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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
FLINTON -- After getting shut out by Claysburg-Kimmel and losing one of its best players last week, Glendale was looking to bounce back against winless West Branch.
That's what the Vikings did on a cool Friday night at Dr. Roy F. Baker Field.
The running game, led by Cameron Dreibelbis, chewed up rushing yardage, and the defense sacked West Branch quarterback Conner Danko eight times and held the Warriors to 52 total yards in a 32-0 win on pink night.
"We had a lot going on, and it wasn't all on the field stuff last week," Glendale coach Dave "Spank" Trexler said. "I didn't do a good job keeping the kids from some things. That was a tough loss last week. I'm not taking away from Claysburg. They're a good team, but we made it a lot easier for them in a lot of ways.
"You either go one way or the other. You either turn over and you're done or you get back at it, and the kids got back at it. That's a good sign."
The Vikings improved to 5-3 and kept their playoff hopes alive.
"We couldn't get anything going offensively," West Branch coach Travis McDowell said. "We started moving the ball and we had a couple meltdowns. But hat's off to Coach Trexler. They had a good gameplan going in. They always play us tough. I hope they do well in the playoffs."
Play of the game: Two plays before Glendale quarterback Logan Skebeck scored on a 1-yard in the second quarter, Joey Kitko made a diving catch of a Skebeck pass for a 21-yard gain to the West Branch 4.
"Joey is that type of player," Trexler said. "He makes plays and when given the opportunity he steps up."
Players of the game: The Glendale defense. The Vikings had three QB sacks in the first half and five in the second half. They held West Branch to minus 3 yards rushing and 52 yards passing.
"The coaches put a great gameplan together," Trexler said. "Coach Dan Dudurich did a great job calling and putting pressure on, and the kids responded. They flew around and they made plays. We covered well in the secondary in the second half."
Unsung heroes: The Glendale offensive line opened up holes for Dreibelbis (108 yards rushing and two touchdowns) and protected Skebeck.
Big injury: Glendale junior two-way lineman Daniel Williams will miss the rest of the football season and wrestling season due to an ACL and other injuries to his knee.
"We lost Daniel Williams last week, and that was a big loss, but Landen McGarvey's credit, he moved back to the line, and that really solidified things on the line. Having the line click at this point in the year is big."
Notable: Skebeck also threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Kitko in the third quarter. ... Dreibelbis had touchdown runs of 21 and 5 yards. ... Glendale's Tanner Ammerman had a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. ... Glendale had eight penalties for 87 yards, while West Branch wasn't penalized.
Next week: West Branch hosts Moshannon Valley. Glendale hosts Curwensville.
Records: West Branch (0-8), Glendale (5-3)
SCORE BY QUARTERS
West Branch 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Glendale 6 6 14 6 -- 32
First Quarter
G--Dreibelbis 21 run (kick failed), 5:01
Second Quarter
G--Skebeck 1 run (run failed), 8:30
Third Quarter
G--Dreibelbis 5 run (Kitko pass from Skebeck), 7:52
G--Kitko 45 pass from Skebeck (run failed), 3:36
Fourth Quarter
G--Ammerman 5 run (kick failed), 9:10
TEAM STATISTICS WB G
First downs 8 14
Total yards 49 377
Rushes-yards 25-(-3) 32-272
Yards passing 52 105
Pass (comp.-att.-int) 9-25-0 6-12-1
Punts-avg. 6-35 2-33.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 0-0 8-87
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: West Branch--Esposti 4-14, C. Kephart 5-13, Koleno 1-0, TEAM 1-(-1), Danko 14-(-29). Glendale--Dreibelbis 8-108, Sutton 8-53, Ammerman 6-44, Meyers 1-33, Skebeck 4-16, Krise 2-12, Franks 1-7, Seilhamer 1-0, TEAM 1-(-1).
PASSING: West Branch--Danko 8-22-0-53, Koleno 1-3-0-(-1). Glendale--Skebeck 6-11-1-105, M. Venlosky 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: West Branch--Liptak 1-17, C. Kephart 2-12, Esposti 2-9, Koleno 2-8, Williamson 2-6. Glendale--Kitko 4-83, Dreibelbis 2-22.