Wildcats Exact a Measure of Gridiron Vengeance Against the Vikings

Western Wayne continued its remarkable turnaround this weekend with yet another impressive LFC win.

The Wildcats welcomed Riverside to the friendly confines of Sharkey Rosetti Memorial Stadium Friday night, but proved to be less-than-gracious hosts.

Coach Allen “Butch” Keller’s lads rallied from an early deficit to record a rain-soaked 10-8 decision over the Vikings.

This victory was doubly sweet considering what transpired last fall between the two teams.

A year ago, a young Wildcat squad traveled to Taylor for a Division Two battle. The result was a humiliating 68-6 loss, one that stuck in Coach Keller’s craw for 12 months.

“This was a really good win,” he told TWI Sports. “They embarrassed us last year and I’m glad to see our kids hadn’t forgotten. They played hard right from the get-go.”

With this hard-fought win, Western Wayne improved to 4-4 on the season. Next up for the ‘Cats is their final home game of the ‘09 campaign, a Friday night battle with Lakeland.

“They have some big, tough kids,” Coach Keller said. “They had a bunch of kids hurt early in the year, but they’re starting to get them back now. It should be a hard-hitting game.”­

Opening kick-off for this contest is slated for 7:00 pm in Varden. The ‘Cats then close their season a week from Friday on the road at Scranton Prep.

Early Troubles
Riverside is that rarest of LFC teams: a squad that bases its offense on the pass.

The Vikings run a no-huddle set that features quarterback Nick Dranchak and four wide receivers...sometimes five.

Coach Harry Armstrong’s approach is to spread things out, fire the ball downfield and let his athletes maneuver in space.

On this particular night, the Vikes did just that. They took over on their opening possession and marched directly to paydirt.

Chris Talerico capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run, then tacked on the 2-point conversion to give the visitors a quick 8-0 lead.

“Yikes!” exclaimed Coach Keller. “I thought we were in pretty big trouble. But, the kids calmed down and we made some adjustments. Things got alot better after that.”

Western Wayne’s defensive unit clamped down on the Vikings thereafter. Riverside was able to move the ball sporadically, but never again put together a sustained drive.

Coach Keller was especially pleased with his secondary. This unit was the Wildcats’ main weakness a season ago, but now appears to be cohering into one of its strengths.

Western Wayne held Dranchak to just five completions in 13 attempts, good for 65 yards.

In addition, the ‘Cats forced a pair of fumbles and Joey Siclari killed a drive with a crucial interception. All told, Western Wayne limited Riverside to 249 yards of total offense.

“We’re getting better,” Coach Keller said. “The main thing is that we have some good athletes running around out there on defense now. We’re compensating for alot of our mistakes with hustle.”

The Wildcats finally got on the board as time expired in the first half. Billy Gillette capped a short drive by blasting a 28-yard field goal through the uprights. Hence, Western Wayne went into the break with three points and some momentum.

Clutch Performances
Defense dominated the second half as neither team was able to mount a scoring drive in the third quarter.

Matt Rosensweet and Joseph Ingaglio earned serious playing time against Riverside. Both are linebackers and each contributed key plays to the cause.

According to Coach Keller, this sophomore duo brings aggressiveness and enthusiasm to the gridiron.

“They’re young and they definitely made some mistakes,” he said. “But, they made up for it by running to the ball and hitting somebody hard when they got there.”

Josh Boandl also turned in a solid all-round performance on the interior line. A senior defensive tackle, Boandl earned high marks for his run-stuffing and consistent penetration.

“He’s a tough kid,” Coach Keller said. “They were trying to double-team him all night and he still made big plays.”

Offensively, Siclari and Josh Harrison led the charge for the Wildcats. Siclari scored Western Wayne’s lone touchdown midway through the third quarter and Harrison topped the 100-yard mark yet again.

Joey struggled a bit with the conditions, completing just 4-of-10 pass attempts. However, he drove the Vikings to distraction with his scrambles.

Siclari punched his way into the endzone with 6:57 to go in the third quarter. Gillette tacked on the PAT, giving the ‘Cats their first lead at 10-7.

Western Wayne controlled the remainder of the game with its trademark rushing attack.

Harrison carried the ball 27 times for a 147 yards. Josh now has 930 yards on the year and 12 touchdowns.

Score by Quarters...
WW (4-4) 0  3  7  0 - 10
RIV (2-6)  8  0  0  0 -  8