ROLLING ALONG

BARRON LEADS DEVILS WITH 3 GOALS, 2 ASSISTS
SOPHOMORE DUO COMBINE FOR 5 GOALS
DEVILS DISPATCH OF SHORTHANDED INDIANS

(CLARENCE) The Red Devils continued their winning ways Wednesday as they hammered the West Seneca West Indians by the score of 14-5. Clarence controlled play for the balance of the contest, and were never seriously challenged by the undermanned Indians. The Clarence offense seems to continue to get better each game, finding new ways to get the whole team involved. Sophomores Tayler Swanson (3g, 1a) and Tom Owen (2g, 1a) are coming into their own as of late, which bodes well for the Red Devils as they gear-up for the last two week stretch of the season. Captains Dan Barron (3g, 2a) and Jordan Collins-Hartwig (2g) played sparingly in the second half but were key players early on, as Clarence improved to 5-2 in league play.

The Indians struck first, just two minutes into the contest as John Pingitore left his defender at the goal line extended and proceeded to cut across the crease area. All alone, Pingitore fired it past goalie Ryan Duff (13 saves) to put the visitors up 1-0.

Unfazed, Clarence went to work and tied the game just 19 seconds later. The play was created by Dan Barron at X. Barron spied his new favorite target; Tom Owen cutting through the West defense, and planted a perfect pass on his stick. Owen finished play, beating Indians' goalie Nick Cusella (5 saves) to make it 1-1.

Wasting little time, Barron once again jump-started the Devils offense. However, this would be a solo effort for Barron, as he dodged hard down the right slot and fired it past Cusella from about 10 yards out. Barron has been hot in the last two games, registering 7 goals and 5 assists. Clarence took the lead at 2-1.

About four minutes later, Jordan Collins-Hartwig got into the act, scoring on one of his favorite dodges off the top. Collins-Hartwig wrestled through three West defenders before he uncorked a rocket into the top of the the West goal to up the lead to 3-1 Devils.

Next, Jordan Zaprowski got "off the schneid," picking up his first goal since scoring against Lockport. Zap, more comfortable as the setup man, made a rare cut through the opposition's defense. Positioned behind at X, Barron fed his attack partner with beautiful pass. Zap fired a quick shot past Cusella to give Clarence a three goal advantage after the first quarter.

The second quarter was dominted by Clarence. The Indians were unable to get anything going offensively and struggled to keep up with the fast-moving Devils. Despite several chances, neither team team created any real pressure. It wasn't until just under six minutes left in the second that any goals were scored. Clarence would score a three goals in a minute and a half flurry giving them a comfortable lead at halftime.

Barron picked up his second goal of the day. The West defenders had trouble with Barron all day. Elusive and quick, Barron tortured the Indian defense, once again dodging from behind the West goal. After gaining the advantage, Barron curled in front and fired a shot to the opposite corner of the net to make it 5-1 Devils.

Forty seconds later, Tayler Swanson began his quest. The play was beautifully created by Collins-Hartwig ,who skillfully drew the West defense away from Swanson. As the slide developed, Collins-Hartwig dropped it back to Swanson all alone in the crease. Tayler finished and the Clarence lead grew to 6-1.

After apparently enjoying his first goal, Zaprowski made it two for the day on a nice individual dodge from behind. Zap left his defender and curled to the front of the net. Before the Indian defense could make the slide, Zaprowski popped it past Cusella to for a 7-1 lead.

The Red Devils were not finished yet, scoring one more before halftime. Swanson continued on with his second of the day. It was probably his most impressive goal of the season. Owen spotted Swanson cutting through the West defense. The opening wasn't very large, but Owen snuck the pass in. With several defenders in the way, Swanson dodged his way through several defenders and beat the goalie with a nice off hand shot.

The Indians scored one with 29 seconds left before the break. Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Kuhn beat the Clarence midfielder at the top of the box and broke in alone against Duff. Kuhn finished it off with a nice shot to make the halftime score 8-2 in favor of the host Red Devils.

