The Gettysburg Warriors (3-0, 2-0) offense was firing on all cylinders on Friday night as they thrashed the Waynesboro Indians (0-3, 0-2) to the tune of 41-7. They controlled the line of scrimmage all night as they rolled for over 350 yards rushing and took down Indian’s quarterback Brayden Heimbuch for 7 sacks. Juniors Logan Wyant and Nathan Anders finished the night with 2 and 4 sacks, respectively.
“These players are straight dogs; they played hard and were able to leave it all on the field,” head coach Jake Johnson raved about his defensive line. Coaches Devin McIntosh and Connor Tracy are the ones who keep that D-line unit a well-oiled machine. “At halftime, both coaches were going over very specific, tactical things that made an even bigger difference in the 2nd half.” Coach McIntosh referred to his D-line as “sharks,” and that rang true as they smelled the blood in the water not long after the opening kickoff.
Gettysburg took the opening kickoff and only needed just three plays to find paydirt. After junior signal caller Grant Johnson kept a read option for 31 yards and Junior running back Trevor Cunningham took a read option for eight yards, the Warriors struck up the band with a TD pass to junior Elijah Allen in the front-right corner of the end zone. An ensuing missed two-point try made it 6-0 just a minute into the game.
The Warrior defense started leaving its mark on the first Waynesboro drive and didn’t stop all night. Nathan Anders’s first sack came on a third-and-five, and the fourth-down attempt was shut down with a Grant Johnson interception.
Gettysburg went right back to work, and four plays later they ran an identical play as their first TD to the opposite pylon for their second score of the game. Johnson found sophomore Jayden Spencer on a corner route to the front-left corner of the south end zone to make it 12-0. Another Anders sack and a pair of quick Indians three-and-outs were followed by a Grant Johnson 63-yard scamper to make it 18-0 as the first quarter expired.
Max Rawlings drilled a 34yd field goal with 3:12 left in the 2nd to make it 21-0 for the home team. Waynesboro gave their best effort to score before halftime, working methodically down the field and finding themselves with a third-and-goal from the Gettysburg one yard line. The defense stood tall and swarmed the ball carrier for a five-yard loss and forced an incomplete pass on the ensuing fourth down to end the half. This is a new Warrior defense, and they’ve shown it through the first three weeks of the season, averaging only 10 points allowed per game.
Gettysburg continued moving right along at the start of the second half, with a quick three-and-out and another Grant Johnson rushing touchdown; this time from 36 yards out to make it 28-0. Both opponents traded defensive stops to end the third quarter. Johnson and Cunningham started the fourth, taking turns chewing up clock and wearing down the Indians’ defense. Grant Johnson made his third trip to the end zone to make it 34-0, while Cunningham put the final nail in the coffin, following a Waynesboro score, with a 63-yd sprint down the opposing sideline to make the final 41-7. Johnson finished with 200 rushing yds, three rushing TDs, 125 passing yds, and two passing TDs. Cunningham finished with over 150 rushing yds and 1 rushing TD. Coach Johnson, smiling at the thought of numbers 15 and 4, said, “Those two are a dynamic duo; the two of them are gonna be a problem, not just this year but next year too.”
Gettysburg travels east next Friday night to face Mid-Penn opponent Northern York (2-1, 2-0).
