Dynamic duo strikes again for Conestoga

By STEVE LEITZEL
steveleitzel@yahoo.com

BERWYN – Batman and Robin. Peanut butter and jelly. Mario and Luigi. Rhythm and blues. 
Some pairings simply cannot be beaten. The most prolific pass-catch combo in Chester County proved as much in a 42-0 rout of Radnor on a cool night from Leader Field. Conestoga’s dynamic duo, seniors Joe Viviano and Andrew DeStefano, continued to pad their stats and rewrite school records while pacing the Pioneers (2-2 Central League, 3-2 overall).
“They’ve been playing together forever,” said Conestoga head coach John Vogan. “They really read each other’s minds.”
Despite the lopsided final score, the Raiders (0-4 league, 0-5 overall) did have one bright spot in Jimmie Blake. The junior tailback accounted for 134 of the team’s 201 total yards from scrimmage. Strikingly, Blake was able to amass such yardage with the Pioneers defense focusing on him primarily.
“Radnor runs the ball about as well as anybody,” said Vogan. “Number two (Blake) runs hard.”
The Conestoga defense started quickly, forcing and recovering fumbles on the Raiders’ first two possessions. Shortly thereafter, fullback Nick Prestipino opened the scoring with a 20-yard jaunt. The senior took the handoff on a counter play to the right, threw a Radnor defender to the ground with a monstrous stiff-arm, and dove into the end zone for a 7-0 advantage.
In what would become an alarming trend, the Raiders would again cough up the football on the ensuing drive. On the evening, they turned the ball over seven times, leading to 28 of the Pioneers’ 42 points. After eight plays, Viviano hit wideout Martin Dorsey on an 11-yard out. The sophomore barreled over two defensive backs to break the plane, pushing the lead to 14-0 in favor of Conestoga.
Radnor would suffer its fourth fumble on the first play of the following drive, giving the Pioneers great field position. Two plays later, Viviano hit DeStefano on a deep slant pattern, who shook one would-be tackler and ran over another for a 29-yard score.
And if two’s company, then three’s a crowd. With just 50 seconds remaining till halftime, senior running back Marcus Burton got in on the act with a 5-yard carry over the left side for a touchdown of his own. On the night, Burton ran for 121 yards on just 16 carries.
“Marcus has done a tremendous job this season,” said Vogan. “He has really raised the level of his play and it’s really helped us. It’s helped to take the pressure off Joe.”

Conestoga 42, Radnor 0
Radnor      0 0 0 0 - 0
Conestoga     7 21 7 7 - 42
Scoring
CON – Prestipino 20 run (Toroni kick)
CON – Dorsey 11 pass from Viviano (Toroni kick)
CON – DeStefano 29 pass from Viviano (Toroni kick)
CON – Burton 5 run (Toroni kick)
CON – DeStefano 7 pass from Viviano (Toroni kick)
CON – Cook 4 run (Toroni kick)
Team Totals
RAD CON
First downs  14  10
Yards rushing 201 155
Yards passing  0  102
Total yards 201 257
Passing 0-3-1 7-9-0
Fumbles-Lost 7-6 0-0
Penalties 4-30 3-20
Punts-Avg. 2-35.0 2-33.0
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – RAD: Blake 26-134; Cohen 4-34; Hockersmith 4-22; Galloway 2-8; Brady-James 2-7; Thompson 1-0; Schaefer 7-(-1); Leighton 2-(-3). CON: Burton 16-121, TD; Prestipino 1-20, TD; Gallagher 5-7; Viviano 3-4; Cook 4-3, TD.
PASSING – RAD: Schaefer 0-3, INT. CON: Viviano 7-9, 102, 3 TD.
RECEIVING – RAD: none. CON: DeStefano 4-68, 2 TD; Dorsey 1-11, TD; Silverstein 1-23; Prestipino 1-0.
SACKS – RAD: King. CON: none.
INTERCEPTIONS – RAD: none. CON: Robinson.