All of it looked familiar – the powerful and effective running game, the front lines dominating the line of scrimmage, the defense shutting down whatever the opposition cooked up.
In other words, the Baldwinsville football team’s 2010 season opener, a 24-0 shutout of West Genesee Friday night at Wildcat Stadium in Camillus, looked a lot like the Bees’ championship formula of 2009, with small variations.
Among those changes was seeing Tyler Rouse and Ben Paprocki in the backfield, ably matching the production of the departed Malik Burks. Rouse had 120 yards and two touchdowns, while Paprocki gained 100 yards and one TD.
Just as visible, though, was a defense that might improve on what Bees fans saw a season ago. All WG could manage was six yards on the ground and 76 yards overall, as opposed to B’ville’s 260 rushing yards and 302 total yards.
Defensive linemen Nick Robinson, Jake Margrey, Mark Stanard and Nate Stoughtenger created penetration on the front line, rarely letting quarterback Matt Naton get time to throw. When that didn’t work, linebackers Rouse, Carter Twombly, Steve Mitchell and Dave Middlemore sped in to make tackles, often for losses.
That unit was forced into duty early after a fumble on the game’s third play that WG’s Sean Howard recovered on his team’s 48-yard line. But in a harbinger of the night ahead, the Bees’ defense prevented the Wildcats from getting a first down.
On its next possession, the Bees began to assert control, using up more than eight minutes of clock before settling for Stanard’s 24-yard field goal. Then in the second quarter, a march of 58 yards covered 5:31, with Ben Paprocki going the final two yards for the touchdown to make it 10-0.
Good as Paprocki and Rouse were, it helped to have Moreland, Robinson, Margrey and Ryland Jennings back on the offensive line, with Joe Tanguay and tight end Carter Twombly joining in to physically overwhelm WG’s defensive front.
Despite all this, B’ville only led 10-0 going into the third quarter. Then it forced a turnover of its own as Eric Tommarello intercepted Naton at the Wildcats’ 40 and returned it 15 yards, setting up a short scoring drive.
Rouse, a 5-7, 185-pound sophomore, announced his arrival as a star on both sides of the ball. Following Tommarello’s interception, Rouse broke through the line for a 15-yard TD run to make it 17-0, but a bigger play lay ahead.
On third-and-long from the Bees’ 31 on its next possession, Rouse took a handoff on the team’s signature draw play. Breaking two tackles, he took off down the left side, outrunning the entire Wildcat defense to the end zone for his second TD in less than four minutes.
B’ville returns to Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium next Friday night to face Central Square at 6:30. The Red Hawks, under first-year coach Eric DeCarlo, lost its opener to Nottingham 27-18.
