Reynolds Humbles Seneca   33 - 13

By Travis Pickens

            The old saying is: The third time is the charm.

            Unfortunately for the Seneca High School football team, it won’t get to find out if that saying is true.

            On Saturday night, Seneca lost to Reynolds for the second time in as many weeks. This time the loss was in the District 10 Class AA quarterfinals at Greyhound Stadium in Wilmington, Pa. The Raiders (8-2) will meet Region 3 champion Girard at Erie McDowell High School next Saturday.

            Reynolds’ 33-13 win wasn’t as easy as it looked, or, for that matter, as easy as it could have been. The Raiders came up empty inside the Bobcat red zone on their first two possessions. Seneca failed to pick up a first down following either goal line stand. On Seneca’s second possession, quarterback Jim Stalford threw an interception, giving the Raiders possession at the Bobcat 3-yard line. Both drives started for Seneca at its own 9-yard line.

            Three plays later, running back Jake McBride scored from 3-yards away.

            “The first possession, we went down the field pretty easily on (Seneca),” Reynolds coach Tim Scarvell said. “We got some confidence and played hard the whole game.”

            McBride was just getting started. The senior finished the night with 256 rushing yards and two touchdowns while also catching a 24-yard pass in the fourth quarter.

            “He’s been our go-to guy all year,” Scarvell said of McBride. “He put us on his back really the last five or six weeks of the season. He’s been carrying us.”

            Despite finding itself in a 20-0 hole at halftime, Seneca didn’t give up. The Bobcats forced Reynolds to punt early in the second half and responded with a touchdown, thanks to three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and a personal foul against the Raiders, which gave Seneca 37 free yards.

            “They got us for a facemask,” Scarvell said of the first penalty against his team. “The second one was on the bench. We’ll just leave it at that.”

            Scarvell said the way his team battled back after seeing the Bobcats pull within two touchdowns was something he was pleased to see.

            “Adversity is going to strike at some point during the game,” Scarvell said. “You have to respond to it. We gave up the score down there, but we answered right back.”

            Seneca had little time to pat itself on its collective back as Reynolds quarterback Cory Shaffer found Richie Burnworth for a 23-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes later for a 26-7 Raider advantage.

            Seneca coach Randy Gunther was unavailable for comment following the game.

            Game Notes: McBride’s two biggest runs of the night were 56 and 61 yards. … Reynolds beat Seneca last Friday, 28-14. … Seneca didn’t pick up a first down until less than three minutes remained in the first half.

Reynolds 33, Seneca 13

Score-by-quarters

Seneca             0          0          7          6          -           13

Reynolds          7          13        6          7          -           33

S                                                                                  R

11                                First Downs                              16                               

30-74                           Rushes-Yards                           47-281                        

76                                Passing Yards                           126

7-15-2                         Pass (Comp.-Att.-Int.)             6-13-126-0

150                              Total Yards Gained                  398

1/0                               Fumbles/Lost                            1/0

3-25                             Penalties-Yards                        7-62

First Quarter

            R—Jake McBride 3 run (Richie Burnworth kick), 2:47.

Second Quarter

            R—McBride 53 run (Burnworth kick), 11:49.

            R—Jon Uhrin 2 run (kick failed), 4:43.

Third Quarter

            S—Angelo Salvage 1 pass from Jim Stalford (Dan Miller kick).

            R—Burnworth 23 yard pass from Cory Shaffer (kick failed).

Fourth Quarter

            R—Shaffer 1 run (Burnworth kick), 7:59.

            S—Stalford 1 run (conversion failed), :04.

Individual Statistics

            Passing: Seneca—Jim Stalford 7-15-76-2. Reynolds—Cory Shaffer 6-12-126-0, Richie Burnworth 0-1-0-0.

            Rushing: Seneca—Angelo Salvage 15-27, Jim Stalford 4-19, Jon Wrobelewski 4-13, Shane Cyphert 1-8, Tim Griffin 4-8, Shawn Giewont 2-(-1). Reynolds—Jake McBride 35-256, Jon Uhrin 4-11, Cory Shaffer 2-6, Corey Brown 4-5, Les Krauss 1-4, Richie Burnworth 1-(-1).

            Receiving: Seneca—Zach Smicker 3-43, Jackson King 2-11, Angelo Salvage 2-11. Reynolds—Richie Burnworth 3-65, Andy Combine 2-37, Jack McBride 1-24.