Hackley vs. Eldred High School -- 10/5/2013

For this year’s Fall Sting, the Hornets’ football team took on Eldred, a team previously unknown and for whom little if any scouting video was available. Nonetheless, it did not take long for Hackley to display its superior talent. Following a three and out after Eldred received the opening kick-off, Elijah Ngbokoli took the hand-off from new starting quarterback Ryan Walker on the Hackley 46 yard line, and burst through the left side untouched for a 54 yard touchdown. The left side of the line of James O’Keefe and Brandon DiFalco opened the hole with help from Mustafaa Dais who blocked two defensive backs on the play.

Following another three and out on Eldred’s next possession, Walker took the ball 31 yards on two running plays to the Eldred 29 yard line, then hit Dylan Garvey at the 20 who took it in for the team’s second touchdown of the day. The team’s then traded possessions gaining no ground, with Eldred taking over at its own 21 yard line. On its first play, the Eldred’s running back fumbled that was recovered by Xan Jarecki, who was having an active day on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Treglia once again employed the running game, and on 5 straight runs, Ngbokoli ran it in from the 2 yard line to make the score 21-0, with James Firpo connecting on all 3 extra point kicks.

Eldred finally was able to find some momentum, going on a running spree with 14 consecutive runs. Though no run was longer than 10 yards, Eldred found themselves with a first down on the Hackley 21-yard line, and ran it in from there making the score 21-7. During the drive, the Hackley defense was led by Jarecki, Nick Gutfleish and Jack Waterhouse, with help from Alex Delia, Derek Rosenzweig, and Sumail Morton. Following a few additional possessions, the half ended with the Hornets still up 21-7.

With many of the starters on the bench for the second half, the game saw Eldred gain momentum and go on several long drives. However, in the third quarter, Walker hit Waterhouse for a touchdown pass to widen the lead to 28-7. Eldred put a scare in the team by scoring two straight touchdowns in the 4th quarter, and then intercepting a Walker pass in the end zone. On its ensuing and final drive, however, the Hackley defense stuffed the Eldred offense ending the game at 28-21.

Once again, the Hackley offense was highly efficient, with the quarterbacks completing 10 of 13 passes for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. The running game saw 6 different runners carrying the ball 32 times for 192 yards and also 2 touchdowns. The defense saw many different players involved, led by Jarecki and Ilan Gressel, with additional contributions from Will Cotter and Clifford Joseph.

Next up is Peru High School on Saturday, October 12th in Albany.