Purchase Line Red Dragons shut down Blairsville Bobcats

Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News

Avery Falisec | October 11, 2020

Purchase Line’s senior running back Josh Syster runs to the endzone to score a 30-yard touchdown for the Dragons.

Purchase Line knew what to expect when they traveled to the home of the Blairsville Bobcats: Zak Artley and his passing game. However, the Bobcats didn’t anticipate the Dragons handling their offense so well, causing the 42-0 shutout of Friday, October 9. Blairsville gave up three interceptions, one from junior Mello Sanchez and two from freshman John Elick, all of which ended in a scoring drive for Purchase Line.

Purchase Line’s junior running back Brady Syster started things off with explosive first down runs, and capped the drive with the Dragon’s first touchdown, with 26 yards. Three minutes and thirty-four seconds into the game, with junior Brock Lloyd’s added kick, the Dragons were leading, 7-0. Blairsville’s offense struggled to get anywhere and were held to a three and out. Senior running back Joshua Syster, and his cousin, Brady, were working together to get the Dragons down the field for another touchdown. This time it was Josh Syster that scored the touchdown, for three yards, only about four minutes after his cousin.

Blairsville responded by running their senior running back Devon Witmer and having Artley throw short passes to Witmer, as well. This method was successful in getting the Bobcats first downs. As the Bobcats moved closer to the endzone, the defense in white got more aggressive. Artley passed the ball near the endzone, but instead of a touchdown, the ball tipped off of the receiver’s hands and into the arms of Sanchez, who ran the ball downfield, almost to the other endzone. Purchase Line was forced back to their own side of the field, after a block in the back call, as the quarter ran out.

Josh Syster was back at it early in the second quarter, making runs and then passing the ball down into Bobcat territory with a 38-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Andrew Beer, who was able to catch the ball at the 24-yard line, despite the heavy coverage on him. Junior Jayce Brooks stepped up and helped the Dragon advance farther into Blairsville’s side of the field. The Dragons scored another touchdown with Josh Syster for five yards, making the score 21-0. Bobcat senior Cage Kinney got things started for Blairsville’s drive and succeeded in first down runs. Artley was sacked by senior linebacker Clayton Patrick, with the help of junior lineman Maximus Falisec, which was followed by two incomplete passes. The Bobcats faced a fourth down and twenty-eight yards to go. They were left with no choice, but to punt.

Sanchez returned to the Blairsville endzone on the punt return. This run was called back due to another block in the back. The ball was placed at the Blairsville 44-yard line, to start this Red Dragon drive. Josh Syster struck with a 30-yard touchdown, increasing Purchase Line’s lead, 27-0. Any hopes of the Bobcats scoring on their next drive were taken away when Elick intercepted the ball. Elick, now playing quarterback, followed up by passing the ball to Beer in the endzone for an 11-yard touchdown. Brady Syster scored the two-point conversion, and suddenly the Dragons were up 35-0 on the Bobcats. Witmer and Artley worked in tandem to get the Bobcats into Purchase Line territory. However, at the 29-yard line, they went for fourth down and two, but were stopped by the Red Dragon defense. Purchase Line got the ball and shortly after, the half ended. The Purchase Line Red Dragons were up 35-0.

At the beginning of the second half, defensive lineman Clayton Patrick wasted no time with Blairsville’s offense. He had a big stop on the Bobcat’s first drive, and it was one that they could not pass their way out of. Purchase Line’s pass coverage was on their A-game, forcing yet another Bobcat punt. Brooks and senior Isaac Huey ran the ball for Purchase Line, allowing Josh Syster to complete the drive with a touchdown of four yards. The rest of the quarter was spent on the Bobcat’s offensive drive.

Patrick’s defensive pursuit continued. With the help of Huey, their runners were stopped, and then with Brooks’ aid, Artley was sacked in the backfield. On the next play, Artley did have success when he hit Witmer with a pass, who was taken down quickly. Shortly after, Dragons were called for roughing the passer, which caused a 15-yard gain for the Bobcats. Next, Brooks tackled Witmer for a 5-yard Bobcat loss. Artley hit his next two receivers, Kinney and junior Isiah Lawson, the former tackled by Brooks and the latter finding a first down on fourth and three at the Purchase Line 42-yard line. The Bobcats continued the rhythm of short passes to Witmer and Lawson, gaining much needed yardage to end up deep on Purchase Line’s side of the field to end the third quarter.

The next pass was to Witmer, who was tripped up by Sanchez at the 29-yard line. Artley proceeded to pass to Lawson for a first down at the Red Dragon 16-yard line. Just when it looked like the Bobcats were going to be on the board, Elick jumped up and caught the pass intended for the endzone, allowing Purchase Line to take over and send in the reserve players. The Red Dragon’s freshman Brock Small, Austin Chambers, and Charles Edwards, all ran the ball further down the field. Sophomore Joe Lamer and Chambers got the Dragons the two first downs they needed to end the game with a shutout score of 42-0.

Patrick ended with six tackles and one sack. He said, “Going into the game, I knew it would come down to stopping their passing game and the line did a great job of rushing the quarterback. Then, the backs did an awesome job of covering to finish it off.”

Brady Syster said, “It felt amazing. A lot of us, including me, seemed to have clicked. It felt pretty good to contribute to the team and win.” He continued, “Homer Center is going to be tough. If we practice hard and prepare, I think we will come out with the win.” Brady Syster finished the game with a touchdown and 89 rushing yards, second to Josh Syster, with 139.

Head Coach Matthew Falisec said, “We knew we were going to have to stop the pass. The defense stepped up to the challenge and played a great game. On the offensive side, I was very proud of how everyone contributed. Our team was clicking on both sides of the ball. We need to take this momentum and carry it in to next week with Homer Center.”

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