Albion gridders down Barker/Roy-Hart

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 12 September 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Manny Thompson (14) gets a key block from Austin Loyd (2) in route to scoring the opening touchdown during the Purple Eagles victory over visiting Barker/Roy-Hart this evening.

Five different players contributed touchdowns as Albion defeated visiting Barker/Roy-Hart 32-8 this evening in a B North Division game.

Albion took the lead for good at 7-0 by scoring on its first possession on a 29 yard touchdown run by Manny Thompson and an extra point kick by Dylan Moore. Runs of 19 yards by quarterback Kyle Smith and 10 by Thompson highlighted the drive.

“We started out really fast,” said Albion Coach Gary Parisi. ” I was pretty impressed with the way we ran the football. The kids kept pressing forward.”

The Purple Eagles upped the lead to 13-0 in the second quarter on a 2 yard touchdown run by Smith.

The Purple Eagles defensive unit then came up with a big goal line stand before the half to keep Barker/Roy-Hart off the scoreboard.

“We got a big goal line stand by the defense before halftime and that set the tone for the second half,” said Parisi.

Tom Mattison scored on as 19 yard run in the third quarter to up the Albion advantage to 19-0.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion quarterback Kyle Smith picks up good yardage as Derek Sears pursues the play for Barker/Roy-Hart.

The Purple Eagles tacked on two more scores in the final period on a 3 yard run by Trey Hart and an 87 yard run by Tyler Rotoli.

“I was really proud of the motor and the enthusiasm of our kids,” said Parisi. “We were pretty physical.”

Defensively, Aaron Burnside led the Purple Eagles in tackles with 16 as Dominic DiCureia, Nate Trembley and Alex Bison were each in on six stops. Thompson and Des Blackmon also each had an interception.

Dominick Snider scored Barker/Roy-Hart’s touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 51 yard run as Josh Mead added the two-point conversion.

Brian Payne led Barker/Roy-Hart’s defense in tackles with 10 as Derek Sears made 8 stops and Brandinlee Woods 7.

Albion is now 1-1 and Barker/Roy-Hart 0-2 in B North competition.