CAMP HILL – It took a while for Waynesboro to shake itself out of an early-game slumber, but when Red Land’s Brady Seyler rambled 65 yards for the game’s first touchdown, the Indians took notice that the Patriots might have entered the game with an 0-3 record. Still, they wouldn’t lay down without a fight.
Waynesboro had an answer for Red Land’s touchdown. Alex Torbica kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Tribe a 10-7 lead at halftime, and Waynesboro pushed across two more scores to come away with a 23-13 varsity football victory.
Quarterback Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt and running backs Nathan Nolan and Hayden Nolan scored touchdowns, and Alex Torbica kicked a go-ahead field goal as time expired in the first half.
The Indians improved to 3-1, already winning one more game than last season. In his post-game talk to the team, head coach Mark Saunders said the team needs to keep working to clean up mistakes. But he ended by saying, “We’re 3-1.”
“We had to fight through adversity,” Saunders said, noting that it was the team’s first road game of the season after hosting the first three games. “That’s what we had the first half. We won the game. That’s the sign of a good team. All the mistakes we made we can correct. I’m just glad how we finished the game.”
The game was certainly a gut check, especially considering it followed a heartbreaking 28-21 loss to Shippensburg. It was also the first of back-to-back road games. Waynesboro has five road games out of its next six. Next week’s Mid-Penn Keystone Division game is against Palmyra.
Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter and coming up empty on its first two possessions, Waynesboro finally hit paydirt and began to make inroads offensively. Meanwhile, the defense made up for its earlier gaffe by allowing Seyler to enter the open field and outrunning the defense. With the likes of Andrew Florek, Tank Benedict, Ben Williams, Anthony Ausherman, Nate Adkins and Kean Baumgardner hounding Red Land’s quarterback all night and providing more than enough run support, the defensive effort provided the offense with ample opportunities to pull away.
But first to the Tribe’s first score, which came on the ensuing possession following Red Land’s touchdown.
Running back Nathan Nolan took the first of many handoffs in the game and was aided by a facemask penalty that pushed the ball near midfield. Frazer-Hewitt kept the drive alive with a 13-yard keeper on third down. Nathan Nolan converted a fourth down with a 15-yard gain to the Red Land 11. Two plays later, Frazer-Hewitt worked his magic moves down the sideline for the 11-yard touchdown.
Waynesboro led 10-7 to start the third quarter, but there was still a half of football to be played. Waynesboro’s defense made a strong statement by holding Red Land to a three-and-out. The Indians punted it right back and it appeared the Patriots were driving for a go-ahead score until Williams made a crucial stop on fourth down at the Waynesboro 10.
The Indians then marched 88 yards capped by a Hayden Nolan 10-yard touchdown run and a 17-7 lead after Torbica’s extra point. Key plays during the drive were a 12-yard pass completion to Calvin Myers and a 13-yard run by Benedict.
The electric play of the game was from Nathan Nolan.
Red Land had just punted the ball back to the Indians after Waynesboro’s touchdown. On the second play of the offensive series, Nolan took a handoff to the left side of the offensive line, got around the edge, turned upfield, ignited the after-burners, and outran the defense much like Seyler did early in the game. The result was a beautiful 54-yard touchdown run and a 23-7 lead.
“Before the game, I was watching Christian McCaffrey highlights,” said Nolan, who ran for 130 yards. “Just watching his explosiveness and how he runs the ball. He just finds a hole to run through. In pregame and during the game, I’m just saying to myself, ‘Christian McCaffrey, Christian McCaffrey.’ I busted one free, and that’s what happened.”
Perhaps it’s ironic that McCaffrey’s father, Ed McCaffrey, was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.
