ALMEDIA – Earlier this year, Holy Redeemer broke a 24-game losing streak and posted its first win since late in the 2022 season. Since that win over Susquehanna back in Week 4, the Royals have come close to picking up their second win, including dropping back-to-back games by just one possession.
On Saturday afternoon, against a Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech team that is down several players due to injury and attrition and had been shutout in each of its last two games, the Royals were able to finally notch that elusive second win, as they battled back from a slow start to score three touchdowns in the third quarter, and combined with its defense that created three turnovers, was more than enough to propel them to a 38-12 win over the Rams.
“Those two losses, we had the ball with under a minute to play and lost but when you’re turning a program around after a long losing streak, it’s hard, you need to learn how to win and play four quarters, get some breaks, things like that,” said Holy Redeemer coach Vito Quaglia. “We came into this game a little banged up. Brady McDermott at quarterback was a little dinged up, so we had to use Lucas Shrader a little bit, and he did a great job for us. Kids are stepping up and slowly but surely, we’re making steps in the right direction and it was a good team win today.”
McDermott played most of the game but rotated some plays and series with Shrader, who ran for 47 yards on six carries and had a touchdown. McDermott completed just 6-of-15 passes but those six completions went for 160 yards and some big plays and key spots flipped the field, particularly in the second half.
Varner installed a new defense last week, both to try something new after being shutout the last two weeks, and also to counter the Royals’ passing game. And for the first half, it worked pretty well.
CMVT stopped Holy Redeemer on its first four possessions of the game, including on a 13-play, 50-yard drive that was stalled on downs at the CMVT 5-yard line at the 4:28 mark of the second quarter. But from that point, the Royals then scored on five of their next six possessions to completely flip the scoreboard.
“We put in a new defense this week and everyone responded and played really well. I think the second half, we got worn down a little and they found a couple of our more inexperienced guys and made a couple of big plays,” said Varner. “But, I’m proud of what we did in this game, especially compared to the last four games, we played well for four quarters. We have some holes with all the guys we’re missing and if a team finds those holes, or we make a mistake with a fumble or interception, bad things happen.”
The Rams committed three turnovers, and although just one of them directly led to points for the Royals, one was in Holy Redeemer territory on CMVT’s first drive of the game, and the other was directly before the third turnover, which did lead to a Royal touchdown that largely put the game away late.
Despite the early giveaway, the Rams managed to hold onto a lead for most of the first half, as a late first quarter five-yard touchdown run by Myles Koser gave the Rams a 6-0 – the result of Holy Redeemer’s lone turnover of the contest.
After the Rams stopped the Royals at their 5-yard line, CMVT punted on its subsequent possession, and the Royals took over at their own 35. On the first play, Brady McDermott hit Kevin Arroyo for a 52-yard reception to flip the field, and three plays later, Wildy Rodriguez punched it in for the score from three yards out, and with a successful two-point conversion, the Royals took an 8-6 lead into halftime.
Another big play through the air on the Royals’ second play from scrimmage of the second half after receiving the second half kickoff made it a 10-point game, as McDermott hit Kaden Sepkoski for a 47-yard touchdown pass and then ran it in himself for the two-point conversion.
“Early on, the field position hurt us, we were a little buried down there, but once we got the field position in our favor, we were able to do a little bit more,” said Quaglia. “Today, we were very proud of the fact that we ran the ball. We haven’t been able to run the ball all year, our running backs have been banged up. Today, we had all of our running backs healthy at the beginning of the game. Wildy ran well for us and did some good stuff and when you can run the ball, that opens up a little more passing.”
Following another Ram punt, Holy Redeemer took over at the CMVT 35 and in six plays, scored another touchdown on a one-yard run by Shrader to make it 24-6 at the 7:44 mark of the third quarter.
CMVT answered that score with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to cut the lead to 24-12 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Koser to Blake Sponenberg. But the Royals answered right back with a 62-yard scoring drive in six plays, capped by a 16-yard touchdown run by David Jackiel with :32 left in the third quarter. Another big passing play flipped the field on that drive, this one a 33-yard reception by Mike Zbierski that advanced the Royals from their own 42 to the CMVT 25.
The Royals then forced back-to-back turnovers by the Rams. First, Josh Grochowski made an interception at the Royal 37-yard line. After Holy Redeemer’s ensuing drive went backwards, the Rams muffed a punt at midfield to give it right back to the Royals. They were able to take advantage this time around, as they went the rest of the way down the field in six plays, with Jackiel recording his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon from 11 yards.
A big reason for Holy Redeemer’s dominance in the second half was its running game. After managing just 34 yards on the ground in the first half, the Royals posted 102 rushing yards in the second half.
“We installed this defense for their passing game that we saw on film but the plays we were making in the first half, we just weren’t making in the second half,” said Varner. “They just pounded out the first downs and we just couldn’t get that play for a loss to get them behind the chains. With what we had out there, though, I’m happy with it and the work that they put in. It was a competitive game and our guys played hard and sometimes the scoreboard is disappointing but if you can be competitive and work hard, that’s all I can ask for.”
Holy Redeemer 38, Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech 12
Holy Redeemer (2-7) 0 8 23 7 – 38
CMVT (3-6) 6 0 6 0 – 12
First quarter
1:12 – (VT) Myles Koser 5-yard run (pass failed), 3-18, :48
Second quarter
:40 – (HR) Wildy Rodriguez 3-yard run (McDermott run), 4-65, :47
Third quarter
11:06 – (HR) Kaden Sepkoski 47-yard pass from Brady McDermott (McDermott run), 2-48, :54
7:44 – (HR) Lucas Shrader 1-yard run (Grochowski pass from McDermott), 6-35, 1:47
3:39 – (VT) Blake Sponenberg 15-yard pass from Myles Koser (pass failed), 9-75, 4:05
:32 – (HR) David Jackiel 16-yard run (Mohutsky kick), 6-62, 3:07
Fourth quarter
5:56 – (HR) David Jackiel 11-yard run (Mohutski kick), 6-55, 4:20
Statistics
HR VT
First downs 19 14
Rushes-net yards 40-136 30-75
Passing yardage 158 127
Passing 7-16-1-0 7-21-1-1
Fumbles-lost 2-1 6-2
Penalties-yards 8-60 5-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Holy Redeemer: Wildy Rodriguez (14-78-1), David Jackiel (8-32-2), Lucas Shrader (6-47-1), Nathan Orlando (5-12), Team (3-(-32)), Brady McDermott (2-(-1)), Ryan Zelinka (1-7), Nathan Long (1-(-7)); CMVT: Matthew Allen (19-69), Myles Koser (8-5-1), Charlie Sego (2-2), Team (1-(-1))
PASSING: Holy Redeemer: Brady McDermott (6-15-160-1-0), Lucas Shrader (1-1-(-2)-0-0); CMVT: Myles Koser (7-21-127-1-1)
RECEIVING: Holy Redeemer: Kaden Sepkoski (3-66-1), Kevin Arroyo (2-50), Mike Zbierski (2-42); CMVT: Blake Sponenberg (4-65-1), Axton Koser (2-51), Charlie Sego (1-11)