New Albany blows out Canal Winchester in central Ohio football Game of the Week
As far as Canal Winchester coach Jake Kuhner is concerned, perhaps the most lethal quality about New Albany’s offense is its speed.
If film didn’t give Kuhner or the Indians a true indication of how fast the Eagles play, the start of their game Aug. 26 did and set the tone for another lopsided New Albany victory.
Christian Manville ran for a 74-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, a swarming defense held the Indians to 40 yards in the first half and forced two turnovers, and the entire second half was played with a running clock as New Albany cruised to a 45-13 win in its home opener.
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“You can’t ask for anything better than that (start),” Eagles coach Brian Finn said. “We tell people we’re a tempo offense. This is what we’ve been doing for years. It’s how we play football. We play fast and furious, snap the ball as quick as we can and go. We might be faster than we’ve been, but that’s what we want to be.”
Manville finished with 148 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries, while Dylan Rosser added 18 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Luka Garver connected with Braylen Nash for a 32-yard score midway through the first quarter.
Roman Orsinelli and Nikolas Grady each intercepted Canal quarterback Maxton Brunner, and Orsinelli’s interception set up Manville’s second touchdown late in the first quarter.
“We preach physicality all the time. We clogged the middle and made it really hard on them,” Orsinelli said. “We’re happy, but we feel like we’re playing ourselves every week. We have to keep proving ourselves.”
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Brunner threw touchdowns of 81 and 17 yards to Karson Martino and Gavin Armstrong, respectively, in the final eight minutes to break the shutout.
“They came out a lot tougher than us. We have to come out better than what we did,” Kuhner said. “Their fast offense, we can’t (replicate) that with our scout team. When it comes down to it, they’re tough kids and they run a disciplined offense. The way they came up to the ball and just got going, it’s tough to replicate that.”
Here are three takeaways from New Albany vs. Canal Winchester:
Colin Schuler earned his way onto New Albany’s roster last year as a kicker, but even before the season coaches hinted that the senior could be used in certain offensive packages. He had a well-rounded night in the first half alone, catching a 22-yard pass to sustain a drive in addition to a 47-yard field goal and a 55-yard punt. “I don’t even know what to say about him,” Manville said. “Catching passes, kicking into the end zone — he’s just an extremely talented player.”
The Eagles have outscored their first two opponents 80-13 and averaged 349 yards per game, almost mirroring last year’s start when they had an 85-21 advantage against Watkins Memorial and Westerville North through two weeks.
Despite rotating a deep group of running backs including Corey Howard, Myles McKee and Kaseem Wade, the Indians were unable to gain much traction. They had seven plays for negative yards and three more for zero yards.
dpurpura@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekDave
CANAL WINCHESTER vs. NEW ALBANY
CANAL WINCHESTER: 0-0-0-13–13
NEW ALBANY: 21-10-0-14–45
NA—Manville 74 run (Schuler kick)
NA—Nash 32 pass from Garver (Schuler kick)
NA—Manville 1 run (Schuler kick)
NA—Schuler 47 FG
NA—Manville 11 run (Schuler kick)
NA—Rosser 13 run (Schuler kick)
CW—Martino 81 pass from Brunner (kick failed)
NA—Owusu-Ansah 34 run (Schuler kick)
CW—Armstrong 17 pass from Brunner (Roush kick)
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: New Albany football cruises in Central Ohio Game of the week
