Clarke County overwhelms Berkeley Springs

Berkeley Springs didn't get off to the kind of start they hoped when they traveled to Berryville, Va. last Friday to take on Clarke County. The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the opening quarter of play, extended it 35-0 at the half, and then coasted to the lopsided win.
Berkeley Springs scored its lone touchdown on a 36 yard run by Andrew Truax, who led the Indians with 98 yards of total offense.

"We think Andrew had a terrific game," said Berkeley Springs Coach Angelo Luvara. “We believe he is a real player in space and think he is going to have a good year. Zach White had a good game even though his numbers don't show it. We thought Dylan Mason had a good day blocking and that both of our offensive tackles, Michael Trump and Cody Carlisle played well. There are some good things to take away from this game; there just happens to be more negatives than positives."

The Indian defense forced a three-and-out on Clarke County's first possession, but eventually wore down according to Luvara.

"I think we played alright on defense, but they were simply on the field too long," said Luvara. “Clarke County scored two of their touchdowns on punt returns, so it skews things a bit. But, we just had too many drops and missed too many assignments on offense to get anything going and the defense was on the field way too long. I thought Joey Bowers played a good game for us on defense."

Clarke County dominated the game statistically and returned four punts for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

The old fashioned single-wing attack was effective in churning out the yardage and confused the Indian defense.

"That single-wing is tough to defend with all of its deception," said Luvara. “We've got some young kids who didn't follow their keys. Sometimes you just get lost in the heat of the moment."

The Indians will play at South Hagerstown this Friday, September 3, and Luvara believes that Berkeley Springs can bounce back if the offensive line plays better, the receivers hang on to the ball and the linebackers play a little better.

Stats: BS CC
First downs: 4 14
Rush yds: 27-78 42-318-5 tds
Pass yds: 1-9-20-1 int 2-3-36
Total yards: 36-98 45-354
Individual Rushing: Truax, 14-78-1 td; White, 6-9; Mason, 5-(-4)
Individual Passing: White 1-8-20 yds - 1 int; Mark Cowles, 0-1
Receiving: Truax, 1-20
Return yds: Bobby Mathai, 1-17; TJ Lambert, 5-132
Punting: Derek Swink, 6-202 yds.