Jags Win Behind Defensive Showcase

Tagged under: District 1, Gameday Hub, News

James Middleton | September 23, 2022

Credit: @trsmith296

Concord, PA: In the previous three games of the season, we saw Garnet Valley’s offense take control of the game by the end of the first half. Tonight, however, it was the Garnet Valley defense that was making plays all over the field. The Jag defense held Springfield scoreless in the first half and carried that momentum to a 20 to 7 win and a 5-0 record on the season. 

Garnet Valley started off hot when junior defensive back Tyler Lassik intercepted a pass and took it back to the Springfield 7-yard line. On the ensuing play, the Jags handed the ball off to Jason “The Bus” Bernard, and he crossed the goal line for his fifth score of the season. The score from Bernard was Garnet Valley’s only tally in the first half. “I thought they punched us in the mouth in the first half on both sides of the ball,” Head Coach Eric VanWyk on the low-scoring first half. 

The Jaguar offense started with the ball in the second half and was determined to get the run game going. The Jags opened up with an eight-play drive where every play was a run. Junior tailback Luke Mingioni had two big runs that brought the Jags deep into Springfield territory. Joseph Checchio capped off the drive as he got the Jags down to the two, and then he punched one in from 2 yards out to make the score 14 to 0. 

With assistance from his offensive line, the final score for Garnet Valley came when Jack Westburg ran one in from seven yards out. The Garnet Valley offensive line was moving people up front all night. “We had a couple of guys banged up, and I thought people stepped up. Max D’Antonio and Massimo Iavarone got out there and stepped up, and I thought they got some really good experience tonight,” said VanWyk about the Jag offensive line. 

The only score for Springfield came early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jake Rama had a QB sneak for a touchdown. The Springfield offense was not able to get much going tonight. The offense was only on the field for six drives tonight, and the Jaguar defense got stops on five of those drives. 

In what was a grit and grind game, the Jag Head Coach was still pleased with how his guys responded. “It took a little bit to respond, but as the game went on, we started to respond, and I give our guys credit for that.” For the first time this season, Garnet Valley will travel away from “The Moe” and take on Haverford next Friday. Haverford sits towards the bottom of the table in the 6A division at a 2 and 3 record. 

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