Robert Griffin ran for 177 yards and threw for 196 as the No. 1 Bulldawgs pounded the Grey Wolves 63-12 Friday night at Leo Buckley Stadium in a non-district football game.
“That final score is not indicative of how good Shoemaker is,” Cove coach Jack Welch said. “But you know things are going good when your backups come in and still get to the holes and score.”
That was the type of night it was for Cove (3-0), which pulled Griffin early in the third quarter and went with sophomore Nick Greene. Welch also pulled running back Troy Vital for reserve Tommy McLeain, who racked up 129 yards and iced the game with a 15-yard run on fourth-and-2 with 54 seconds left.
“We weren’t trying to run the score up,” Welch said. “It just so happened that he scored.”
Scoring was a never-ending theme for the Bulldawgs, who didn’t have to punt the ball all night as they took off from the start.
After the Grey Wolves (1-2) missed a 22-yard field goal on their opening possession, it took little time for Griffin to establish the Bulldawgs’ dominance. On second-and-7 from his 23, Griffin ran an option keeper to the right and found a small hole followed by open field for a 77-yard touchdown run.
After Shoemaker failed to move the ball on its next drive, Cove’s Josh Boyce returned a punt to the Shoemaker 18. Three plays later, Vital scored from 4 yards out for a quick 14-0 lead. Griffin broke free for 55 yards on the next drive to set up a 1-yard touchdown run.
“I was just doing what coach needed me to do to help the team,” said Griffin, who had 133 yards rushing in the first quarter. “Shoemaker was playing five linebackers in and that opened up the option game.”
It wasn’t as if the Grey Wolves were overmatched completely as they put together two scoring drives in the second half and had three impressive drives in the opening half. But by the time they had their first score, they were already down 42-0. It might not have been so bad had they converted on one of the first-half drives.
Their best opportunity was on their opening possession, which began at the 48 after a 46-yard kick return by Lyvell Marzett. Later, Andre Smith threw a 23-yard completion to Dion Demers to give the Grey Wolves a first down at the 13. They would get to the 5 before the drive stalled, and Paul Grande’s field goal attempt sailed wide.
“That hurt a bunch,” Grey Wolves coach Ken Gray said. “You have all the emotion and enthusiasm and then get no points. It deflates you a bit, especially after they come back and move the ball 80 yards in two plays.”
Even down 35-0 before the half, the Grey Wolves might have been able to at least keep a competitive edge had they converted a drive before the half.
Josh Boyce had an inteception of Smith, and caught touchdown passes of 3 and 45 yards and ran an end around for a 3-yard touchdown. He finished with seven catches for 142 yards.
“We faced a great team tonight,” Gray added. “They were hitting on all cylinders and their speed really showed."
mhood@temple-telegram.com
