Trojans spank Seneca
JACKSON TWP — The Northern Seven Conference opener between Erie McDowell and Seneca Valley produced many big plays — almost all of them belonging to the Trojans.
McDowell rushed for 385 yards and managed three scores from at least 45 yards out in a 48-14 thumping of the Raiders Friday at NexTier Stadium.
The fireworks began before many fans had found their seats.
Junior running back Greg Garmon returned the opening kickoff 88 yards to the Raiders 7 before scoring on the first play from scrimmage.
"Being on the road, that start just set us off tonight," said McDowell coach Mark Soboleski. "It set the tempo for us."
"The kickoff return was bad, but we were thinking if we could hold them and force them to kick a field goal, (it would be) OK," said Raiders coach Don Holl. "But we weren't able to do that and things just snowballed on us."
The Raiders couldn't match McDowell's fast start, as Seneca Valley managed only one first down in its first five drives.
The Trojans (3-0, 1-0) took advantage, getting touchdown passes from Collin Kimball to John Dahlstrand (78 yards) and to Zach Mayr (12) to go up 21-0 with 37 seconds gone in the second quarter.
Three rushing scores followed before the first half was over, including a 69-yard burst by Garmon, who ran nine times for 177 yards.
"SV did a lot of switching with their (defensive) front, but we didn't panic," said Soboleski. "We try to build ourselves around being physical."
"We probably tried to do too many things on defense that had an element of risk and McDowell exploited some of them," said Holl. "And I take the blame for that."
The first half numbers weren't pretty for the Raiders (2-1, 0-1), who were outgained 347-39.
Trailing 48-0 entering the fourth quarter, SV halfback Forrest Barnes provided the Raiders with touchdown runs of 24 and 43 yards.
He ended the game with 94 yards on nine carries.
Seneca Valley plays at McKeesport Thursday night.
"There's no question we can learn a lot from this," said Holl. "We have great kids and they will do their best to come back from this."
Notes: SV's Lucas Wildman recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter. ... David Hall tallied 55 rushing yards on 14 carries for the Raiders.
