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Greenville Blanks Cambridge Springs 17-0

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 8, 2024

Cambridge Springs – Greenville limited Cambridge Springs to 186 yards of offense en route to a 17-0 shutout over the defending District 10 champions.

On a cool and wet night in September, Greenville may have played the underdog in the pregame, but they were the top dog in the postgame.

After a disappointing 1-9 campaign in 2023, 2024 is off to a much more excellent start. Despite a 28-7 setback to Wilmington in the opening week.

Greenville has won two consecutive games, including tonight’s resounding 17-0 blanking of a Blue Devils team that averaged 49.5 points per game in their first two matchups.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room—Cambridge Springs beat a Kennedy Catholic team that dressed only 12 players 67-0, while their other victory was over a winless Northwestern squad 32-0.

Nevertheless, the Blue Devils bring back plenty of firepower and will be a contender to repeat come November.

That 2-game shutout streak the Blue Devils had went out the window on the opening kickoff when Keith Covert took it to the house from 92 yards, giving the Trojans a 7-0 lead 16 seconds into the game.

“That was a big momentum changer to start the game off hot,” Covert said. “Our team was hyped up after that. We got a stop on defense and played good. Our coaching, conditioning, and hard work in practice are paying off. We were 1-9 last year, it wasn’t the greatest season. But now that we’re 2-1, and having beaten some of the best teams in our division, I’d say we’re doing pretty good.”

“That was a huge play by Keith and an incredible effort, said Greenville head coach Mark Menold. “Special teams are going to win close games.”

In the second stanza, Greenville put together the game’s only successful touchdown drive when they marched 73 yards in nine plays, scoring on Jackson Leskovac’s 30-yard reception from Cael Thurber.

“That’s a play we’ve been working on,” said Menold. “We thought that was a good opportunity to call it, and it worked out well.”

The play was a gadget. The ball was snapped to Nick Solderich, who handed it to Thurber, who tossed the pass to Leskovac, who walked into the end zone.

Both defenses were outstanding throughout the game, as Greenville was limited to 192 yards, while the Blue Devils were held to 186.

Late in the third quarter, the Trojans drove 60 yards in eight plays and put some insurance on the board when Tristan Saylor booted a 21-yard field goal with 1:45 to play in the third.

Rudy Gentile rushed for a game-high 94 yards on 17 carries, while Nick Solderich added 48 yards on 13 totes.

“We talk all the time about everyone doing their job,” Menold said. “If everyone does that, hopefully, things will turn out well, and they did tonight.”

Cambridge Springs had a couple of opportunities to get on the board.

The first was in the second quarter, when they drove from their 33-yard line to the Trojans 28, only to have Cal Thurber intercept Morgan Applebee late in the quarter.

On their final possession of the game, the Blue Devils drove from the Trojan 46-yard line before turning the ball over on downs at the 6-yard line with 6:11 to play.

Greenville never returned the ball and ran off the final six minutes of the game clock.

“The kids were resilient; they had their backs against the wall a couple of times, and they responded,” Menold said. “They made plays when they needed to make plays.”

It should be noted that the Blue Devils had a pair of touchdowns called back in the first half, the first coming on a half-option pass where Brandon Hoover threw an apparent touchdown to Jordan Washington.

The second came when Brett Kania returned a kickoff for a touchdown following Greenville’s second score.

Brett Kaina led Cambridge Springs with 55 yards on 13 carries, while Washington chipped in 35 yards on ten attempts.

The Blue Devils will look to bounce back next Friday when they host Saegertown, and Greenville will look to keep rolling when they travel to Cochranton.

Game Highlights:

 

Greenville 17 Cambridge Springs 0

Score by Quarters

Greenville – 7 7 3 0 – 17

Cambridge Springs – 0 0 0 0 – 0

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

G – Keith Covert 92 yd kickoff return, (Tristan Saylor pat), 11:44

Second Quarter

G – Jackson Leskovac 30 yd pass from Cael Thurber, (Saylor pat), 9:14 – 9-73

Third Quarter

G – Saylor 21 yd field goal, 1:45 – 8-60

Individual Stats

Rushing: G – Nick Solderich 13-48, Rudy Gentile 17-94, Teage Calvin 2-7, Thurber 1-3, Team 1-0. Totals: 34-152. CS – Brett Kaina 13-55, Jordan Washington 10-35, Morgan Applebee 7-6, Brandon Hoover 5-13. Totals: 35-109.

Receiving: G – Covert 1-10, Leskovac 1-30. CS – Hoover 5-61, Washington 1-7, Kaina 1-9. a

Passing: G – Solderich 1-for-3, 10 yards, Thurber 1-for-2, 30 yards, 1 TD. CS – Applebee 7-for-14, 77 yards, 1 INT.

Interceptions: GV – Thurber.

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