St. Albans put together an aggressive effort Friday night, but could not muster the offense needed to overcome Shady Spring as it fell to the Tigers 40-0 in a season opener in front of a large crowd at Crawford Field.
In trying to build on the successes from last season’s three wins, the Red Dragons were able to go to their strength in quarterback Reese Lilly, who accounted for 129 yards passing on offense, but could not gain enough momentum to put the ball in the end zone.
“We need bodies. We need bodies,†said coach Derek Stotts. “We just got to get back to the drawing board and get some things figured out.â€
The entire first quarter was played on the Red Dragons side of the field with Shady Spring having three possessions but no points. The Red Dragons defense came up with two stops in the red zone to keep the Tigers at bay.
However, the Shady Spring offensive line began wearing down the Red Dragon defensive front in the second quarter, which led to two touchdowns by senior tailback Kaiden Helmer on runs of 4 and 10 yards.
Senior quarterback Cal Culicerto found junior running back Blake Snodgrass down the sideline for another 19-yard score to make the score 20-0 Tigers at the break.
As a result of a three-year buildup of the program, Shady Spring proved an imposing senior-laden team. It was able to control play on both sides of the ball, using Helmer at linebacker and other seniors -- defensive end Joey Cowger and linemen Brady Lacek and Mike Crouch.
The Tigers turned some heads last year in posting a 7-3 record with impressive victories against playoff teams James Monroe, Westside and Nicholas County. After moving up from Class AA to the reorganized Class AAA division, they made the postseason as the No. 11 seed but lost 41-7 to Nitro in the opening round.
“We had some nerves early and just missed a couple of things. But we settled down,†said Shady coach Vince Culicerto. “We needed that line to be big. Our line played outstanding on both sides of the ball.â€
The tandem of Snodgrass and Helmer combined for 284 yards rushing on 32 carries. “The line was just doing their jobs and opening up the gaps. We [with Snodgrass] were able to get down the field,†said Helmer.
The Tigers now play three consecutive home games, culminating in a key matchup against Class AAAA Oak Hill.
The Red Dragons continue their rebuild process next week with a home contest against Class AAA power Nitro.
Shady Spring 40 St. Albans 0
Shady Spring;0;20;13;7;—;40
St Albans;0;0;0;0;—;0
Second Quarter
Shady Spring — Helmer 4 run (Lugar kick) 11:57
Shady Spring — Snodgrass 19 pass from Culicerto (kick failed) 6:45
