No. 3-ranked Derry rolls past Uniontown

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 5, 2018 | 11:00 PM

Derry’s rebuilt football program churned out another impressive performance Friday night.

Don’t tell coach Tim Sweeney, though.

Not long after the third-ranked Trojans dismantled winless Uniontown, 53-20, to move into a three-way tie for first place with North Catholic and Elizabeth Forward in the Class 3A Big East Conference, Sweeney was fuming over his team’s lack of focus after building a big first-quarter lead.

His criticism was pointed mainly at the junior varsity players, whose scheduled game with Uniontown on Saturday was canceled because the Red Raiders were unable to field a full team.

Sweeney inserted the JVs after Derry got up by four touchdowns heading into the second quarter, essentially providing his second unit the benefit of playing a game within the varsity game.

“We might as well have been at the homecoming dance,” Sweeney said, “because all we did with that group in there was clutch and grab. They should understand that this is not a dance.”

Uniontown scored all of its touchdowns on long scoring plays against a Derry lineup dominated by JV players: a 55-yard fumble recovery by Christian Perkins and a pair by Dom Richter on a 47-yard run and an 85-yard kickoff return.

“We talk about it in practice all the time,” Sweeney said. “It doesn’t matter who’s running the ball, we want you to hit them and tackle them.”

Senior Hunter Hebenthal rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns for Derry (6-1, 4-1), which led Uniontown (0-7, 0-5) at halftime 34-6.

From the start, Derry’s first-team unit was met with little resistance, scoring four consecutive touchdowns to take a 27-0 lead with 5 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter.

It’s when Sweeney turned to his reserves, taking advantage of an opportunity to get some of his younger players extensive action.

“I’m just trying to do the right thing here,” he said. “I’m trying to get some of our younger guys some experience, and I’m trying to be respectful to Uniontown because they’re rebuilding. We don’t want any bad blood with anybody.”

Hebenthal, who plays in the backfield in the shadow of leading rusher Justin Flack, said Sweeney and his staff have been eager to keep all of the team’s players involved while the Trojans continue toward another playoff run.

Derry broke a long string of losing seasons in 2015 and finally returned to the WPIAL playoffs a year later.

“The young guys look to us a lot,” Hebenthal said. “For a lot of those guys, this was the first time under the lights for an extended time. That’s a big step, so we’re going to try to continue to work with them and show them the way.”

Derry rallied in a big way after losing to Elizabeth Forward a week ago to fall from the unbeaten ranks and drop out of first place. But the Trojans returned to take a share of the top spot in part when North Catholic blanked Elizabeth Forward, 27-0, on Friday.

“I’m proud of our starters,” Sweeney said. “Right now, I’m angry about the JV team, and we’re headed in there now to have a meeting.”

But it worked out for the Trojans. Sweeney reinserted some of his starters, particularly on defense, and order was restored.

When Dom DeLuca scored on a 23-yard touchdown run with 6:34 left in the fourth quarter, Derry had taken a 53-14 lead.

But the Trojans then yielded Richter’s 85-yard kickoff return.

Derry scored at will from the onset.

First, it was Flack registering a 25-yard TD run on the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage for a 7-0 lead.

Flack then recovered a Uniontown fumble on the Red Raiders’ first possession to set up his 8-yard scoring run on Derry’s second play from scrimmage, increasing the lead to 13-0.

After Matt McDowell’s interception on Uniontown’s second possession, Hebenthal scored on a 29-yard touchdown run for Derry on the Trojans’ fourth play from scrimmage, giving them a 20-0 lead.

Derry extended its lead to 27-0 after Uniontown’s Scott Fitzpatrick fell to a knee after taking a snap in punt formation and the Trojans’ Justin Huss followed with a 10-yard touchdown run.

It stayed that way until Derry added Hebenthal’s 65-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Trojans a 34-0 advantage.

With Flack and most of his fellow first-teamers on the sidelines, Uniontown finally broke into the scoring column with 1:24 to go in the first half as Perkins picked up a loose ball and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.

Richter’s 47-yard touchdown run to open the third quarter pulled Uniontown within 34-14. But Hebenthal scored on a 22-yard TD run and Bastien Anderson added an 11-yarder for Derry, putting the Trojans ahead, 46-14.

Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.

Tags: Derry Area, Uniontown