LANCASTER — There were no signs of professional wrestlers on Friday night at Lancaster’s Fulton Field, but the Danville Blue Devils lived up to the moniker they were recently assigned, The Road Warriors.
The visitors body-slammed third-seeded Lancaster Fisher Catholic 59-8 to advance in the Division VII, Region 27 high school football playoffs.
The Blue Devils posted a respectable 5-5 record during the regular season, but in the last two weeks they have tallied 113 points while a stingy defense has allowed just 8.
Third-seeded Danville (7-5) will now face No. 2-seed Waterford next Friday night at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are 9-2 after thumping Strasburg 42-7 on Friday night.
Danville coach Matthew Blum credits his team maturing as the season progresses.
“It’s the kids, the kids are starting to gain some confidence, that’s the biggest thing,” Blum said.
The Blue Devils wasted no time picking up where they left off last Friday night, when Cy Wallace slipped into the end zone with 10:25 showing on the clock.
Freshman quarterback Parker Proper was temporarily injured later in the first quarter, allowing Nolan Ridgeway to take the reins. Ridgeway smartly handed the ball to Wallace, who galloped 55 yards for Danville’s second score.
The points continued to pile up, when, after another touchdown, Briggs Wallace pushed his way into the end zone to give Danville a 28-0 lead. The only miscue of the evening for the Devils came when Fisher Catholic’s Michael Zachery grabbed an errant pass for an interception.
Just two plays later, Danville’s Carson Proper returned the favor when he grabbed an interception. It was one of those nights when nothing went right for the Irish. Case in point, Cy Wallace was at the right place at the right time to grab a tipped pass for a pick-six.
Even the center had a rough night for Fisher Catholic, putting one snap over the head of the quarterback and out of the back of the endzone for a safety. Another high snap resulted in Danville’s Owen Gronberg recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
“We’re only having two or three seniors start on either side of the ball,” Blum said of his young team.
The inexperience is something the coach is working through with his squad.
“We’ve got to clean up the penalties. The further we go into the season, the more things like that will hurt us,” the coach said.
Blum once again praised the caravan from Danville to Lancaster.
“This is a great community, and these are great fans, they drive an hour and a half to support us,” Blum said.