Curry’s ‘hat trick’ leads Pottsville past Wilson
Pottsville quarterback Andrew Allen, left, looks to hand off to Brody Eroh during Friday's 35-0 win over Wilson at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Photo by Danie Mae Photography)
POTTSVILLE — Pottsville’s Tsirell Curry pulled a hat trick Friday night for the Crimson Tide.
Curry, a senior wide receiver/safety, recorded scores in all three phases of the game as Pottsville rolled to a 35-0 victory over Wilson Area in a Schuylkill/Colonial Red-White Division crossover game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“He brings tremendous energy all the time,” Pottsville coach Mike Brennan of Curry. “He works hard, always leaves it out on the field, and has the ability to make splash plays for us and he does.
“But he’s certainly a leader. The guys gravitate toward him, he gives tremendous effort all the time. I think there’s a lot of energy in the program, and I think he’s sort of the leader of that.”
Brayden Evans got the Crimson Tide (4-4, 4-3 Red) on the board first after a 2-yard TD run that followed a Warriors three-and-out to open the game. Evans provided some muscle to a backfield missing two senior leaders in JuJu Bainbridge, who was out for the game, and Evan Galavage, who exited the game early with an injury.
Evans was flanked by junior Brody Herndon, who led Pottsville on the ground with 11 rushes for 49 yards and the Tide’s final score of the game midway through the third quarter.
In the second quarter, it was all Curry.
With 11:46 on the clock before half, Wilson was backed up on its own half-yard line when the Warriors (0-8, 0-7 White) launched a 9-yard pooch punt that was caught and returned for a touchdown by Curry.
Then merely 1o seconds later, Curry picked off Wilson quarterback Jeramy Cressman on the first play of the drive and returned it 25 yards for another score. And he wasn’t done yet.
Curry capped the second quarter and helped extend the Tide’s lead to 28-0 when he hauled in a 5-yard TD from quarterback Andrew Allen.
There wasn’t a ton of action in the second half as Herndon punched in a 4-yard TD on the ground with 6:46 left in the third quarter to increase the Tide’s lead to 35-0 and summon the mercy rule to begin.
Allen and Christian Alvarez split duties on extra points to combine for a perfect 5-for-5 on kicks. Allen had three extra points and Alvarez had two.
Pottsville played well defensively, shutting out Wilson and holding the Warriors’ offense to only 107 total yards. Defensive highlights included Curry’s pick-6, Shay Strencosky’s fifth interception of the season, and a combined sack from Evans and Gage Hammer.
And while the offensive total of 221 yards for the Crimson Tide didn’t seem overwhelming, Pottsville’s deepest drive started on its own 48-yard line.
Big plays on special teams helped, too. Not only did Curry return a punt, but senior Luke Schane blocked a punt on Wilson’s 14-yard line and fellow senior Tahlil White recovered it on the 11.
“It was certainly a unique night offensively,” Brennan said. “It wasn’t our normal self. When you’re down personnel, a lot of guys played and carried the ball for the first time. It wasn’t exactly the result we wanted offensively; defensively I think our kids played extremely hard. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but certainly a 35-0 is exciting for us.”
The Tide hit the road next week in the annual Clash of 61 against Blue Mountain.
