Utica’s depth pays dividends in all three phases
UTICA — Lined up along the right side of Utica’s kick return unit, Chase Bennett momentarily had difficulty fielding a bouncing kickoff during first half of last Friday’s football game against Fredericktown.
Coming out of halftime, the senior was ready for another opportunity. The Freddies were attempting to kick away from Gavin Chinn, who returned a kickoff for a score in Week 1, but Bennett burned them, breaking free down the right sideline for a 42-yard return.
“I was put there because of injuries, and I was just making the best of what I could do,” said Bennett, who also made 3 1/2 tackles on defense.
Senior Justin Giffin broke into the secondary and off he went for a 30-yard TD run on the next play following Bennett’s return. It gave Utica a 19-13 lead.
Fredericktown did answer later in the third quarter to take a 20-19 lead, but Utica (2-1) again did not miss its chance, rallying for a 34-20 victory. Developing depth paid off for Utica.
“We just had to forget about it and move on. We had to look forward to what was coming up,” Bennett said. “It’s made a world of difference. People going with fresh legs helps tremendously.”
With senior Tyler Collura out of the lineup injured, Utica made a few adjustments to its offense that also paid big dividends.
Junior quarterback Hayden Piper was used on many of Collura’s typical inside runs, and he scored a pair of TDs in addition to picking up a key fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter.
“We ran a play we didn’t run the whole night, and we got the first down,” said coach Charlie Rowley, whose team visits Licking Heights (1-2) on Friday. “Our kids are executing. That’s the bottom line.”
Later in that drive, Piper hit Chinn across the middle, who broke away for a 40-yard TD. It was a rare time Chinn caught a pass downfield as several of his eight receptions came in the flat where he was able to turn upfield for yards after the catch.
Chinn totaled 114 yards receiving. It was the perfect compliment to Giffin, who racked up 181 yards on 25 carries behind an offensive line of seniors Connor Staugh and Tyson McElroy and juniors Grayson Tyo, Kaden Baker, Wyatt Cullop and Anthony Roenker.
“I know they are going to be all over me, but the line has been doing an amazing job. I love those guys. I can’t do anything without them,” Giffin said. “With Tyler being out, we knew we had a big role to fill. The coaches changed it up putting Chinn a little bit in the backfield, and it just worked great.”
The defense had its share of heroes, too.
Junior Aidyn Burgess made six tackles, including a sack and an additional one for loss, as Utica began to slow the running of Fredericktown quarterback Blake Sipes following the opening two drives. Roenker assisted on four stops and senior Dylan Cooperider on three, who is starting just on the defensive line with classmate Chris Young and junior Brandon Thornsberry
“Thankfully, this year we have more guys we can rotate in and keep them fresh,” Staugh said. “If someone gets tired, we can just put new guys in and keep it going.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Utica Redskins football depth pays dividends in all three phases
