Not this time, Pine Bush
Central Valley. Mindful of the 2019 Section 9 title game defeat, Monroe-Woodbury exacted a measure of revenge in it’s 31-8 victory against Pine Bush.
| 21 Mar 2021 | 05:24
Cameron Adams rushed for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns against Pine Bush last Friday night. Photos by William Dimmit.
Anthony Campione finds Dylan Dwyer behind the Bushmen’s defense for a 21-yard gain.
Michael Zrelak leaves the Pine Bush defenders behind as he scores from 52 yards out.
Anthony Maiorino (#20) and #2 Nick Calderone (#2) kept the Pine Bush offense bottled up last Friday night.
On Friday night, March 19, the Monroe-Woodbury Varsity Football team hosted the Pine Bush High School Bushmen.
The last time these two teams met was in the 2019 Section 9 Title game, a contest that the Pine Bush won 46-14.
On this cold Friday evening, the Crusaders set the tone for the game on the opening drive. Senior Cameron Adams broke off a 27-yard run before Michael Zrelak muscled his way in from 14 yards out.
Crusaders rush for 270 yards in the game
The Crusaders offensive line was was paving the way for the team’s ground game, which produced 270 yards on the evening.
Adams then got the fans to their feet when he took a pitch and went wide before breaking it back inside and busting through some Bushmen defenders before racing into the end zone from 55 yards out.
The Crusaders appeared to be in control as they took the 14-0 lead into the half.
In the third quarter, QB Anthony Campione got the offense going when he hooked up with Dylan Dwyer for a 21-yard gain down to the Bushmen’s 15.
Reliable Edward Fennessy then put the Crusaders up by 17 points when his field goal was good from 28 yards out.
Maiorino and Dean record 24 tackles between them
At this point the Crusader defense took over and as things heated up on the field they responded by shutting down the Bushmen’s offense.
The defense was led by LB Anthony Maiorino, who recorded 13 tackles, and DL Jason Jean, who rang up 11.
Feeding off the momentum provided by the defense, Zrelak took a hand off up the middle, broke through an arm tackle and out ran everybody to the end zone from 52 yards out.
In the fourth quarter, Adams scored his second touchdown of the game when he bulled his way into the end zone from seven yards out. Fennessy added his fourth PAT of the game, giving the Crusaders a 31-0 lead.
With ten seconds left in the game the Bushmen were able score on a touchdown from the one-yard line; their two-point attempt was good, making the final score 31-8.
Next up: Middletown
The Crusaders, now 2-0 on the season, travel to Middletown Friday night to take on the Middies.
- William Dimmit