Reed, West too much for East

West had a special way of stopping East’s dangerous passing game: let ’em pass.

In the Pioneers’ 46-7 blowout win, the strategy worked against East quarterback Dominic Webb and his receivers.

“We never pressured him.” West coach Weston Schartz said. “I mean, we couldn’t get to him, but we were only bringing four and we never blitzed.”

Instead, Schartz relied on a talented group of athletes in the secondary to blanket East’s receivers. Webb used his athleticism and scrambling ability to keep plays alive, but the broken plays rarely materialized into positive yardage. The result was three interceptions and six tackles for loss – many of them on coverage sacks.

The Blue Aces didn’t help their own cause with six turnovers and several dropped passes. The team played without the leadership of coach Brian Byers, who was forced to miss the game because of a detached retina.

Assistant coach Bill Coffman said surgery to correct the problem went well, but Byers was instructed to stay home as part of the recovery process. Offensive coordinator Russ Wells handled the playcalling, while Coffman said the staff contributed to the defensive coaching.

“We just did what we always do,” he said. “Coach Byers always lets us coach. He’s a good man to work for, and we feel bad that he couldn’t be here with us. I know that tears him up.”

Of the five touchdowns West scored in the first half, four came on drives that started on East’s side of the field. Four first-half turnovers, two fumbles, an interception and a recovered onside kick contributed to West’s 33-7 halftime lead.

“That short field helped us on offense,” West tailback Javon Reed said. “The defense set us up, especially in the first half, and we took it.”

Reed scored twice in the first half and finished with 147 yards on 17 carries. While the turnovers set West up for an early lead, it was the Pioneers themselves who ran away with the game without any help.

A clock-draining, impressive 99-yard scoring drive in the third quarter proved the power of the West offensive line. The Pioneers marched the length of the field on 17 plays in 7 minutes, 35 seconds for a 39-7 lead.

“I told the guys we have to get the ball moving in that second half,” Schartz said.

Eight ballcarriers contributed to West’s 387 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 65 carries.

“When we look at film we’re going to find that their offensive line played really well and handled our defensive front,” Coffman said. “We’ve got to find some answers or people are going to continue to do that to us.”

East tight end David Kaufman dropped two passes in the first half but came back to lead the team in receptions with seven for 64 yards. Teammate Joseph Patrick caught the lone touchdown for East, a 64-yard score that capped Patrick’s five-reception, 137-yard effort.

West quarterback Chaz Capps didn’t have to rely on his arm with such an effective running game but still managed to find the end zone on one of his three completions to Thomas Washington. Capps also rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

This story was originally published September 19, 2014 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Reed, West too much for East."