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The Sussex Central Golden Knights saw their season end Friday night, defeated by Salesianum 35-10 in the first round of the DIAA State Football Tournament.
The game was billed as an even match-up, a prediction that held true in the first half of Friday night’s game. Through the majority of the first quarter, both defenses held strong, until Sallies Jerome Stanley scored on a five-yard touchdown run giving Salesianum a 6-0 lead. The subsequent extra point attempt was missed after Sallies holder was unable to handle the snap.
The Golden Knights responded to Sallies score with one of their own. Trevor Mears put Central in great field position after returning the kickoff 51-yards to the Salesianum 45-yard line. That led to an 18-yard touchdown run by Edward Wescott, to give the Golden Knights at 7-6 lead.
Sallies made their fair share of mistakes in the first half, committing a handful of penalties in the first half and losing a fumble early in the second quarter.
Unfortunately for Central, they couldn’t capitalize on Sallies mistakes. Leading by only a point, Central put together a solid drive after Travis Caraway recovered a Salesianum fumble. Driving inside the Salesianum 20-yard line, Wescott fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Sallies at their own 20-yard line.
Salesianum continued to pound Central with the run, this time it was James Andrews who broke a 29-yard run which got Sallies out of their own territory. Two plays later Stanley struck again, breaking a 39-yard touchdown. Sallies led 14-7 after Stanley caught a pass for the two-point conversion from Sallies QB Troy Reeder.
The determined Golden Knights drove back down the field as the game neared halftime. With 17 seconds left in the half, Central opted to go with a 23-yard field goal on third down instead of taking a shot into the end zone. Alberto Sosa-Contreras nailed the 23-yarder making the score 14-10 Salesianum at the half.
In the second half it was all Salesianum, as from the jump Central looked off their game. On their first possession of the second half they lost two fumbles out of bounds before ultimately going three-and-out and punting the ball back to Salesianum.
Once again, the Knights showed their determination on the very next series when Jacob Miller sacked Reeder forcing a fumble on fourth-and-short.
The Central offense just couldn’t get things going as the Sallies defense ramped up their play in the second half. Sallies defense end Brian O’Neill picked off a Jesse Long pass when he jumped in front of what appeared to be a wide-receiver screen. O’Neill returned the interception for a touchdown putting Salesianum up 21-10 late in the third quarter.
The Sussex Central Golden Knights saw their season end Friday night, defeated by Salesianum 35-10 in the first round of the DIAA State Football Tournament.
The game was billed as an even match-up, a prediction that held true in the first half of Friday night’s game. Through the majority of the first quarter, both defenses held strong, until Sallies Jerome Stanley scored on a five-yard touchdown run giving Salesianum a 6-0 lead. The subsequent extra point attempt was missed after Sallies holder was unable to handle the snap.
The Golden Knights responded to Sallies score with one of their own. Trevor Mears put Central in great field position after returning the kickoff 51-yards to the Salesianum 45-yard line. That led to an 18-yard touchdown run by Edward Wescott, to give the Golden Knights at 7-6 lead.
Sallies made their fair share of mistakes in the first half, committing a handful of penalties in the first half and losing a fumble early in the second quarter.
Unfortunately for Central, they couldn’t capitalize on Sallies mistakes. Leading by only a point, Central put together a solid drive after Travis Caraway recovered a Salesianum fumble. Driving inside the Salesianum 20-yard line, Wescott fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Sallies at their own 20-yard line.
Salesianum continued to pound Central with the run, this time it was James Andrews who broke a 29-yard run which got Sallies out of their own territory. Two plays later Stanley struck again, breaking a 39-yard touchdown. Sallies led 14-7 after Stanley caught a pass for the two-point conversion from Sallies QB Troy Reeder.
The determined Golden Knights drove back down the field as the game neared halftime. With 17 seconds left in the half, Central opted to go with a 23-yard field goal on third down instead of taking a shot into the end zone. Alberto Sosa-Contreras nailed the 23-yarder making the score 14-10 Salesianum at the half.
In the second half it was all Salesianum, as from the jump Central looked off their game. On their first possession of the second half they lost two fumbles out of bounds before ultimately going three-and-out and punting the ball back to Salesianum.
Once again, the Knights showed their determination on the very next series when Jacob Miller sacked Reeder forcing a fumble on fourth-and-short.
The Central offense just couldn’t get things going as the Sallies defense ramped up their play in the second half. Sallies defense end Brian O’Neill picked off a Jesse Long pass when he jumped in front of what appeared to be a wide-receiver screen. O’Neill returned the interception for a touchdown putting Salesianum up 21-10 late in the third quarter.
“I had a couple of chances like that early in the season and didn’t get them,” said O’Neill. “It felt good to get it this time, I’ve missed that play twice this year already, so it felt good to get it.”
While the Sallies defense continued to take care of the Central offense, running back Jerome Stanley put the game away with his third and fourth touchdowns of the night. The third came on a 1-yard touchdown run with just seconds remaining in the third quarter. The fourth score was a 24-yard touchdown run mid-way through the fourth quarter, putting Central away for good.
“Our line dominated theirs in the second half, the holes were huge,” said Stanley about his 215 yard 4-touchdown performance. “All I had to do was get through them.”
“We knew how good they were and (Central) showed that,” said Sallies Head Coach Bill Dinardo. “I was so proud of our kids, so proud of how we battled. We had highs and lows all season long the same with this game, things went our way.”
While Central won’t be heading to the semi-finals, they can still be proud of their season.
“I told them not to hang their heads,” said Central Head Coach John Wells. “They’ve won since they’ve been here, a lot of teams are home not having the opportunity to play football. We wanted to finish better, we talk about winning or losing but we wanted to play the game the right way. We just made too many mistakes in the second half.”
Salesianum will know their opponent after tomorrow nights Dover/William Penn game. If Dover wins, Sallies will take on #1 Newark on Friday. If William Penn wins Sallies will play #2 Middletown on Saturday.
