Warwick has its way with Cornwall: Wildcats victorious over Dragons 38-0 in homecoming

WARWICK-Six different Wildcats scored touchdowns and the Warwick defense pitched its second consecutive shutout, en route to a 38-0 homecoming victory last Saturday at C. Ashley Morgan Field. Warwick opened the scoring on its second possession after junior Umar Abdur-Rahman returned a Dragon punt 23 yards to his own 30. After two carries by junior RB Matt Stranski brought the ball to the 35, senior QB Ryan Darcey connected with sophomore Isia Reyes for a 54-yard completion. This set up junior Tom Montopoli's 11-yard touchdown run on the next play. Junior John Sala made the extra point, giving Warwick a 7-0 lead. After the Dragons went three plays and out, the ‘Cats brought out the offense to their own 32. On a third down and eight play, Darcey hit senior TE Evan Wyler to get a first down on his own 48. Senior Derek Hrinya ran for five yards, and then Darcey hit Reyes again, this time with a 43-yard touchdown pass. Sala made his 12th consecutive PAT of 2005 for a 14-0 Warwick lead. At this point, Warwick's offense had surprised Cornwall with big offensive plays from unexpected source of players. Moreover, Cornwall senior QB Larry Gregorek wasn't able to get the offense going. On Warwick's first series of the second quarter, Rahman returned a punt by Dragon senior Troy Stoneburner 17 yards. From the 43, Hrinya jaunted to the Cornwall 45 for a first down. Sala ran a reverse down to the 36 and then another catch by Reyes set up the Wildcats on the visitors' 28. Two plays later, Stranski fought his way down to the 14, from where Hrinya bolted into the end zone on the next play. The PAT went off the mark, keeping the score at 20-0 Warwick. Two possessions later, Cornwall had its best chance to score in the first half. Warwick's senior Joe Stolzenberg was forced to punt from deep in his own territory and the Dragons started from scrimmage on their own 49. Senior WR Dan Whalen caught a Gregorek pass for a first down inside the Wildcat 40. Then junior RB Karl VanWygarden moved the chains to the 28 with a nice run. Donovan Rich, another junior, ran for five more yards. Two plays later, junior Matt Moretto's carry fell a couple of yards shy of the first down. This set up fourth down, where Gregorek threw one toward Whalen in the end zone, but Hrinya picked it off and returned the football to his own 23. The Wildcats got to midfield on a big run by Stranski as time expired in the first half. Warwick didn't waste any time in the third quarter. Hrinya returned the kickoff 30 yards to the Wildcat 48. Two plays later, Stranski broke loose on a 33-yard run to the Dragon 21. On second down, Stranski powered his way to the two with another long run, and then completed the drive with a two-yard score on the next play. Sala missed the PAT, so the score stood at 26-0. Warwick's defense held Cornwall again on the next series and Warwick's offense started on its own 33. Stranski's run earned a first down to the Warwick 46 and then a nice run by Sala moved the ball down to the Dragon 27. Hrinya carried it to the 16, followed by Stranski's run all the way to the two-yard line. Sala capped off the drive, scoring on a Darcey hand-off at the 1:39 mark of the third quarter. The PAT failed, making the score 32-0 Wildcats. Warwick back-up QB, junior Chris Meinhardt, entered the game. A couple of plays into the drive, senior RB Chris Zueger exploded for a 48-yard touchdown run, putting the icing on the cake for Warwick's homecoming victory. Warwick missed the PAT, but led 38-0 with 8:22 remaining in the game. The Warwick offense rang up 504 yards of total offense and 15 first downs. The Wildcats rushed for 352 yards and passed for another 152. Cornwall netted 146 yards, 121 of them coming on the ground. Stranski was the leading carrier with 141 yards on 13 lugs. Hrinya was 11-for-81. Moretto led Cornwall with 15 carries for 78 yards. The Wildcats improve to 3-1 overall with the non-league victory. The Dragons are 2-2. As a special note, Warwick's junior class won homecoming honors with their Roman Float.