THE NOSE
SHOWDOWN SET
A win is not always esthetically pleasing.
Such was the case in Old Gaelic’s 43-15 defeat of Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem on Saturday. Ragged but physical play characterized the early going and the Griffins scored first when they turned the left corner with fast hands and Dr. James Oliverio severed the defense and connected with Wes Beard for the dot down. Dan Roth’s conversion was good for a 7-0 lead.
Roth followed with a nifty try when he caught his own pop kick in traffic and hurled himself (and the ball) on to the try line.
A botched kick return led to a Valley score to cut the deficit to 12-5. But Dan Troy (from Matt Pomraning) and Scott Lindsey (a second assist from Oliverio) found the turf and Roth added another two-pointer for a 24-5 advantage at intermission.
Lehigh Valley got within 24-10 on another try before Lindsey picked off an errant pass and took it to the house. Roth followed with a try on a penalty play. The hosts scored again to make it 38-15 and Chris Botto finished off a solid sequence by the forwards with a dive-over for the final tally.
If there were scouts there from this week’s opponent, it’s safe to say we “didn’t show them too much.” There is a lot of room for improvement and we will need it. Let’s all try to make both practices this week!
T: Lindsey 2, Roth 2, Pomraning, Beard, Botto
A: Oliverio 2, Troy, Botto
C: Roth 4
1-Troy/T.Smith
2-Repka/Dimitrovich/Graham
3-T Smith/Dimitrovich
4-Pomraning
5-Hart/Dambro
6-Diegel/Hollowell
7-Ivey/Getz
8-Brillhart
9-Botto
10-Roth ©
11-Beard
12-Kroesen/Hart
13-Oliverio
14-Ogle/Hall
15-J Stefanon/Lindsey
For the first time since September, there was a semblance of a “B” game. The result was a scintillating scoreless tie. The Bees were knocking on the door throughout, but couldn’t penetrate.
1-Lentz
2-Brad Med
3-Matty Graham
4-Schlomann
5-Tunis
6-Larry Ship
7-Getz
8- R. Smith
9-Ed League
10-D Morris
11-Botto
12-Hollowell
13-Donahue
14-Hall
15-Ogle
We had a great turnout (31 guys) at Lehigh Valley. Let’s replicate that effort on Saturday at Cibort Park.
Recent series history: H.R.F.C. defeated Old Gaelic, 16-14, in the Mid-Atlantic finals at Williams Grove in April. The Black and Gold prevailed in March, 28-7, in a friendly. Last fall, Team Blue staged a rally and overcame a late 10-point deficit on the road and prevailed, 21-17.
When the two teams last met at Cibort Park, Old Gaelic got the win with a push-over try in the waning moments.
The teams have traded wins since 2003, when Harrisburg spoiled an undefeated season for Old Gaelic when it won the game, despite trailing 11-0 and down a player (through disqualification) for most of the contest. Our foes would like nothing better than to send us into second or third place. We can’t let that happen. No Old Gaelic Squad has ever completed a 9-0 season. Let’s be a part of some history of our own!
Thanks to Mark Cooley for the excellent scouting report. Hopefully everyone has reviewed it. He has many excellent concepts that we intend to incorporate into our game plan.