Geibel’s first win of season helps ruin Frazier homecoming
PERRYOPOLIS – In the midst of a rainy evening on homecoming, a great football game was played between two rivals, Geibel and Frazier.
It was a contest that was in doubt until the final play, when Frazier quarterback T.J. Martinak’s hail-Mary pass was intercepted by Geibel’s Nick Staffieri.
That gave the Gators their first win of the season and first since the 2000 season, 27-24, in Tri-County South Conference play.
“Our kids played a great game. It’s been a while since we beat Frazier and a while since we won a game,” said Geibel head coach Angelo Dippolito. “Mayb this will let them believe in themselves. It’s a thing we have to do because we’re still young.”
The first big play of the game occurred on Frazier’s first possession, when the team was forced to punt. An errant snap sailed over Craig Neely’s head, allowing the Gators to tackle him at the one-yard line.
From there, quarterback Mitch Erdley bulled in for the score. Jeremiah Voithofer added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The hosts answered on their next drive, going 70 yards in 10 plays, capped by Craig Neely’s four-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good, keeping the game at 7-6.
In the second quarter, the Commodores threatened first, moving the ball to the Gator 10. On a second-down play, Martinak seemed to find an open receiver, but Geibel’s Ardie Renze stepped in front of the pass to intercept it and end the threat.
Frazier (1-3, 2-4) returned the favor on the ensuing drive when Ryan Pato intercepted an Erdley pass at the Geibel 40-yard line. Two plays later, Martinak found some running room and outran the Gator defenders for a 46-yard score. The conversion pass failed, and the score stayed 12-7.
With just over two minutes remaining in the half, Geibel began a drive at the Frazier 48, hoping to regain the advantage. It did just that when John Bokat plowed in from the one-yard line with 30 seconds left. Voithofer tacked on the point after for a 14-12 halftime lead.
Bokat, who has played quarterback for the Gators this season, started this game at fullback and gave them a lift running the football.
“Bokat has added a different dimension for us at fullback because he’s so big and he runs hard. He really helped us out,” Dippolito said.
It didn’t take long for the Commodores to get the momentum back when Andy Natale took the opening kickoff of the second half 86 yards for an 18-14 Frazier lead.
Later in the third quarter, Geibel (1-3, 1-5) started an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a Dan Chorba one-yard plunge on fourth down. Voithofer’s third extra point of the night made the score 21-18.
In the fourth quarter, with just over four minutes remaining, Frazier had a golden opportunity to score as it moved the ball to the Geibel 25. But the defense stiffened, and Martinak was stopped on fourth down.
The Gators increased the margin to 27-18 when Ardie Renze ran 32 yards for the tally.
Frazier was able to score with 2:02 left on a Martinak one-yard run, but it wasn’t enough.
“We had a big win last week, but tonight, we had a letdown,” said Frazier head coach Larry Wilson.
“I knew coming in Geibel had a good offense, and nobody wanted to give them credit.
“We made a lot of mistakes, and Geibel deserved to win.”
Geibel returns to action next Friday when it hosts Mapletown. Frazier travels to West Greene Friday. Both are Tri-County South Conference games.