Grounded

November 07, 2020 Last Updated: November 07, 2020 07:40 AM High School

Karns City defender Kaden Scherer (3) takes Wilmington ball carrier Mason Reed to the turf during the Gremlins' 42-14 loss Friday night in the PIAA Class 2A football playoffs.

Wilmington Wing-T wears down KC for 42-14 playoff win

NEW WILMINGTON — After an early Wilmington touchdown, Karns City's defense seemed to have figured out the Greyhounds' Wing-T attack.

But quarterback Caelan Bender was just getting warmed up.

By halftime, the senior had rushed for 85 yards and three touchdowns on just four carries.

KC (6-3) never threatened Wilmington afterward and saw its season end with a 42-14 PIAA Class 2A first-round playoff loss on the Greyhounds' turf Friday night.

Wilmington coach Brandon Phillian wanted to see a better effort than the one his team put up in a 19-14 victory over Farrell in last weekend's District 10 championship game.

“In that game, we played well on defense and special teams, but we felt we left some points on the field offensively,” Phillian said.

“Tonight, we were great in all three phases of the game. It was truly a team win.”

Bender put Wilmington up 7-0 with his short run on a 4th-and-goal from KC's 1 with 7:49 left in the first period.But on the Greyhounds' next two drives, they gained just four combined yards and were forced into a pair of three-and-outs by the Gremlins.“We started to shut down their Wing-T,” said Gremlins' coach Joe Sherwin. “But we didn't get anything going ourselves on offense.”On their fourth drive of the game, the Greyhounds (8-0) threw more of a spread-out look at KC and it took just two plays to pay off big.Bender kept the ball and raced through the Gremlins' defense for a 60-yard score.After forcing the Gremlins to punt, Bender completed his lone pass attempt of the first half — a 69-yarder to running back Ethan Susen.Two plays later, Bender scored again on an 8-yard run.“We made them change things up offensively, but the spread look opened things up for them,” Sherwin said.Things went from bad to worse for Karns City at the start of the second half.Wilmington's Mason Reed returned the kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, the Gremlins could not handle a short boot and the Greyhounds recovered at KC's 40.Though the Gremlin defense forced a turnover on downs deep in their own territory, KC was unable to pick up a first down and had to punt.Darren Miller's 44-yard jaunt, followed by Dan Hartwell's point after, made it 35-0 and invoked the mercy-rule with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.KC junior running back Luke Garing scored both of his team's touchdowns on short scoring runs.Garing paced the Gremlins with 59 of their 110 yards on the ground.Quarterback Eric Booher completed eight of 16 passes for 124 yards.The Gremlins won the District 9 title this year for the first time in three seasons.“It's not the ending we wanted,” Sherwin said, “but I am proud of the guys and I told them that, for bringing a district championship back to Karns City.”Karns City 0 0 7 7 — 14Wilmington 7 14 14 7 — 42First QuarterW — Caelan Bender 1 run (Dan Hartwell kick), 7:49Second QuarterW — Bender 60 run (Hartwell kick), 6:59W — Bender 8 run (Hartwell kick), :52Third QuarterW — Mason Reed 77 kick return (Hartwell kick), 11:47W — Darren Miller 44 run (Hartwell kick), 4:53KC — Luke Garing 3 run (Owen Collwell kick), :02Fourth QuarterW — Ethan Susen 36 pass from Bender (Hartwell kick), 9:34KC — Garing 1 run (Collwell kick), 5:24

Rushing: Karns City, Luke Garing 11-59, Cole Coon 7-26, Jayce Anderson 6-13, Eric Booher 5-2, Kaden Scherer 2-11, TEAM 1-(-1). Wilmington, Darren Miller 10-85, Luke Edwards 5-33, Ethan Susen 10-30, Caelen Bender 5-89, Tyler Mikulin 2-11, Gage DeCaprio 3-10, Ben Miller 2-9.Passing: Karns City, Eric Booher 8-16-124-0. Wilmington, Caelan Bender 3-7-111-0.Receiving: Karns City, Nathan Waltman 2-34, Kaden Scherer 3-63, Muicah Rupp 2-18, Luke Garing 1-9. Wilmington, Ethan Susen 2-105, Mason Reed 1-6.