Lebanon more fundamental than Golden Wave
Grundy (9) vs. Lebanon (28)
Written: Aug 31, 2012
By LLOYD COMBS
for the Daily Telegraph
LEBANON, Va. — Most football games come down to blocking and tackling and Lebanon did a better job at both than Grundy Friday.
The Pioneers also took better advantage of their opportunities and handed the Golden Wave a 28-9 non-district setback at Stuart Field.
Two interceptions set up Lebanon touchdowns, the first one putting Grundy in a 14-0 hole at halftime.
One play after a pick by William Watson, Lebanon’s John Michael Duty made a perfect throw over the middle to Eric Eads on a 47-yard touchdown pass and the Pioneers doubled their lead with 28 seconds left in the first half.
Lebanon controlled the line of scrimmage, netting 18 first downs to Grundy’s four, and took advantage of mistakes by the Wave defense as well.
“We didn’t attack and we weren’t aggressive and we were out of position too many times on defense,” Grundy coach Jeremy Ward said. “Offensively, we just didn’t execute and we got outplayed.”
Grundy still managed to get within 14-9 after a safety and two plays by Nick Travis early in the third quarter. A bad punt snap by the Pioneers got the Golden Wave on the scoreboard. Travis then returned the free kick 37 yards to set up his own 31-yard touchdown run, on which he broke an ankle tackle near the goal line.
It nearly doubled the talented senior’s first-half rushing total against a Lebanon defense that keyed on the Wave tailback the entire game. The Pioneers also tackled much better than Grundy, which allowed two fourth-quarter TDs by the Pioneers.
An interception by Nathaniel Akers set up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Duty to tight end Christopher Helton, who got behind a pair of Grundy defenders and extended the Lebanon lead to 21-9 with 8:59 remaining. Rasnake then broke off a 33-yard TD run with 4:11 left.
Both starting running backs reached 100 yards for the Pioneers. Rasnake finished with 100 on just nine carries, while tailback Nathan Hurd was a workhorse, rushing for 174 yards on 32 attempts, with 122 coming in the first half.
Travis finished with 79 yards on 12 carries. Lebanon outgained Grundy by better than a 2-1 margin, with 304 yards to 151 for the Golden Wave.
Grundy (1-1) travels to Hurley on Friday.
At Stuart Field
Grundy..................0 0 9 0 -- 9
Lebanon................7 7 0 14 -- 28
L-Rasnake 30 run (Owens kick)
L-Eads 47 Int Ret (Owens kick)
G-Safety, punt snap went back of the end zone
G-Travis 31 run (Mutter kick)
L-Helton 20 pass from Duty (Owens kick)
L-Rasnake 33 run (Owens kick)
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TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: Gru 4, Leb 18; Rushes-Yards: Gru 21-64, Leb 48-223; Passing Yards: Gru 87, Leb 81; Comp-Att-Int: Gru 9-24-2, Leb 5-10-0; Fumbles-Lost: Gru 3-1, Leb 3-2; Penalties-Yards: Gru 2-25, Leb 7-64; Punts-Average: Gru 6-39.8, Leb 7-64.
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