Blazers start slow, light up Holy Name

by Dennis Weller, Pottstown Mercury

UNION -- Daniel Boone had some trouble putting the football in the end zone in the first half of Friday night’s non-league contest against visiting Holy Name. But the way the Blazer defense shot through the Blue Jay line right from the opening series, a slow start by the Boone offense didn’t really matter much.

After leading by just six points at the half, Boone racked up three scores in the third quarter and rolled on to a 41-0 win.

Blazer quarterback Casey Smith connected on 11 of 17 pass attempts for 97 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Sheriff ran for 97 yards and two scores on only seven carries and also caught a touchdown pass and Josey Orr rushed for 67 yards. In all, Boone racked up 456 yards -- 359 of them on the ground -- while holding Holy Name to a total of only 42.

"It was a little disappointing," Blazer coach Dave Bodolus said concerning his team’s first half lack of scoring, except for a four-yard toss from Smith to Chris Stephens with a minute left in the first quarter. "We moved the ball well in the first half and didn’t get the necessary points. That first drive of the second half, it was very important that we put the ball in the end zone."

That’s exactly what the Blazers did as they received the second half kickoff and marched 80 yards on nine plays with Sheriff’s 27-yard burst providing the six points.

While the Blazers (2-0) were scoring only the one touchdown in the first half, the defense made sure that the Blue Jays (1-1) didn’t get anywhere near the end zone. They held the visitors to five net yards and two first downs, one on a penalty and one on the last play of the half.

"It’s definitely a big help offensively when the defense gets off on the right foot," said Smith.

"The first half that was key, knowing the kids would play good defense like that," said Bodolus. "That’s a good relief. The guys on defense -- and we’re rotating in a lot of players -- they’re just getting to the football and really playing pretty smart defensively. They were kind of setting the tone."

Boone racked up about 300 yards after the break as backup quarterback Anthony Heimbach ran for 40 yards and a score on two carries, Nathaniel Greene gained 34, and Zach Early toted the ball for 60 on the final play of the night.

"The line blocked well," said Orr, who carried 11 times. "My fullback (Sheriff) blocks well, as he always does. And my quarterback -- the second half we showed what we’re capable of."

"We were just blocking well and running north and south," said Smith.

Meanwhile, The Blue Jays wound up with just 42 yards on the ground on 28 carries, nine for negative yardage, and five pass attempts produced a three-yard gain and an equal loss.

"We’ve got a good run defense, I’d say," said Orr after the Blazers recorded their second straight shutout. "They couldn’t really get a good pass off."

"I think we just stuffed everything and got pressure on their quarterback the times he threw," said Smith.

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