ST. MARYS — It’s morning again for St. Marys football.
The Flying Dutchmen, keyed by a rushing attack that racked up 263 yards, earned their first victory since 2016 with a 45-0 shutout against Bradford Friday night at a packed Dutch Country Stadium. The victory snaps a 22-game losing streak that dated back to Oct. 21 of that year when the Dutch defeated Brookville 35-0.
“I knew (the first win) would happen… I told the kids at my first meeting that I didn’t care about their history, or who played or any of that stuff,” St. Marys head coach Chris Dworek said after earning his first win at the helm. “And I told them my next step was to hire the best assistant coaches I could, and I did… It’s a combination of the assistant coaches pushing the right buttons and the players working their butts off.”
Those players certainly worked well in Friday night’s District 9 Large School Division victory. The Dutchmen (1-1, 1-1) outgained Bradford (0-2, 0-2) in total yardage 410-113, despite running eight less plays than the Owls.
Leading the St. Marys attack was running back Jacob Kline, who used explosive plays to rack up 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just four carries. His first score, a 52-yard run, came with 11:51 left in the first half to put St. Marys up 13-0, and then he added to the Dutch lead later on with a 59-yard score to extend that advantage to 38-0 with 11:15 to go in the third quarter.
“I can’t take all the credit. I did the running, but it all started up front,” Kline said. “The linemen were making perfect blocks and giving me wide-open holes. I was just making cuts and taking it to the house.”
Kline’s impressive night was bolstered by a pair of second quarter rushing touchdowns from quarterback Christian Coudriet, who finished with 22 yards rushing and added 70 yards through the air.
That offensive performance was plenty enough, but the Dutch defense played a dominant game, too. St. Marys forced three Owl turnovers and gave up just six first downs on the night. Defensive back James Davis logged a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown with just over 30 seconds left in the first half. He also opened the scoring with a four-yard touchdown run.
St. Marys used the second of Kline’s scores and an 11-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Charlie Coudriet to Connor Straub to push its advantage to 45-0 in the third quarter — a lead the Dutch held the rest of the game.
“It feels awesome. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten a win,” Christian Coudriet said of the night. “It just feels great.”
Added Kline, “I can’t get over the feeling of a win. I still don’t think it’s even happened yet.”
The loss is Bradford’s second time being shutout this season, as the Owls fell in Week 0 to Brookville, 51-0. Bradford has now been outscored 96-0 through two games.
Owl head coach Jeff Puglio says the first step to improvement is to play with more passion.
“Right now, we don’t have passion. We play flat, we play uninspired, and it starts with me,” Puglio said. “I have to figure out how to crack the code with this team… We don’t look like we’re having any fun.”
With that passion, Puglio also wants to see his charges grow more confident, which should lend itself to a faster tempo and sharper play for the Owls, who were held to just 37 yards rushing on the evening.
Of those rushing yards, 31 came in the second half by reserve running back Nolan Gonzalez.
The passing game struggled, too. Owl quarterback Caleb Nuzzo went 8-18 for 76 yards, but threw two interceptions on the evening.
“We’re struggling with (playing fast and confidently),” Puglio said. “And we had a lot of dumb penalties early in the game that took the wind out of our sails.”
Indeed, the Owls were flagged seven times for 60 yards on the night, which stymied a lot of Owl drives and also bailed St. Marys out of some tough situations.
“We would get them pinned and have a chance to get the ball back, but then give them yards, and we can’t do that,” Puglio added. “It didn’t lose the game for us, but we have to find some passion and do a little soul-searching.”
The reeling Owls will look to get on track next week with a home game against Kane on Friday. St. Marys, meanwhile, will look to earn its second victory at Brockway that night.
AT ST. MARYS
BY QUARTERS
Bradford 0 0 0 0—0
St. Marys 6 25 14 0—45
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: B: 6, SM: 21; Rushes/Yards Rushing: B: 32-37, SM: 27-263; Yards Passing: B: 76, SM 147; Comp-Att-Int: B: 8-20-2, SM: 13-23-1; Penalties: B: 7-60, SM: 4-25; Fumbles-Lost: B: 4-1, SM: 2-1; Total Yards: B: 113, SM: 410 Offensive Plays: B: 50, SM: 42
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing: B: Caleb Nuzzo: 8-18-76-0-2, Lucas Laktash 0-2; SM: Christian Coudriet: 9-16-70-0-1, Charlie Coudriet: 4-6-62-1-0
Rushing: B: Derek Sunafrank: 5-12, Jake Pattison: 1-7, Dalton Dixon: 1 (-5), Caleb Nuzzo: 7 (-2), Troy Adkins: 1 (-1), Austen Davis: 3 (-3), Nolan Gonzalez: 9-31, Kaleb Schenfield: 2-0, Bret Skaggs: 2 (-2), Laktash: 1-0; SM: Jacob Kline: 4-123-2, Christian Coudriet: 6-22-2, James Davis: 2-7-1, Cain Pfoutz: 4-47, Connor Straub: 1-5, Charlie Coudriet: 5-56, Sean Lathrop: 1-8, Justin Dornisch: 2 (-5)
Receiving: B: Davis: 4-21, Jonah Rowry: 1-35, Pattison: 1-10, Dixon 1-3, Blake Girdlestone: 1-7; SM: Michael Fitzgerald: 1-8, Terry Williams: 2-6, Josh Robinson: 2-9, Bryce Walker: 1-19, Pfoutz: 2-14, Kline: 1-14, Lathrop: 1-10, Straub: 2-44-1, Carter Chadsey: 1-15
Scoring summary
First quarter
SM: James Davis, 4-yard run (2-pt conversion failed), 1:43
Second quarter
SM: Jacob Kline, 52-yard run (Zach Hart kick), 11:51
SM: Christian Coudriet, 8-yard run (kick failed), 7:32
SM: Christian Coudriet, 8-yard run (2-pt conversion failed), 1:58
SM: James Davis, 34-yard interception return (kick failed), 0:30
Third quarter
SM: Kline, 59-yard run (Hart kick), 11:15
SM: Connor Straub, 11-yard pass from Charlie Coudriet (Hart kick), 3:11
Fourth quarter
No scoring
