DANVILLE — Inauguration day for Danville’s new sports complex didn’t turn out the way the Blue Devils and the capacity crowd would have hoped.
The Utica Redskins ruined the opening day of the Tough Street Stadium by stinging Danville 27-8 in Friday night’s high school football clash.
Following the opening kickoff, things looked promising for the home team, as quarterback Nolan Ridgeway led the Blue Devils to the end zone for the opening score. It came on a 39-yard TD scamper by Cyren Wallace, followed by a two-point conversion, for an 8-0 with just 1:56 showing in the first quarter.
Those were Danville’s only points.
Ridgeway finished the night by throwing for 122 yards, while Wallace carried the ball for 187 yards.
But the Redskins wouldn’t allow another dent on the scoreboard.
“I thought they (Utica) played a really good game defensively,” Danville coach Matt Blum said. “We just couldn’t get stuff going, we could not get out of our own way, whether it was penalties, turnovers, or whatever.”
Twice in the red zone the Blue Devils came away with no points.
On fourth down and less than a yard to paydirt, the Redskin defense stepped up.
“We are inside the 1 and couldn’t score,” the coach said. “We were inside the 20 and couldn’t score.
“So the offense definitely needs improvement. These are things we are going to look at on film and go on from there.”
On the other side, Utica controlled the ball with a running attack that was nearly unstoppable.
“We thought going into the game that their interior was the strength of their team, and they proved that tonight,” Blum said.
Even though it is early in the season, Blum believes that this game could be pivotal for the team.
“I told our kids that this is a wake-up call for our program, we just have to get better every day,” he said. “We are not as good as we think we are.”
Next Friday, the Blue Devils will host the Lucas Cubs at 7 p.m. The Cubs lost to Hillsdale 31-0 on Friday.