Corey Meyer tackled Wayne Valley punter Pete Savastano in the end zone late in the third quarter for a safety. That was the lone score in the Mustangs’ 2-0 victory over the Indians."I thought the snap was a little to his left," Valley head coach Brian O'Connor said. "But Pete should have had it. He bobbled it a little and by the time he had control (Meyer) was all over him."
Unfortunately for Valley, they had to punt the ball twice on that possession. On the first punt, Clifton was flagged for an illegal block. Because of that illegal block, the Clifton return man was able to return the ball deep into Valley territory. Savastano, unaware of the flag, tackled the runner, but was flagged for a face mask. The penalties off set, forcing Valley to punt again. That was when the safety occurred.
It was a rough stretch for Savastano, but he was hardly the only one to blame. Normally sure handed Anthony Verrilli had two drops, including one in the end zone and one late in the game. Mike Castles also had a key drop late. Savastano also had two fourth period interceptions.
O'Connor thought that those passes should have been caught and said the other gaffes were "certainly avoidable." On the other hand, the coach placed most of the blame on another culprit - the rainy, windy weather conditions.
"We had lots of opportunities, but we didn't make the plays," he said. "You can't really blame a kid though under these conditions. The weather played a big factor."
Clifton didn't fare much better. They fumbled the ball seven times. Fortunately for the Mustangs, they recovered the ball five of those times.
WV got big defensive efforts from Michael Fusco and Andrew DeFilippis, who had 14 tackles apiece. Savastano had 10 tackles. DeFilippis and Brandon Castelbuono had fumble recoveries. Greg LaNeve led the offense with 58 yards rushing.
Clifton Football Photos
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