Rush runs for 388 yards in Mapletown’s wild win over Avella
MAPLETOWN – Dylan Rush ran for a school-record 388 yards and five touchdowns, threw a scoring pass and added a conversion run and extra-point kick to power Mapletown to a wild 39-33 victory over visiting Avella in the Tri-County South Conference high school football Friday night.
Rush, who ran for 387 yards and eight TDs against Avella last year, carried the ball 42 times, his third consecutive 40-carry game.
Avella led 7-6 with less than two minutes left in the first half, then the scoring bonanza started. Rush gave Mapletown a 21-7 lead with TD runs of 89 yards late in the first half and four yards midway through the third. But each time Mapletown (2-0, 3-1) scored, Avella (1-2, 1-3) would answer. Eagles quarterback Dalton Simonelli completed 26 of 41 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Owen English.
Simonelli scored on a one-yard plunge that pulled the Eagles to within 27-21 after three quarters, but Rush made it a two-score game with a 56-yard TD early in the fourth quarter. Rush scored on runs of 89, 4, 3, 56 and 25 yards, the latter with 1:02 remaining.
Avella scored with 12 seconds left on a nine-yard pass from Simonelli to Stephen Miller but Mapletown recovered an ensuing onside kick.
Garrett Geresti caught nine passes for 154 yards and one score. Miller had 7 for 113.