Georgetown wins inaugural Big River Bowl

Despite great defensive play by both squads, a late turnover by William Penn on the 1-yard line allowed Georgetown to escape with a hard-earned 22-14 victory.

"We didn't play great football today, but I think we showed at times glimpses of what we are capable of," said Tigers head coach Bill Cronin. "Bottom line is we came out of here with a win, but we still have a lot of work to do before our next game."

Both squads' offenses were held on the opening possessions of the first quarter, but after stopping a Statesmen fake-punt attempt the Tigers received the ball on the William Penn 19-yard line late in the first quarter.

The Tigers used a steady running attack to move the ball inside the Statesmen 5-yard line before Georgetown running back Bennett Gatto punched it in from 2 yards out to give the Tigers a 7-0 advantage after a successful extra-point attempt.

After basically running the ball on their previous six plays of the game, the Statesmen went to the air on their third possession of the contest.

William Penn quarterback Ryan Van Dalen connected on two big passes over the middle to wideout Skyler Crouch before taking matters into his own hands with a 26-yard keeper up the middle, which knotted the game at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Georgetown offense went back to work on their next possession of the game, moving the ball well down the field.

The Tigers moved the ball inside the Statesmen 20-yard line before Georgetown quarterback and game-MVP Alex Matthews connected with wideout Drew McDavid for his first touchdown of the game, which put Georgetown back on top 13-7.

William Penn went to the air on their next possession of the game, which started out great, but ended with an interception by Tiger Kyle Gaffney in the end zone, crushing the Statesmen hopes of taking the lead late in the first half.

"My defensive staff did a great job today, we got adjusted to their speed and we were able to make some big stops that could make a difference in the ballgame," said Cronin. "They got stronger as the game went on, and that is because of conditioning and trust."

The Tigers were unable to take advantage of the turnover by the Statesmen, as the two respected squads went into the locker rooms at halftime with the score 13-7, Georgetown.

After stopping the Statesmen on their first possession of the second half, the Tigers went back to work on offense, looking to increase their six-point lead.

The Tigers moved the ball inside the William Penn 20-yard line on three strong runs by running backs Dustin Menetrey and Gatto, before kicker Cole Richards stretched the Georgetown lead to 16-7 with nine minutes left in the third quarter.

The Tigers forced a three and out on the Statesmen's next possession, but the William Penn punt hit off the back of a Georgetown player, giving the Statesmen the ball back at midfield.

Unfortunately for the Statesmen, the Tigers defense held strong again, forcing William Penn to punt the ball back to Georgetown late in the third.

The Tigers didn't take long to score on the following possession, as Matthews connected a pass on the run to Mike Lewis for a 70-yard touchdown, which pushed their lead to 22-14 with just one quarter remaining in the game.

William Penn followed the big play by the Tigers with one of their own, as Van Dalen hooked up with Bernard Luster for a 65-yard strike, which cut the Statesmen deficit to just 22-14.

The Statesmen had a huge chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter on a quarterback sneak by Van Dalen, but the fleet-footed quarterback fumbled the ball in the end zone, which was recovered by the Tigers.

The fumble ended any realistic chance for a comeback by the Statesman, as they dropped their first game of the season to the Tigers 22-14.

"We got a couple of weeks off now, thank goodness," said Cronin. "We can go back and work on some things and get ready for Cumberland in Nashville."

The city of Dyersburg did a great job hosting the first Big River Bowl, and both squads seemed real appreciative of their efforts.

Since the bowl game was a success, the city plans to host another game next year with two different schools participating.

"These people in Dyersburg have been great, you can tell they really love their football," said Cronin. "There is potential here to build on this, and we would love to come back again someday."