WRIGHT TWP. — Facing a team that had scored 50-plus points in half of their games, Crestwood got exactly what it needed to start Friday’s Homecoming game — a three and out.
Or so it seemed.
Honesdale successfully pulled off a fake punt in its own end of the field that took the air out of the Comets’ tires. The Hornets failed to pull punches the rest of the way en route to a 36-7 victory over Crestwood.
From the Hornets 30-yard line, halfback-slash-punter Gabe Duda hit Jake Ramos for a 24-yard pass. Duda ran up the middle and busted an initial tackle for a 46-yard touchdown with 9:47 left in the first half.
“We spend a lot of time on special teams,” Honesdale coach George Howanitz said. “I’ve been coaching against (Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli) for a long time, so I’m surprised he wasn’t expecting that. It’s something we ran a lot when I was coaching at Valley View.”
Crestwood fumbled its first offensive play, opening the door for the Hornets’ Dontae Joseph to run for a 36-yard touchdown.
Honesdale scored 36 unanswered points through the opening three quarters.
As expected, Duda proved to be practically unstoppable for the Hornets. Entering the game averaging 10 yards per carry, he matched his season averages. Duda carried the ball 13 times for 134 yards with four touchdowns.
“We’re running everything through him, and he’s tough to tackle,” Howanitz said. “Our offensive line did a great job, and it showed tonight.”
Honesdale went ahead 22-0 in the second quarter on a 98-yard drive, capped by Duda’s 5-yard rushing touchdown.
Crestwood was kept to 128 total yards. The Comets ran 29 times for 92 yards.
The Comets avoided a shutout thanks to a fumble recovery that gave them possession inside the red zone. Ryan Wojciechowski ran up the middle for a 4-yard rushing touchdown with 5:41 left in regulation.
Honesdale 36, Crestwood 7
Honesdale`15`14`7`0 — 36
Crestwood`0`0`0`7 — 7
First quarter
H — Gabe Duda 43 run (Alex Valerio kick), 9:47
H — Dontae Joseph 6 run (Duda run), 8:56
Second quarter
H — Duda 5 run (Valeria kick), 11:38
H — Duda 18 run (Valeria kick), 7:56
Third quarter
H — Duda 6 run (Valeria kick), 2:28
Fourth quarter
C — Riley Wojchiechowski 4 run (Nathan Ciocco kick), 5:41
Team statistics`H`C
First downs`14`5
Rushes-yards`39-296`29-92
Passing yards`26`35
Total yards`322`127
Passing`2-8-0`2-6-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-5
Punts-avg.`2-35.5`4-38.5
Fumbles-lost`3-1`3-1
Penalties-yards`0-0`7-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HON, Joseph 11-95, Manny Edwards 2-(minus-2), Duda 13-134, Briley Acker 1-2, Turk Acker 4-69, Abe Bryant 2-8, Shawn Rose 2-(minus-2), Brayden Fritsch 1-1, Rodion Shepherd 2-3, TEAM 1-(minus-12). CRE, Jake Jeckell 7-23, Teddy Taylor 3-14, Jack Rodgers 4-9, Charles Higgs 3-15, Houston McGuire 3-8, Riley Wojchiechowski 7-23, Hunter Konschnik 1-10, TEAM 1-(minus-8).
PASSING —HON Bryant 1-7-5-0; CRE Taylor 1-2-27-0, Rodgers 1-4-8-0.
RECEIVING —HON, Jake Ramos 1-21, Duda 1-5. CRE, Rodgers 1-27, Jeckell 1-8
INTERCEPTIONS — None
MISSED FGs — HON Valerio 1-29
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