Easy opening for West Greene
West Greene’s Nathan Brudnock pulls away from Bentworth’s Jacob Kisner en route to a touchdown in Friday’s game.
Bentworth’s Riordan Tush sits dejected on the sideline during the Bearcats’ loss to West Greene Friday night.
Bentworth’s Trent Cavanaugh tackles Andrew Litton of West Greene during Friday’s game.
For the West Greene Pioneers, it really didn’t matter who was taking the snaps from center Friday night.
Whether it be starting quarterback Zach Pettit, backup Gavin Scott or running back Ben Jackson, the Pioneers’ offense was nearly unstoppable as West Greene opened the season with a 46-13 victory over Bentworth at Washington & Jefferson’s Cameron Stadium.
West Greene head coach Rodney Huffman was very happy with the fast start as the Pioneers.
“It was a tremendous team effort,” Huffman said. “In past years, we have come out flat to start the season but I can’t be prouder of the team and the coaches. Our coaching staff did a great job of preparing us for tonight.”
The start was impressive for the Pioneers in a number of ways as the 46 points stands out, considering WG scored only 42 points the entire season in 2015.
West Greene also kept the Bearcats off the scoreboard for most of the night. That’s a positive sign for the Pioneers’ defense.
“It’s a process,” Huffman said. “We are starting to see some things pay off. We have a bunch of talented kids and they played very well tonight.”
The Pioneers opened up the season by taking the opening kickoff and driving 75 yards in 15 plays that took 6:40 off the clock. Pettit capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play to give West Greene an early 6-0 lead.
Pettit made the biggest impact on the game as the senior showed his versatility by running for two touchdowns, catching a touchdown and scoring a TD on defense. He also returned punts and kicked extra points.
“We stuck together as a family,” said Pettit. “We’re one unit, and it is just week one, so we should be able to build from here. It was fun being able to make plays. I think I ran more tonight then I did all of camp. I would rather focus on the team part than the individual part of the game.”
Bentworth had its best drive of the first half on the opening possession, but it stalled at the Pioneers’ 23-yard line.
Three plays later, with Scott under center, Nathan Brudnock hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-0. Brudnock had six catches for 141 yards.
The Pioneers stepped on the gas pedal after that.
Jackson opened the third series of the game by taking the direct snap. He moved the ball with ease as an eight-play drive ended with a one-yard touchdown run from Andrew Litton.
“We are very versatile,” Huffman said. “We can line up in a bunch of different formations and do a bunch of different things out of different packages.”
It wasn’t just the West Greene offense that made an impact.
The defense forced turnovers on three consecutive bentworth drives in the first half, with Litton recovering two fumbles. The first recovery WG turned into points when Jackson raced 22 yards for a TD on the first play after a turnover.
Jackson finished with 91 yards on 19 carries.
On the Bearcats next series Pettit stripped Bentworth running back Trent Cavanaugh and raced 52 yards untouched for a touchdown to give West Greene a 32-0 lead.
“We said before the game that defense would be the key,” Huffman said. “We wanted to fly around to the ball and force turnovers. I think we did that very well tonight. I couldn’t be happier.”
The Bearcats finally scored midway through the third quarter when Ben Peternel hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Shawn Dziak. Peternel caught five passes for 85 yards and also threw a TD pass.
“We are a young team and I think that youth showed up early,” Bentworth head coach Ron Skiles said. “They doubled Peternel all night and we forced some things. We didn’t do much right at all on either side of the ball, but we settled down and played better in the second half.”
Pettit caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Scott in the third quarter and added a 90-yard touchdown run in the fourth. He had 140 yards on the ground.
“Zach is so versatile,” Huffman said. “We can line him up anywhere and if he gets into open field he is going to make a lot of big plays.”