Indians run over Petersburg, 41-12

by Horace Blankenship

Berkeley Springs High School opened the 2007 football season with an impressive blowout of Petersburg, 41-12. The first-team offense looked in mid-season form with both Cody Reed and Cody Hess rushing for more than 100 yards each, while new starting quarterback Matt Colwell efficiently completed five of six passes for 70 yards. The defense did its part too, with the first-team defense shutting out the Vikings, while the special teams got a 73-yard kickoff return from senior Sam Byrne and blocked a punt.

The running back tandem of Hess and Reed were as good as advertised and it didn't take long to see why the two have generated such a buzz. Hess took the first play from scrimmage 65 yards for a touchdown and finished the game with 119 yards on 11 carries, while his running mate Reed busted a 44-yard touchdown run of his own and ended the game with 107 yards on only nine carries.

"We have two talented running backs," said Berkeley Springs coach Angelo Luvara. "They only played about half of the game and could have really put up some big numbers."

The two, along with the rest of Berkeley Springs' starters, only played approximately two quarters of the game, as the Indians were able to rest their starting units and get second and third-string players significant playing time.

"It is always good to get a lot of kids in the game," said Luvara. We have a tough stretch coming up and being able to rest our starters helps to avoid injury. We came out of the game injury free and that is important."

Berkeley Springs totally overmatched Petersburg, jumping out to a 21-0 lead after the first 15 minutes of play, increasing it to 28-0 at the half and 34-0, with more than 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Petersburg scored two late touchdowns against the second unit to make the final Berkeley Springs 41, Petersburg 12.

"I thought our defense played well," Luvara said. "Our first unit did not allow a point and they held Petersburg to negative yardage. I was pleased with the effort, but we will know a lot more about our team after this week's game with Hedgesville."

Hess, who had given Berkeley Springs the quick lead, scored the Indians' second touchdown with 3:46 left in the opening quarter on a 6-yard run. Josh Wise added his second extra point of the game and the Indians had a 14-0 lead. Reed scored the first of his game-high three touchdowns on an eight-yard run, to give Berkeley Springs a 21-0 first-quarter lead. He scored again from eight yards out, with a little over six minutes remaining in the half to push the lead to 28-0.

Luvara pulled his starters at that point and neither team scored a point before the halftime buzzer sounded.

The first team only played one series in the second half and it was short-lived. After Berkeley Springs stopped the Vikings to open the second half, Reed took a handoff from starting quarterback Colwell on the Indians' first offensive play of the third quarter and raced 44 yards for his third touchdown of the game, giving Berkeley Springs an insurmountable 34-0 lead. Wise's PAT was blocked.

Petersburg finally got on the board with 5:31 left in game on a 7-yard touchdown run, cutting the Indian lead to 34-6, but it didn't take long for the Tribe to answer. On the ensuing kickoff (an onside kick) Sam Byrne gathered up the ball and raced 73 yards for Berkeley Springs' final score of the game. Wise added the extra point extending the Indian lead to 41-6.

Petersburg scored the final touchdown of the game on an 18-yard scamper, making the final score 41-12.

Obviously Luvara was pleased with his team's performance. He was satisfied with all facets of the game and had a lot of praise for his offensive line.

"I thought our line played really well," said Luvara. "Our seniors (Josh Mason, Matt Kees, Denton Powell and Jake Stotler) have a lot of experience and did a very good job against Petersburg. I also thought Ben MacCumbee played well. Ben is starting for the first time this year and I think he did a good job."

The Indians will get a more stern test this week when Hedgesville visits Berkeley Springs. The Eagles edged Berkeley Springs last year 30-27, so Berkeley Springs has a score to settle with their Berkeley County neighbor.

"They (Hedgesville) should be a good test for us," Luvara said. "They have some speed in the backfield and are pretty big. We will find out a lot more about our team this week. Hedgesville is a Class AAA team and they will not be a pushover."

The game against Hedgesville, which lost its opener to Brian Woods, Virginia 28-13, will be played this Friday, August 31 at Morgan Field. The kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Game Statistics

     BSprings      Petersburg

First Downs:     24     8

Rushing:     32-336 yds-5 tds     

35-103 yds-2 tds

Passing:     8-12-125 yds     21-39 yds

Total Yards:     44-461     39-124

Individual Stats: Rushing -- Hess, 11-119-2 td; Reed, 9-107-3 td; Matt Truax 1-32

Passing -- Colwell, 5-6-75; Truax, 2-3-23; Lucas Redick, 1-3-27

Receiving -- JT Thomas, 2-22; Bubby Miller 1-18; Anthony Roshel, 1-27; Zech Turner, 1-18; Josh Kelly, 1-32 and Reed 1-12.