by It was a beautiful night for football as the Revere Minutemen traveled to take on the Valley Forge Patriots. Things started fast for both teams but consistent offense and forced turnovers were the ultimate turning point in this game. The Minutemen forced three fumbles at capitalized on all three. They also got a great performance out of senior running back Johlil Blanchard. Blanchard ran for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns leading his team to a 34-14 victory.
Valley Forge got the ball first. They made two crucial decisions early and they paid off. They converted two 4th and shorts on their own side of the 50 yard line. After converting the second 4th down, the Patriots handed the ball off up the middle to senior running back Daymon Watts. Watts got past the second level of the defense, broke to the outside and took the hand off 48 yards to the house, putting them up 7-0 with 7 minutes left in the first quarter.
After an exchange of punts, Revere found themselves with the ball at midfield late in the second quarter. They moved down the field with a mix of inside and outside runs from Johlil Blanchard. They got down to the 13 yard line when they dropped back to pass for the first time on the drive. Senior Quarterback Chase Clifford found his fellow senior Nicholas Hall over the middle of the field for the score to tie the game up at 7-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Wanting to gain back momentum, Valley Forge returned the kickoff all the way to Revere’s 30 yard line. It was all for nothing however as the Patriots fumbled a handoff on their first play, giving the ball right back to the Minutemen.
The Minutemen took advantage of the turnover and went right down the field. The drive was highlighted by a Blanchard 41 yard run to get them to the 10 yard line. He then capped the drive off with a 5 yard touchdown run, making the game 14-7 with 8 minutes left in the half.
Another massive swing took place late in the first half. The Patriots were in the 2 minutes offense looking to knot the game up at 14. At around midfield they suffered another fumble giving the ball back to the Minutemen. It only took the Minutemen 2 plays to score as Chase Clifford found Hall over then middle and then senior receiver Harrison Drvenkar down the seam for a 24 yard score. This made the game 21-7 with 40 seconds left in the half and that’s how the half would end.
The first big play of the second half was a 4th down stop by the Minutemen defense giving them the ball at the Patriot 40 yard line. Johil Blanchard was again the star of the drive scoring another touchdown, this time from 18 yards out. This made the game 27-7 with 7 minutes left in the third quarter.
At the end of the quarter, turnovers would again be the Achilles heel for the Patriots. They fumbled at mid field again giving Revere the ball back. Revere leaned on the run once again and finished the drive with a 10 yard touchdown from senior James Perry. This made the game 34-7 with 10 minutes left in the game.
For the rest of the quarter both teams ran the ball and the clock with the Patriots scoring a touchdown with 20 seconds left. The game finished up with a final score of 34-14 in favor of the Minutemen.
After falling to 1-2, Valley Forge looks to get back in the win column as they travel to Rocky River next week. On the other hand Revere stays undefeated and looks to stay that way as they are on the road again next week at Roosevelt.
Player of the Game
Revere Minutemen RB Johlil Blanchard – 22 carries for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns, 8.2 average yards per carry
