at the end of the half. It was huge that we scored that touchdown."
The Braves, strangely enough, scored seven seconds into the second quarter and scored again with seven seconds left in the period. In between were the aforementioned back-and-forth scoring drives between the two teams.
The Braves got on the scoreboard on the first play of the second quarter. Myers threw a 24-yard spiral to Schmitt, who had gotten wide open down the right sideline.
"Ben threw a nice ball and I was really wide open," Schmitt said.
With the Braves leading 14-6, the Crimson Tide tried to regain that momentum with a late drive in the final minute of the first half. The Tide had Schmitt double-teamed and the pass from Myers was tipped away on a fourth-down attempt from the Columbia 28.
Lefever completed a 21-yarder to junior D.J. Wells and followed that up with an 11-yard completion, taking it to the Pequea Valley 41 with 32 seconds left.
Senior Ryan Clarke picked off Lefever's next pass attempt and returned it 22 yards. Pequea Valley junior Charles Mercer gained a yard before the Braves called timeout. On the next play, Myers hit Mike Rice with a 48-yard touchdown pass. Brooke Lacock converted her third straight PAT to make it 21-6 with seven seconds left to halftime.
Sophomore Evan Scheuer, who had a sack in Columbia's first drive, had two good defensive plays for the Braves. On both occasions he penetrated the Columbia front line and wrapped his arms around the ball carrier's legs, stopping the play for no gain.
"Evan Scheuer had a great game," Waltman commented. "He has been a great find. He was a soccer player last year. Came out and we didn't know what he was going to be. He's about 145 pounds."
"He really filled in great for us as a linebacker for us," added the coach. "He's a sophomore, so we have him a couple more years and that's exciting."
Other defensive plays that sparked the Braves included a fumble recovery by Brandon Gerlitzki, who hustled and pounced on a missed pitch to Tide running back John Vazquez in the third quarter. After a three-and-out by the Braves, the Tide was driving again when a pass break-up by Jon Baker stalled the drive.
The second half was filled with frustration for the Crimson Tide. Wells had two big running plays that were negated by holding penalties.
For much of the fourth quarter it was not uncommon to see officials' flags flying and the play being called dead prior to the snap of the ball due to false start penalties by Columbia.
The Braves made it 27-6 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Myers to Rice with 6:05 left in the game. There was a play for the highlight reel on that drive. It was a 28-yard reception by Schmitt, who caught the ball as he reached for it while falling to the turf.
It was part of a 221-yard passing night for Myers, who completed 13 of 21 pass attempts. He moved closer to a 2,000-yard year as his season total passing yards came to 1,941.
The Tide benefited from a questionable defensive pass interference call against Pequea Valley on their next possession. The ball was placed on the Pequea 29.
Two running plays and a beautiful spiral from Lefever to Burke for an 18-yard score, made it 27-12. Vazquez, however, dropped Lefever's pass for the two-point PAT with 2:26 to play.
The game did have an unfortunate turn of events in the fourth period when tempers flared and a fight broke out. Even playing the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" over the public address system during the melee failed to calm the overflowing emotions.
Ejections were handed out to members of Columbia's coaching staff in addition to a couple of players on the Pequea side.
Nevertheless, it was Pequea Valley's first season with two wins since Waltman took over the program in 2007. Does having a second win under their belts mark a stepping-stone for the Pequea program?
"I really felt this year was," Waltman said. "And coming out here and getting a win is a huge stepping stone for us. We let some games get away that were close earlier this year.
In lieu of those close losses, including a 28-22 defeat to Donegal, Waltman was asked if this game would've been tough to deal with had the team not been able to post a win.
"Absolutely," he replied. "Our expectations are higher this year."
