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Parkersburg Catholic rolls over Wirt

Ryan Roedersheimer of Parkersburg Catholic rambles for some of his 204 rushing yards in the Crusaders’ 41-0 win over Wirt County in Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH — Wirt County’s impressive new LED field lights were on display Friday night at Wilson-Eismon Field, but the game was mostly illuminated by Ryan Roedersheimer and the Parkersburg Catholic defense.

Roedersheimer rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns, and returned an interception 35 yards as the Crusader defense forced five turnovers and  held a Tiger squad severely depleted by injuries to 120 total yards. PC racked up 434 yards of offense on the night.

The teams traded turnovers in a scoreless first quarter. PC abruptly ended the first two Wirt County drives with interceptions by Christian Tallman and Ty Sturm. Dylan Hardbarger recovered a fumble and Drew Adams picked off a James Boice aerial to stymie the Crusaders.

PC broke the deadlock in the second with an eight-play, 74-yard drive. On a 3rd-and-six play from the Crusader 24, Roedersheimer broke over the right side for a 32 yard run. Boice ran for 14 on the next play, and on 3rd-and-five from the 19, Jaden Lacaria took the ball down to the ten. On first and goal, Roedersheimer slashed through the middle for his first touchdown. The PAT was no good, and Catholic led 6-0, with 8:31 remaining in the second.

After holding the Tigers to a 3-and-out, the Crusaders scored on a lightning two-play drive. Boice hooked up with Joseph Swisher for a 26 yard gain down the right sideline to the Wirt County 39. On the next play, the PC quarterback bootlegged right, reversed his field, and outran the defense to the left side of the end zone. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and the score stood at 12-0 at the half.

Catholic gained their first points of the second half when consecutive snaps went over the head of Trenton Richards, who shared QB duties with Josh Ellison for Wirt. Richards was forced to fall on the second in the end zone for a safety. After an exchange of punts, a six-play, 69 yard drive saw the Crusaders in the end zone again.

Boice hit Sturm for a 16 yard completion before Roedersheimer took off down the right side for a 44 yard jaunt to the Tiger five. Boice zipped the ball to Sturm in the right side of the end zone, Roedersheimer’s PAT was good, and Catholic led 21-0.

The next scoring drive took only a single play. PC took over possession on their 31. Boice handed off to Roedersheimer over the left-side; he reversed his field and turned on the jets. The Tigers looked to have caught him at about the 15, but a shifty move saw him wrong-foot the defenders and waltz back to the left for a spectacular score.

Roedersheimer picked off an Ellison pass and returned it 35 yards to end the third, and another interception on the next Tiger possession was returned 40 yards by Swisher down the left sideline for a pick-six, and a 34-0 lead.

The Crusaders’ final score came late, as PC coach Curt Shriver put his wide-receivers in at running back, and Sturm finished an eight-play drive with a six yard scoring run.

With seven opening day starters for the Tigers sidelined by injury, Ellison had to bear the load for the Wirt County offense, and he battled valiantly, rushing for 81 yards on 20 hard fought carries.

The 2-2 Crusaders host Valley-Wetzel next Saturday, while the 1-3 Tigers hope to have some starters recovered for the visit of Sherman on Friday.

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