Putting it on the Line: Wall 21, Lacey 14

LACEY – Wall head coach Chris Barnes knew what he had in senior quarterback Steve Cluley, so the main question heading into a season-opening showdown with Lacey was whether the Crimson Knights would be able to move the ball on the ground against a physical defense.

He got his answer in the form of a career-high 127 yards rushing and two touchdowns by senior tailback Jim Guiliano. The work of Guiliano and a senior-laden offensive line kept the Crimson Knights right in it before Cluley brought it home with a 34-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Connor Mulholland with three minutes left in the game for a 21-14 nondivisional victory on Saturday.

“We knew coming into this game that whoever played better up front was going to win,’’ said senior lineman Matt Ford. “We played Rumson in our scrimmage last week, and we were embarrassed. We used that this week to our advantage, and we played really well.’’

“We didn’t know how well we would run the ball,’’ Barnes said. “(Guiliano’s performance) was the key. We didn’t know if we could do that today. We challenged them, and we thought if we did (run the ball), we would be OK. It says a lot for those five up front – six including the tight end, Derek Gardner, who does a great job.’’

It helped Wall end Lacey’s 13-game winning streak, the longest current mark in the Shore, and give Barnes his first win over Lacey in four tries during his tenure. The game was a reversal of roles from last season, when Lacey was a senior-dominated team gearing up for a 12-0 season, while Wall was the young, up-and-coming team. This time, the Crimson Knights entered as the favorite, while Lacey only returned four starters from last year’s juggernaut. One of them, star tight end/linebacker Jordan Powell, sat out while recovering from a MRSA infection on his chin.

“We still had something to prove,’’ Mulholland said. “We lost to them in the fourth quarter last year, and it almost happened again this year, but I think we proved that we’re a good football team that is going to be around.’’

It was a battle of two outstanding offensive lines, as Lacey rolled up 251 yards on the ground in the loss, including a career-high 157 yards and a touchdown by junior tailback Kyle Spatz in his first varsity start at tailback. That was counterbalanced by only 11 yards passing and two interceptions for the Lions.

“We knew they could run the football well,’’ Barnes said. “They’re big and athletic, their kids are tough, and they have a nice little scheme.’’

“I learned that the kids are typical Lacey kids that will play very hard, and that’s a good thing,’’ Lacey coach Lou Vircillo said. “(Spatz) is a legit runner, and he’s been a legitimate runner since he’s been a kid. He plays bigger than he is.’’

After the two teams traded three-and-outs to start the game, Wall’s front line asserted itself on a 9-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by an 11-yard touchdown run by Giuliano for a 7-0 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter. The big play on the drive was a 25-yard sprint down the Lacey sideline by Cluley on third-and-11 from Wall’s 49-yard line.

Lacey and its stout offensive line led by Division I-A prospect Tyrell Smith and Lex Knapp, a pair of seniors, answered with a game-tying 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The Lions did not even attempt one pass on the drive, which culminated in a three-yard touchdown run by sophomore Chris Jensen for his first varsity touchdown.

“We can definitely play better defensively,’’ said Ford, who also plays on the defensive line. “They ran the ball on us. They had a 13-play drive just running the ball, but if we get our defense together, we’ll be pretty good.’’

Wall came right back with a 9-play, 65-yard drive to take the lead back, 14-7, with four minutes left in the half. Guiliano finished the march with a four-yard touchdown run.

An interception by Wall’s Rich Bomenblit halted Lacey’s next drive, and then Smith and Casey Sirotniak sacked Cluley to thwart Wall’s ensuring possession. The Lions then drove down to Wall’s 24-yard line late in the first half, only for Mulholland to end the threat with an interception to keep Wall ahead 14-7 at the half.

“The entire week, we practiced against that play when they ran trips right sprint about 100 times, and coach (Al) Tirpack said to just sit there 15 yards deep, and there it was,’’ Mulholland said of the interception.

Sirotniak’s second sack of the game ended Wall’s first drive of the second half and helped lead to a seven-play, 96-yard drive that tied the game at 14 with 1:35 left in the third quarter. Junior quarterback Brandon Boos had a 24-yard run after Lacey had been pinned at its 4-yard line by Cluley’s punt, and Spatz exploded through five tacklers for a 31-yard touchdown burst to draw a roar from the Lions’ home crowd.

Wall then drove down to Lacey’s 12-yard line on its next possession before Sirotniak sacked Cluley for the third time, causing a fumble. The Crimson Knights recovered it, but senior Tyler Block’s 35-yard field goal attempt was wide right to keep the game tied at 14 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Wall’s defense forced a three-and-out and Lacey shanked a punt, Wall was in business at the Lions’ 37-yard line. On third-and-seven, Cluley found Mulholland on a post over the middle for a 34-yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead with 3:10 left in the game. Cluley, who was 6-for-14 for 95 yards, had been hobbled a little bit by taking a helmet to the shin on Sirotniak’s sack during the previous series, but delivered a strike when Wall needed it most.

“When we went into halftime, Barnes was talking that we were going to run that or one other play because the safety was just biting over the top,’’ Mulholland said. “I just planted my outside foot and cut toward the end zone, and Cluley just put it right there like he always does.’’

“In the first half, the middle of the field was open a lot,’’ Cluley said. “We were trying to get it there, but a lot of the plays we were calling were taking too long, so at halftime we made some adjustments. When we called that play, pre-snap I knew it was going to be open. It was just a matter of time before it would open it up, and it did.’’

Lacey had one final drive and inserted sophomore quarterback Tom Kelly, who is more of a throwing quarterback compared to Boos, who is more of a running threat. The Lions drove to Wall’s 29-yard line, but an incomplete pass on fourth down by Kelly allowed Wall to take a knee and seal a satisfying victory.

"It was nice to just grind it out for four quarters and walk away with a victory against a very good team,’’ Cluley said.

Box score

Wall 21, Lacey 14

 .                                            W              L

First downs                        14               14

Rushes-yards                  33-160          36-251

Passing                           6-14-0          2-10-2

Passing yards                   95                  11

Fumbles-lost                   1-0                1-0

Penalties                          2-10              2-10

Wall (1-0)    7 7 0 7 0 - 21

Lacey (0-1)  0 7 7 0   - 14

Scoring summary:

W: Guiliano 11-yard run (Block kick).

L: Jensen 3-yard run (Dolly kick)

W: Guiliano 4-yard run (Block kick).

L: Spatz 31-yard run (Dolly kick).

W: Mulholland 34-yard pass from Cluley (Block kick).

Individual statistics

Rushing – W: Guiliano 23-127, Cluley 10-33. L: Spatz 21-157, Jensen 4-19, Boos 7-65, Tutella 4-10.

Passing – W: Cluley 6-14-0 95. L: Boos 1-7-2 11, Kelly 1-3-0 1.

Receiving – W: Mulholland 5-75, Gardner 1-20. L: Fernandez 1-11, Popper 1-1.

Interceptions – W: Mulholland 1-0, Bomenblit 1-0.