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Big first half enough for Glendale Vikings

H.S. football extra

By Todd Irwin 4 min read

MORRISDALE -- At one point in the first half of Glendale's game against West Branch on Friday night, Vikings quarterback Logan Skebeck had completed eight straight passes and thrown four touchdown passes.

"It felt like everything was just clicking," Skebeck said. "Everything just went the right way."

West Branch put more pressure on him and tightened up the coverage in the second half, but Skebeck's big first half carried the Vikings to a 41-6 romp over the winless Warriors on senior night at L.T. Drivas Memorial Field.

"We came out hot," said Glendale coach Chase Hill, whose team improved to 2-6. "We scored on our first four drives and played very well. Logan was making really good reads. He was putting the ball where it needed to be. Any time we come out hot and play with confidence, good stuff happens."

Play of the game:  With Glendale leading 7-0, Skebeck connected with Cameron Dreibelbis, who broke a tackle in the open field and raced to the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown pass.

"It was pretty amazing," Skebeck said. "Cam is a pretty athletic guy. So I feel you want him one-on-one with any guy. He's going to make a move on someone at least and score."

Player of the game: Skebeck completed 15 of his 24 passes for 217 yards and four touchdown passes while being intercepted twice. He also ran for a team-high 72 yards on seven carries.

"He was throwing lights out," Hill said. "You could tell he was confident the way he was throwing it. His guys were doing a good job getting open. He was making the right reads and making good decisions. If the pocket did collapse, he did a good job taking off and getting up the sideline. He played really, really well."

Spreading the wealth: Three different receivers caught the four touchdown passes. Dreibelbis caught two of the TD passes, including a great catch on Skebeck's 20-yard TD pass to make it 28-0.

Levi Hamilton caught a 6-yard TD pass for the first score. Rhylan Hoopsick-Bell had a 15-yard touchdown reception.

"We just kind of knew they were going to try to match up with our guys," Hill said. "I have faith and confidence in our guys. I think we're very athletic. I think that's something we do very well. I just think we did a very good job taking advantage of it."

Second-half slowdown: After Glendale churned out 255 yards in the first half, it was limited to 133 in the second half.

"It was a little tough in the second half," Skebeck said. "They started to catch on to what we were doing, but we fought hard and pulled through."

Turnovers advantage: Dreibelbis and Tanner Ammerman intercepted West Branch quarterback Frankie Leskovansky in the first half. The Vikings also recovered a fumble in the game.

"The past two weeks we've been lacking takeaways," Hill said. "It was nice to go out and get one and put points on the board."

Unsung heroes: The Glendale defense, led by lineman Daniel Williams and Hamilton, stymied the West Branch running and passing attack. The Warriors (0-8) were scoreless until Leskovansky scored on a 4-yard run with 6:38 remaining.

"The defense played well," Hill said. "Not many complaints there. The line was firing out, playing physical and the coverage was very good. Everything we talked about during the week we carried out the game plan."  

Notable: Offensive lineman Mason Brink scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter. ... Glendale backup WB James Jenkins scored on a 40-yard run in the fourth. ... It was West Branch's 20th straight loss.  

Next week: Glendale visits Curwensville. West Branch is at Moshannon Valley. 

Records: Glendale (2-6). West Branch (0-8)

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Glendale 14 14 0 13 -- 41

West Branch 0 0 0 6 -- 6

First Quarter

G--Hamilton 6 pass from Skebeck (Oshall kick), 9:10

G--Dreibelbis 43 pass from Skebeck (Oshall kick), 4:08

Second Quarter

G--Hoopsick-Bell 15 pass from Skebeck (Oshall kick), 11:34

G--Dreibelbis 20 pass from Skebeck (Oshall kick), 7:58

Fourth Quarter

G--Brink 2 run (kick failed), 10:02

WB--Leskovansky 4 run (kick failed), 6:38

G--Jenkins 40 run (Oshall kick), 2:56

TEAM STATISTICS G WB

First downs 17 6

Total yards 388 103

Rushes-yards 27-171 30-38

Yards passing 217 65

Pass (comp.-att.-int) 15-25-2 5-16-2

Punts-avg. 2-34.5 3-43.6

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-yards 6-44 5-52

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Glendale, Skebeck 7-72, Myers 11-43, Jenkins 3-33, Dreibelbis 2-18, Gallaher 3-3, Brink 1-2. West Branch, C. Kephart 10-16, Myers 2-12, Esposti 4-9, Sample 2-7, Panebianco 1-5, Leskovansky 9-1, P. Kephart 2-(-12).

PASSING--Glendale, Skebeck 15-24-2-217, Jenkins 0-1-0-0. West Branch, Leskovansky 4-13-2-66, P. Kephart 1-2-0-(-1), C. Kephart 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--Glendale, Dreibelbis 3-74, Hamilton 4-73, Ammerman 5-38, Hoopsick-Bell 2-23, Jenkins 1-9. West Branch, C. Kephart 5-65.

Starting at /week.