Monroe-Woodbury holds off a tenacious Warwick Valley football team, 20-14
Central Valley. The Crusaders will host the Middies of Middletown on Friday night for the Section 9 AA football championship.
| 19 Apr 2021 | 04:47
Camron Adams (#4) smashes his way through the Wildcat defense for a 28-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Photos by William Dimmit.
The Crusader defense brings down the Wildcat quarterback for a loss.
Mister Inside: Michael Zrelak (#7) breaks through the Wildcat defense for a 35-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Anthony Campione gets past a Wildcat defender in the fourth quarter.
On an overcast Friday night, April 16, the Monroe-Woodbury Varsity Football Team traveled to Warwick Valley High School to take on the Wildcats in a non-league match up.
The Crusaders entered the game with a 4-1 record after defeating the Valley Central Vikings last week while the Wildcats stood were at 2-2 after beating the New Oxford, Pa., Colonials the previous week.
The Crusaders took an early first quarter lead after Camron Adams broke free on a sweep and carried the ball around the Wildcat defense for 16 yards to the Warwick one-yard line.
From there quarterback Anthony Campione pushed his way into the end zone behind the Crusader offensive line.
With the point after kick, the Crusaders were up 7-0.
The Wildcats fought back and, after they stopped the Crusaders near midfield, their offense drove the ball down the field and tied the score at seven on a short run up the middle.
The Crusaders defense made a big stop on a fourth down late in the first half and moved into field goal range but the 35-yard attempt sailed wide as time ran out in the first half.
The second half
The Crusaders ground game came alive at the start of the second half.
The offense drove the ball down the field with Adams taking the ball off tackle and smashing his way through the Wildcats defense for a 28-yard touch down run to put the Crusaders up 13-7.
The Crusaders defense got the ball back late in the third quarter after a fumble recovery by Mike Scancerello gave the offense the ball near the Wildcat 35-yard line.
From there “Mister Inside” Michael Zrelak broke through the Wildcat defensive line, turned on the jets and 35 yards later the Crusaders were up by 12 points.
Crusader kicker Edward Fennessy hit the PAT and the the score stood at 20-7.
The Wildcats were not done, however. They scored a touchdown with 8:40 left, making this a one score game.
The Crusaders responded to the challenge on the kick off when Scancerello broke off a 32-yard return into the Wildcats’ end of the field.
From there the Crusaders were able to move the ball down inside the the Wildcat 10 where they ran out the clock.
Next: Section 9 AA championship game
The Crusaders 20-14 victory brings their season record to 5-1 on the season. The Crusaders will host the Middies of Middletown on Friday night for the Section 9 AA championship.
In the most exciting game of the year, the Crusaders beat the Middies 27-24 in overtime when they met earlier this year.
- William Dimmit