Great Valley Falls 26-7 in Snowy Matchup

DOWNINGTOWN—It can never be said that Bishop Shanahan head coach Paul Meyers does not do his homework.

Meyers and his staff, in anticipation of bad weather, implemented a “Wing-T” offensive scheme to combat mother nature and Great Valley’s quickness of the defensive line, as the Eagles battled the Patriots in what was supposed to be the Shanahan homecoming.

The dance, parade and halftime festivities were postponed, thanks to an early Christmas snow before Halloween. But the Eagles came to play, racking up six sacks on defense, propelling the hosts to a 26-7 Ches-Mont league victory.

“We heard all week about the weather, but had no idea it would be this bad,” said Meyers. “We knew we would not be able to spread five wide all game, so we went with the 'Wing T' and worked on it all week. It’s the same lingo as what we usually use, so it was a fairly simple to make the switch.”

If Saturday’s performance is any indication, Shanahan senior Mason Dreiling is probably wishing that the scheme had been in place all year. Dreiling scored two touchdowns and racked up more than 100 yards on a frozen Jack Mancini Field.

“Our guys stepped it up today,” added Meyers. “We challenged [Dreiling] to see what he could do and he had a great game, breaking off a couple of very big runs. Our defense was awesome today. The coaches did a great job preparing for their option, and our players executed the plan.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Shanahan got on the board first. Senior signal caller Ryan Egolf, who did a great job juggling a sloppy ball coming out of the snaps, hit Dreiling on six-yard touchdown.

The Eagles bolstered their lead when Egolf found junior Josh Warren breaking wide open and hit him on the numbers, throwing into biting wind and sleet. Sixty-six yards later, Shanahan had a 12-0 lead after the PAT failed.

Great Valley answered back as Chris Geiss and Mack Hazs contributed long runs in a 10-play scoring drive, which culminated with Hazs scoring from two yards out. That cut the lead to 12-7 as they headed into the warm, dry locker rooms at intermission.

“I have to give them credit. They stopped us early on before the field got bad,” said Patriots coach Mike Choi. “We need to get outside for our option to be effective, and we just couldn't get there with the conditions. They usually go five wide all the time, it was surprising to see them get away from that and they did a great job executing.”

The turning point of the game came not on a scoring play, not on a turnover, but a two-yard run in which Mack Hazs had his leg bent back. The Pats were driving for a chance to tie or take the lead mid way through the third quarter.

The loss of Hazs, who left the field under his own power, was devastating to Great Valley’s ability to move the ball. The aerial option was dicey at best with the swirling wind and sleet.

“Losing a guy like Mack is huge,” added Choi. “Not just from a running standpoint; he is a leader on the field and the sidelines. He helps get us up when we have lulls. It made it difficult when he went down.”

Shanahan iced the game, no pun intended, when senior Joe Sweeny reached into the pile and snagged the lose ball, three plays after Hazs’ injury, then emerged from the fray and rambled 48 yards into the Patriots end zone. There, he was tackled by teammate Tyler Mejazie, who escorted Sweeny down the sideline as his wing man.

In a time-consuming drive, where Egolf wisely used the entire play clock on every snap, Dreiling added his second score of the game with a 14-yard run around the left side, closing out the scoring and securing the win for the Eagles.

Great Valley                 0          7          0          0       — 7

Bishop Shanahan          0          12        8          6       — 26

Scoring

BS       Dreiling 6 yd pass from Egolf (kick failed)

BS       Warren 66 yard pas from Egolf (run failed)

GV       Hazs 2 yd run    (kick)

BS       Sweeney 48 yd fumble recovery (Dreiling run)

BS       Dreiling 14 yd run (kick blocked)