The second half was more of the same for the Indians. Clarence controlled much of the action and they were unable to setup any type of functional offense. The third quarter scoring was all Devils as they built up their lead with three unanswered goals.

Tayler Swanson picked up his first varsity "hat trick" forty seven seconds into the third . Building on the momentum from his big second quarter, Swanson once again found the back of the net. Tayler broke his way in behind the defense and found himself all alone outside the West Seneca West crease. Swanson beat Cusella on a quick hard bouncer, and the score rose to 9-2 Clarence.

It wouldn't be until the 4:18 mark that another goal was scored by either team. Tommy Owen picked up his second of the afternoon on a simple, but very effective play. At the top of the West defense, Owen simply powered his way towards the net. Once again utilizing his size and quick shot for good use, Owen rifled a hard bounce shot that beat the West goaltender. Owen raised the Clarence lead to eight. Red Devils 10-2.

Dan Barron finished off the third quarter scoring with just 36 seconds remaining. Using his earlier formula, Barron just flat-out beat the tired West defenders, dodging from behind and rolling in for a quick shot. Barron's goal was his third of the day and left the score 11-2 after three.

The fourth quarter was full of back and forth action as the Red Devil reserves once again acquired some much needed experience. Several players saw action and seemed to be pretty comfortable out on the playing field. J.J. Hughes has steadily seen more time at midfield due to player injury. He has continually showed that he can compete, and his improvement has really helped Clarence in recent games. Always tough defensively, Hughes has begun to standout in the transition game at midfield.

Both the Indians and Red Devils would exchange three goals in the fourth. West started it off less than a minute into the final quarter on a nice individual effort by midfielder Mike Kus. Kus made a quick dodge at the top of the box and fired a bounce shot from about 15 yards out. The shot beat Duff low, and the Indians made it 11-3.

Just a half minute later, on another individual effort, Clarence responded with a goal off the stick of Alex Maglio. Maglio legged it up out of the West zone and just continued going towards the net. Fifteen yards out from Cusella, Maglio let it fly on a hard blast to the top of the net. Clarence now led 12-3.

West attackman Kyle Piekarec scored next on another dodge from the slot. Piekarec soundly beat his man and quickly rifled a hard bounce shot past Duff off his right side. Score: Clarence 12 West 4.

Clarence answered a minute and a half later from a man yet to be heard from in 2008. Chris "the scoring machine" Tornabene picked up his first goal of the season off a nice pass from Swanson. Swanson helped create the play, catching the West defense unsettled in their own zone. Drawing the defense, Swanson fired it over to Bene. Chris did the rest, beating Cusella for a 13-4 lead. Tornabene played well throughout the last quarter and was well deserving of this goal.

West responded at the 5:42 mark. Once again Jimmy Kuhn would find the back of the net. However, this goal came off a nice passing play by midfielder Jason Suarez. A confused Clarence defense was caught chasing, and West would take advantage. Suarez dodge to the goal line extended and the quickly skipped a pass through the Red Devil crease to the waiting Kuhn. The goal would make it 13-5.

The last several minutes played out with just one more goal. The score came at the 1:27 mark and was scored by Collins-Hartwig. Tornabene fired a pass to Collins-Hartwig who simply beat his defender on a quick dodge from the goal line extended. Nineteen goals in all, 14 for the Red Devils and just 5 for the Indians.

Clarence rolled out another important victory, beating an exhausted West team that fielded just 18 players. However, Coach Galley and Coach Rozo should be in great shape, as all but three will return next season. Look out for the Indians in 2009! Barring a total breakdown in Jamestown, this win should assure Clarence a home playoff game on May 30th. However, they must keep playing well over the next stretch to keep the momentum moving in the right direction. The Red Devils are now 6-5 overall. They play next on Thursday, paying a visit down on the turf down at the Nichols School facility. Hope to see you there!