ST. MARYS, Pa. (D9Sports) – Behind a strong defense and 178 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Stephen Bobby, Elk County Catholic avenged its season-ending playoff loss a year ago to Curwensville by beating the Golden Tide, 21-0, in the season opener for both teams Friday night at Dutch County Stadium in St. Marys.
(Photo of ECC’s Stephen Bobby. Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)
The Crusaders defense held the Golden Tide to 85 total yards of offense while their offense exploded for 429 on the night.
“It’s easy when everyone is on the same page,” Bobby, who scored on runs of 22, 8 and 12 yards and toted the ball 29 times, said. “If the line messes up, then I mess up and if I mess up the whole team messes up. It’s just a chain reaction.”
Watch all of Bobby’s postgame interview.
ECC’s defense struck first creating a safety two minutes into the second quarter.
The safety came after Curwensville’s Jake McCracken had intercepted a pass inside the Golden Tide’s 3-yard line, but the Crusaders defense got the ball back and the two points moments later.
ECC then used a 10-play drive that was capped off with a 22-yard Bobby rushing touchdown to take an 8-0 lead that stuck through halftime.
Curwensville looked to have some life getting three of its five first downs on the following drive, however, the drive was cut short after a high snap that canceled out the opportunity of a 35-yard field goal attempt.
The Crusaders extended their lead at the start of the third quarter with an 8-yard Bobby touchdown run to make it 15-0, and Bobby’s third touchdown came with four minutes left in the game on a 13-yard run to put the game away at 21-0.
John Wittman added seven carries for 80 yards and two catches for 49 yards for ECC, while Nick Crisp had five catches for 60 yards. Mason McAllister was 8-for-15 passing for 126 yards and an interception.
For Curwensville, Dan McGarry was 4-for-10 with 51 passing yards and an interception. Jake Mullins had two catches for 45 yards and Duane Brady chipped in with nine carries for 42 yards.
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