Nelsonville-York couldn’t find answers against a dominant Garaway rush attack
By: Sam Nolan
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NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) – The Garaway Pirates traveled two and a half hours south to Nelsonville for a region 23 quarterfinal to face off against the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes. The game ended in a 49-28 shootout in favor of Garaway.
The sun was down by kickoff, and the temperature dropped to a chilling 46 degrees. Buckeye QB Cam Sullivan warmed things up right away though, as he performed an onside kick and recovered it himself to claim the opening possession. With the favorable field position, the Buckeyes marched down the field and capped it off with a score from Walker Stone.
The Pirates would cut into this lead immediately after, much thanks to Senior RB Matthew Frey, who finished the drive with a goal line score. This meant two touchdowns were scored six minutes in, and that was only the start. Just a few plays after the Garaway score, Walker Stone found himself on the board on a deep catch-and-run to make it 14-7.
The game quickly turned to a duel of running backs, as Matthew Frey answered right back before the first quarter expired.
On the first drive of the second quarter, Nelsonville-York marched into Pirate territory, where they’d find themselves in a key fourth-and-one. Garaway was able to stuff them short, and it proved to be a turning point in the game. At this point, the Buckeyes were in deep need of a solution for the star back, Frey, and seemingly couldn’t find one. Nelsonville-York was held scoreless the rest of the first half, and it was 28-14 at the break.
This meant Garaway closed the first half with 21 points unanswered. The Buckeyes would be in search of a response as they received the ball on the opening kick of the second half. The opening drive was everything they’d hoped for. A drive that lasted just 2:08 and finished in a Grant Elliott back-corner touchdown. It was a one score game again in Nelsonville, and the team felt revived.
This revival was short lived, however. Garaway, on the back of the powerful Matthew Frey, found their way to the endzone in just two more minutes. The Buckeyes had no answer on defense, despite the impressive offensive showing. This continued the rest of the way, and the Pirates only expanded the lead they built early on.
With the 49-28 win, Garaway will make another trip to play the 6-seeded Waterford next week.