Chestnut Ridge routs Johnstown, 45-0 @CRLionsFootball @r_spring21

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Ryan Spring | October 3, 2020

FISHERTOWN – Chestnut Ridge is starting to enjoy its season.
After a tough opening loss to its biggest rival, the Lions have rattled off three straight blowout victories, which includes Friday’s 45-0 shutout of Greater Johnstown in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference matchup.
The home squad scored two touchdowns in the game’s opening four minutes which set the tone for the night.
After Johnstown punted on its first possession, the Lions needed only four plays to cover 74 yards and gain what would become the eventual winning points. Pfister had a long 46-yard pass to Trevor Weyandt that helped set up his touchdown strike of 18 yards to Matt Whysong at the 9:07 mark of the first quarter. Jack Moyer’s extra point made it 7-0.
The Trojans took over at their 34-yard line, but on third down, a likely loss of yardage was made worse on a fumble. Coming from his safety spot on the field, Pfister scooped up the ball in stride and returned it 16 yards to paydirt. Moyer converted another PAT to give his side a quick 14-0 advantage.
“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve come out of the gate strong,” said Chestnut Ridge coach Max Shoemaker. “I think that’s a sign of maturity and taking care of business, and doing what we needed to do. You have to give credit to our leadership, in that they didn’t overlook anybody and approached the game with a great frame of mind.”
The Lions added a third score in the opening quarter, a 14-yard pass from Pfister to Weyandt with 1:50 left. Moyer again hit the point after.
Greater Johnstown threatened to find the end zone in the period’s final minute. Tavione Thomas put together two gains, including a run of 21 yards before quarterback Symeon Kobal threw a perfect downfield spiral to Quasir Stephens, who was tackled deep in Ridge territory after getting 38 yards on the play.
But the offense stalled to force the Trojans into a field goal attempt. From 21 yards out, Ethan Novak’s kick was blocked and the visitors still had no points.
Chestnut Ridge turned around and marched 85 yards in just under six minutes. On the 12-play possession, Pfister connected with Whysong for first down completions of 21 and 22 yards, respectively. The majority of the drive was done by fullback Nick Presnell, who finished it on his two-yard burst into the end zone with 5:48 remaining before halftime. Moyer split the uprights for a 28-0 lead.
On their next time with the pigskin, the Trojans fumbled the ball after completing a long pass that would have been enough for a first down. Pfister called his own number for an 18-yard gain with a personal foul for a Trojan late hit added to the down. After a short run by Presnell, Pfister scored on a 22-yard, socially-distanced run as he went untouched across the goal line. Moyer hit the fifth of his six PAT’s and it was 35-0 at the break.
In the second half, Moyer made his night even better with a 28-yard field goal at the 7:11 mark of the third quarter.
After a dynamic leaping interception by Ridge’s Jordan Mock that was returned over 40 yards, Nate Whysong had a five-yard run for the game’s final touchdown. Moyer’s sixth extra point with 3:52 to go in the third set the final score.

Pfister completed seven of eight passes for 148 yards, all in the first half as Shoemaker inserted many backups for the second half. Kobal had eight completions for 83 yards to lead the Trojans.
“We had a lot of opportunities and we missed on them,” said Greater Johnstown coach Bruce Jordan. “That’s what really hurt us. And Chestnut Ridge capitalized on theirs. We had some shots against a good football team, and I liked that about our team tonight. That tells me that we can do some things.”
Chestnut Ridge, 3-1, plays Bishop Guilfoyle at Mansion Park next Saturday night, and has Westmont-Hilltop on the horizon after that.

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