Running game sparks Falcons to win

By Brian Eller -- beller@nvdaily.com

SHENANDOAH -- Matt Sherfey could only watch from the sideline as his defense faced a fourth-and-13 in the final seconds.

The Falcons held a 6-point lead, but all it would take was one slip-up by the defense to give Page County the victory. As Panthers quarterback Dakota Wolf took the snap, Sherfey froze, watching as Wolf scrambled around, looking for an open receiver. Then the delivery came. The ball sailed out of Wolf's hands, spiraling toward an open receiver downfield.

A second later, the ball was on the ground. Incomplete pass. Central ball.

"Yeah, baby," Sherfey said to himself as he trotted out to take the final snap.

And as Sherfey took a knee to let the last few seconds tick away, he stood up and congratulated his teammates as Central sealed a 22-16 win over Page County. It wasn't the prettiest win for Sherfey, but one the junior quarterback felt was needed for the team's morale.

"Sloppy," Sherfey said about the win. "But it's one of those games where you're just happy to get out of there with a win. I think it was the first game where we were able to put the ball in the air, and then pound the ball on the ground. We really ran the ball hard tonight. That was the key thing, and our defense stepped up. Overall it was a good game, but it just didn't look like it because it was so sloppy."

For the first time all season, the Falcons' offense was fueled by its running game, led by the duo of tailback Leon McCray and fullback Derek Copenhaver. Appropriately nicknamed "Smash and Dash," according to Copenhaver, the two combined for 185 yards on the ground, 133 from McCray.

"It was nice," Copenhaver said. "Our offensive line, I think they enjoyed it going to the run blocking and not having to worry all about pass blocking. This week was the first week I had ever started at fullback, and it worked out pretty nice. The running backs weren't getting any kind of contact until three-plus yards, and that's always big when you can get three or more yards on every play. It's huge."

More importantly, the success on the ground allowed Sherfey to open up the passing game, using the play-action to draw the Panthers' defense closer to the line of scrimmage.

"It opens up everything," Sherfey said. "We're able to come off some play-action and open up some stuff in the middle of the field and deep down the field. It was a lot easier for reads tonight."

But while Central's rushing attack helped move the chains, it was the Falcons' bread and butter, the passing game, that accounted for several big scores Friday night. After falling behind 8-0 on a 57-yard run by Wolf, the Falcons responded quickly, as Sherfey found Seth Bauserman for a 56-yard strike to tie the game at 8.

Just before the end of the first half, Sherfey again made a big play with his arm. After the original play broke down, Sherfey was forced to scramble in the pocket. The junior eventually found Seth Wymer downfield, who caught the pass at Page County's 1-yard line before backing into the end zone for the score.

In the second half, it seemed whatever Page County did on offense, Central had an answer. After Wolf tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 16, Sherfey led the Falcons' offense straight down the field on their ensuing drive for the go-ahead score. All in all, Sherfey finished with 172 yards through the air, throwing two touchdown passes and one interception. Meanwhile, Wolf was contained to just 96 yards in the air, but did most of his damage with his legs, rushing for 140 yards in the loss.

"I thought we played him pretty well," Central coach Mike Yew said. "At first we let him get outside, and we preached early and all week to stay in our lanes and contain him, but the kid is so talented he keeps so many plays alive for a long period of time -- it's tough on defenses when you're that talented. But he made some big plays. He's a tremendous quarterback."

The win for the Falcons puts them at 5-4 on the year, and Yew said after suffering back-to-back heartbreaking losses, Friday's win helps take the sting out ... a little, anyway.

"I'm pleased with the way our team played," Yew said. "We ran the ball well tonight, which is something we haven't done in the past. We threw the ball well at times when we needed to, but for a lot of reasons they didn't understand, I told them the thing was making a stand at the end. When [Page County] got the ball, the defense stepped up and made big plays. But it's just good to get back in the win column after a couple of tough losses."