Big plays carry Sandwich past Wilmington

Updated: October 22, 2011 12:14AM

When Sandwich and Wilmington get together to play football, the game is usually a physical, grind-it-out affair.

That wasn’t the case Friday, however, as the two teams combined for 83 points and 780 yards of offense. But when it came down to it, the Sandwich defense took over and pulled out a 45-38 road win. It was the Indians’ first victory over the Wildcats since 1993.

“This was a goal,” Sandwich coach Dusty Behringer said. “We treated this as a playoff game, this was a beautiful atmosphere and it gave our kids something to go after.”

The Indians (7-2) forced three Wilmington (6-3) turnovers in the fourth quarter, converting two of them into 14 points. With the score tied at 31 early in the fourth quarter, Dallas Schroeder got the defense on the board when he picked up a Zack Skoryi (14 carries, 104 yards) fumble and raced 41 yards to give Sandwich the lead for good at 38-31 with 10:24 to play.

“He missed the handoff and it hit him in the hip, so I just scooped it up and ran,” Schroeder said. “I wanted to run as fast as I could and not get tackled until I got to the end zone.”

On the next possession, Schroeder picked off a Sean Liaromatis (141 yards passing) pass at the Wilmington 12 that turned into points three plays later when P.J. Crotty scored from 10 yards out with 2:19 to go.

Jeremy Anderson also had a pick in the quarter as Sandwich forced five Wildcat turnovers on the night.

Big plays were made on both sides of the ball for the Indians, as quarterback Derrick Risley (138 total yards) opened the game with a 74-yard touchdown run, and Crotty took one in from 64 yards out in the second quarter. In all, the Indians put up 368 yards on just 44 offensive snaps.

“In big ballgames big-time players make plays,” Behringer said. “All of our plays were by the big players we have on this team, and it was good to see.”

Crotty finished with a team-high 88 yards rushing for Sandwich, while Spencer Carlson rushed for 68 yards and Danny Bryski had a 42-yard reception that led to a score.

Chris Tworek rushed for a game-high 124 yards on just eight carries for Wilmington.

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