Galena falls to Legacy

RENO " The opening game of any football season gives a coach the chance to measure in what areas his team needs to improve.

No doubt Galena coach Steve Struzyk, who had just six starters back from last year, saw that his team needs a lot of work on both sides of the ball.

Legacy High's Prince Oroke and Deshae Edwards both eclipsed the 100-yard mark, and the Grizzlies showed nowhere near the firepower fans have been accustomed to seeing the past two years.

The result was a rather easy 26-6 nonleague victory for Legacy Saturday morning at Galena High School.

"We can take away a lot from this game," Galena coach Steve Struzyk said. "It wasn't a league game and it's the first game of the season. We have to learn from it and move on.

"Defensively we weren't very physical. Legacy is a much improved team, and I tried to point that out. I did (expect to score more). We had a couple of chances. We needed somebody to step up and make a play."

Jarrod Faust ran hard, carrying 19 times for a tough 116 yards, 45 coming on a TD run. Reserve quarterback Beau Bickel, who stepped in when Luke Hess was sidelined with cramps, had a 38-yard run.

Other than the one scoring drive, Galena had a first-and-goal from the Legacy 5 but couldn't punch it across.

Legacy took advantage of a Galena turnover to take control early in the opening period. Hess lost the handle 16 yards behind the line of scrimmage and Dillan Knowles recovered at the Grizzlies' 17.

Oroke ran for five on the first play and Edwards carried for four more down to the 3. Edwards scored easily on the next play, and Brian Leon's PAT made it 7-0 with 8:59 left.

Galena pounded out three first downs on the ensuing drive, but barely got the ball past midfield. It would be the Grizzlies' final first downs of the half.

Legacy, which only got one first down on its two possessions after the touchdown, finally got rolling again on its fourth drive.

Starting from its own 37, the Longhorns drove 63 yards in seven plays, as Edwards capped the drive with a 31-yard scoring run to make it 13-0.

Galena cut the lead to 13-6 on its first drive of the second half.

A 5-yard penalty gave the Grizzlies a first down at the 40. Hess, who completed 5 for 13 for 39 yards, completed a 15-yarder to Nick Dufur for a first down at the Legacy 45. Faust broke loose on the next play to score, cutting the deficit to 13-6 with 7:09 left.

Legacy bounced right back with an 11-play, 57-yard scoring drive as Edwards scored on a 6-yard run, his third and final score of the game to make it 19-6. Edwards and Oroke accounted for all the yardage on the drive, save for a 5-yard penalty against Galena. The biggest gain on the drive was a 9-yarder by Oroke, who complimented Edwards' 110-yard effort with 101 yards of his own.

What had to be frustrating was that Galena defenders knew the ball was staying on the ground, but couldn't get off the field. Legacy converted three third-down plays on the drive.

"Edwards has some speed, which is something we don't have," Struzyk said. "Oroke is a load. You just can't arm tackle him. We didn't do a good job of getting off blocks."

A fluke play led to Legacy's final score.

Quarterback Zach Monticelli carried for three yards and then fumbled at his own 9. The ball bounced right to Edwards, who picked it up and ran 74 yards down to the Galena 17.

It was all Oroke after that. The fullback lumbered for 13 yards on the first play and then capped the drive and the game's scoring with a 4-yard TD run with 3:25 left.

Galena fumbled on its next possession, and Legacy ran out the clock. Their players celebrated like they had just won the state tournament. It was redemption after being pounded by Galena a year ago.

"Our defense came up big," said Legacy coach David Snider. "We had a little scare with their quarterback (Beau Bickel) running around (on that 38-yarder). Our guys were a little tired. We battled at the end and held them out of the end zone.

"This is the second year we've seen Galena. We know what they run (defensively). We've been preparing for them for six months. We know how good they were."

On this day, however, the Grizzlies were nowhere near good enough.