McDowell puts on offensive show to beat Walsh Jesuit football
With over 1,000 total yards of offense and 50 first downs combined it was a football game loaded with offensive fireworks. The only issue was the final score as Walsh Jesuit came up short 56-37 on the road to McDowell High.
Giving up 42 points in a wild 42-28 first half was alarming to Warrior head coach Nick Alexander in the contest at Gus Anderson Field in Erie, Penn.
However, Alexander realizes the talent level that the Trojans have, coupled with the fact that he thought his club could have scored even more points.
“Erie McDowell is a great team and they are going to win a lot of games,” said Alexander. “It would have been a big win for us and we will learn from it.”
McDowell (1-0) was ranked 10th in one of the state pre-season polls for 6A schools, which is the largest school football classification in Pennsylvania.
Trojan speedster Arts Simmons burned the Warriors (1-1) with 22 carries for 295 yards and three touchdowns and he also had 49 receiving yards.
The game’s first TD was an 80-yard burst around left end by Simmons as Walsh didn’t have good running angles by its secondary.
Threatening to tie the score, Walsh fumbled the ball away in the red zone, but that was just one the missed opportunities by the Warriors.
“There was a lot of offense Friday and we felt like we left points out there,” said Alexander.
Simmons also had a 59-yard scoring jaunt right up the middle of the Warrior defense and was untouched.
“Defensively, we have worked all week to improve our run defense up front and our eyes in the back end,” said Alexander. “We will be better moving forward.”
Despite the loss, Walsh had a slew of outstanding performances on offense and had another breakout game on special teams.
“It’s a team game, we didn’t score enough points to win,” said Alexander. “I am proud of our special teams again. We returned a kick for a score, made a 34-yard field goal and we were perfect on extra points. Cooper Kirda also had four touchbacks.”
Trey Bell continues to be dangerous in the return game as he had an electric 80-yard kick off return for a touchdown and added a 60-yard TD catch from quarterback Ryan Kerscher, all coming in the second quarter.
Bell had 11 receptions for 118 yards for the Warriors.
Running back Justin Bremner also had a big game for Walsh as he had 18 carries for 130 yards and two rushing TDs of six yards and 18 yards, plus added a 5-yard TD catch from Kerscher.
Kerscher also was outstanding for the Warriors. He hit on 32 of 50 passes for 298 yards and the two scores.
Kirda nailed a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter, made all four extra points and added the four kickoff touchbacks.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: McDowell offense goes wild vs. Walsh Jesuit football
