North football goes back to basics
Spartans grind out 280 rushing yards, post first win
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Williamsville North's P.J. Abbarno returns a Dae-shaune Clark interception 59 yards for a late second-quarter touchdown during the Spartans' 34-21 victory at South last Thursday. Also pictured are North's Steve Pekarski (24) and South's Zachary Murray. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

A simplified game plan combined with a ton of rushing yards led Williamsville North to its first victory of the season.

The Spartans gained 280 yards rushing and only threw six times in a 34-21 non-league win at rival Williamsville South last Thursday.

"We needed to go back to basics," said North coach Mike Mammoliti, who said he and his coaching staff simplified the game plan in practice for the players. "For whatever reason, we didn't have that mental focus all of the time in other games. It came in spurts. But we came ready to play against South. When they were on the bus, it seemed like they were going to tear the windows off."

The Spartans came out on fire, scoring on its first three offensive series to take a 21-0 lead. North quarterback Anthony Longarzo (3 for 6, 61 yards) threw a 34-yard TD pass to a wide-open Josh Barrett at 9:39 of the first quarter to cap off a six-play, 67-yard drive. Running back Jim Gaines followed with a 1-yard plunge at 4:47. Gaines' TD was set up by a fumble recovery by linebacker PJ Abbarno at the North 47. Linebacker Mike Herberger forced the fumble. After a South punt, Longarzo scored nine plays later on a bootleg from 13 yards away.

Williamsville South's Jake Keim outlasts Williamsville North's Austin Benschadle for a 15-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Krempa also caught a 17-yard TD in the fourth quarter. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

The teams exchanged turnovers (North's Mike Toth fumble recovery; South's Andrew Esposito interception) before the Billies finally got on the scoreboard, courtesy of an 11-yard pass from quarterback Dae-Shaune Clark to wide receiver Jake Keim. Clark ran in the two-point conversion to make it 21-8.

The touchdown sparked South's defense, which forced North to punt with just over a minute remaining in the first half. However, any momentum South had gained ended abruptly when Abbarno intercepted Clark and returned it 59 yards. The extra point was wide left but North was still ahead, 27-8.

"I keyed my guy, read it, saw him turn his head and kept going straight until the ball came right to me," said Abbarno, who also had five tackles and a sack.

"Through the week of reps in practice, we knew when certain things were going to happen," said Mammoliti. "He jumped the rout. It was a great read."

"We had run the out pretty well early in the quarter and we tried to go back to it," added South coach Kraig Kurzanski, who was an assistant for two years with Mammoliti. "It was probably a bad call on my part because you don't throw the out at the end of the half because you can jump it. They had a safety high which allows the kid to play a little bit more aggressive. We didn't run a real good out and he was able to come underneath."

South played much better in the second half, outscoring North 13-7. Esposito recovered a fumble at the South 49 to set up a 15-yard TD pass four plays later from Clark to Tim Krempa with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter. Clark hit Keim in the middle of the end zone for a 17-yard TD with 6:45 left in the game.

"The kids played hard and played well at times but didn't play well enough," said Kurzanski.

North running back Steve Pekarski added a 2-yard TD in the third quarter. Pekarski finished with 12 rushes for 110 yards. Gaines had 28 rushes for 157 yards.

"We had a nice one-two punch with those two guys; PJ (Abbarno) at fullback also did a great job," said Mammoliti. "I hate to use the old cliché but the guys up front really grounded it out. This is what the weight room is about."

Clark completed 8 of 18 passes for 95 yards and three touchdowns. Clark, usually as effective in the air as on the ground, was held to minus-12 yards rushing. Kurzanski said Clark was still suffering from a pulled hamstring he suffered in the team's 15-14 win over Williamsville East last week. Several times against North, Clark and backup QB Chris Hauser (10 rushes for 60 yards) traded time under center.

"He was probably at 50 percent," said Kurzanski of Clark. "His injury really hampered what we do offensively. We like to run first and throw second. Without him running the ball, he had to throw a little bit more. He's getting better every week."

Clark was among several Billies who didn't practice much leading into the game. Senior co-captain Anthony Erbacher, a starting offensive and defensive lineman, separated a shoulder in practice and was in and out of the lineup. Junior wide receiver/defensive back Arman Wood sat out with a pulled hamstring he suffered against East. Even Kurzanski said he missed a practice because of a foot infection.

"We didn't have a good week of practice," said Kurzanski. "Sometimes when you don't practice well, you don't play well. That's what happened early in the game and by the time we recovered, it was 14-0. Past that point, I thought it was an even game."

In the third quarter against North, South running back Yahs Williams left with what appeared to be heat exhaustion.

Others Spartans who excelled on defense for North was Herberger (five tackles, one tackle for loss, two caused fumbles), linemen Jerome Fields and Ernest Jacobs (sack each), and Toth (seven tackles, one tackle for loss).

Erbacher (15 tackles and defensive end Josh Burke (10 tackles) paced the South defense.

North (1-3) and South (1-3) go on the road for league action this week. The Spartans play at 7 p.m. Friday at North Tonawanda; the Billies have a 2 p.m. game on Saturday at Sweet Home. It's Sweet Home's homecoming game.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com