By Jacob Mayer
The Red Bud Musketeers’ season ended Saturday at the paws of the Staunton Bulldogs, as Staunton racked up 482 yards on the ground en route to a 61-36 victory at Red Bud in the first round of the Class 2A state football playoffs.
Red Bud (8-2) started the game strong with a five-play drive that ended in a touchdown by running back Alex Phegley that put the Musketeers on top 6-0 after the extra-point attempt was blocked.
Staunton (9-1) quickly responded with a touchdown drive of its own after four consecutive running plays to even the score at six when Staunton running back Brian Rucker found the end zone. The extra-point attempt was also blocked.
With each team on the board just four minutes into the game, Staunton’s special teams got into the action when running back Adam Boston blocked a punt and offensive tackle Dylan Caldieraro recovered the ball and ran it back for a touchdown to put the Bulldogs up 13-6.
Staunton then scored on each of its next three drives to take a commanding 34-6 lead.
Red Bud did score again before halftime when Phegley scored on a six-yard run. The Musketeers converted the two-point try to cut Staunton’s lead to 34-14 as halftime approached.
Red Bud nearly closed the gap before the half ended as quarterback Zach Seibold led the Musketeers on a 10-play drive down to Staunton’s 12 yard line. The Musketeers went for it on fourth down with seven seconds remaining in the half but Seibold’s pass fell incomplete.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the second half as running back Nicholas Dobrinich took the second play from scrimmage and ran 66 yards for the score, extending Staunton’s lead to 41-14.
Red Bud answered with a five-play drive that ended on a Phegley eight-yard run. Once again, the Musketeers went for the two-point conversion and made it when Seibold connected with wide receiver Tyler Magruder to bring the score to 41-22.
From that point, Staunton stuck to the running game and scored after 12 consecutive running plays led to a touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead by 26 points.
The Musketeers made a comeback bid in the fourth quarter, as Phegley and Magruder each rushed for a touchdown to close the gap to 48-36.
Those were the last points Red Bud would score, however, as Staunton continued to use the running game to extend its lead.
Staunton running back Jordon Johnson scored on a 51-yard run and quarterback Brad Seketa scored from one yard out to give the Bulldogs 61 points before they ran out the clock.
Red Bud head coach Dave Lucht said Staunton’s big plays allowed it to jump ahead early in the game and limited Red Bud’s opportunity wear the Bulldogs down.
“I think if we could have stopped the big play, made them grind it out a little bit, they could have maybe made a few mistakes, but when they’re only having to run four or five plays a series, it’s hard for them to make a mistake,” said Lucht.
Staunton head coach Mike Parmentier said he was surprised at the amount of offense in the game.
“It was a wild game,” he said. “I was really surprised at how effective we were offensively. It was a track meet, that’s for sure.”
Seibold led the Musketeers in the passing game, going 20-for-34 for 319 yards and two interceptions.
On the ground, Phegley led the way with 134 yards on 17 carries and four touchdowns. Running back Tyler Hubert had 27 yards on four carries but had to leave the game in the first quarter with an Achilles tendon injury.
For Staunton, running backs Boston, Dobrinich and Johnson each ran for more than 100 yards and combined for five touchdowns.
Although its season ended in the first round of the playoffs, Lucht said he is proud his team battled throughout the season.
“It’s bittersweet that you get knocked out in the first round after going 8-1, but there are no regrets; there are not many things we would take back,” he said. “The kids played their hearts out all year long for us and dealt with adversity throughout the season, as far as injuries. It was just a stellar year.”