DALLAS – Misericordia had a little momentum.

The Cougars were down 15, but just blocked a punt and found themselves deep in Widener territory. What appeared to be sure-fire points to continue chopping that deficit down turned into an absolute disaster.

Misericordia tailback Dan Huling was stripped by Bryon Cooper at the 16-yard line, and the ball was scooped up by Travon Barnes as the Pride player went down the sideline 87 yards for the score. It was part of a 27-point second half as Widener rolled to a 51-9 victory at Mangelsdorf Field.

“That fumble broke the momentum of this entire game,” Misericordia head coach Mark Ross said. “I told our guys that we are going to look at this film and kind of kick ourselves. That fumble just sucked the life out of us. Give them credit because they made a play. It was all downhill from there.”

That 87-yard scoop-and-score was the straw that broke the Cougars’ back. Any momentum seized by Misericordia (0-7) was clearly gone.

The next four drives were three-and-outs. The defense was flat – evident by Montrell Hicks-Taylor’s 75-yard TD run on the very next Widener (5-2) play, where the back went through a huge hole and wasn’t touched at all.

As a matter of fact, the Pride sprung to life after the fumble return – scoring on three of its next four drives. One of those was just a 1-play, 3-yard series after a bad snap sailed over the Cougar punter’s head.

The Pride all but sealed the victory with 10 minutes left on Nick Isola’s 1-yard run on second-and-goal. Widener ran for 338 yards, while holding the Cougars to just 58 yards on the ground.

“I questioned our team’s focus early,” Widener head coach Mike Kelly said. “We did get a chance to play some young kids today, and that was our goal. We wanted to get them some experience, and get some real-time play. Misericordia played with so much emotion, and I don’t know if we matched that enthusiasm. I think that fumble took the air out of them.”

It’s not that Misericordia didn’t have opportunities. It’s about capitalizing on them.

The Cougars blocked two punts, both resulting in starts deep in Pride territory. The result? Only one Ryan Davis field goal.

Misericordia also forced a fumble in Widener territory – only to see the pigskin literally slip out of the hands of eight different players before Pride receiver D’Andre Sapp, who originally dropped the ball, picked it up for the first down.

And that’s the difference as Widener capitalized, driving 57 yards and capped off when quarterback Alex Krivda found Haydn Warren wide open on an 11-yard slant for a 24-9 lead with 5:41 before halftime.

“Against a good team, you aren’t going to win if you can’t get touchdowns,” Ross said. “That’s the thing. We had two opportunities with those blocked punts, and another if we just hop on that fumble. That could have led to as many as 21 points, and we just ended up with one field goal. You can’t do that against good teams.”

Misericordia, which elected to use a two-man quarterback system of Jeff Krisiak and Clayton Vleck, struggled to move the ball – amassing 197 yards in the game. A good chunk of that yardage came on one play as Krisiak found Sam Gillison on a sideline screen and the receiver did the rest on a 64-yard touchdown. The extra-point attempt was wide, but the Cougars found themselves down just eight (17-9) with 9:29 left before halftime.

Gillison had a nice day, grabbing three catches for 74 yards. Krisiak finished with 139 yards on 9 of 27 passing.

“Listen, we have to be in these types of games that it was turning out to be,” Ross said. “It’s going to be a dogfight and a slugfest at times. Once they opened up a lead, they really were able to turn the dogs loose on us, and bring that pressure. We just got to play consistently week in and week out, and give ourselves a chance late in the second half. This one just got away from us.”

Widener 51, Misericordia 9

Widener`14`10`14`13 – 51

Misericordia`3`6`0`0 – 9

First Quarter

W — Sapp 12 run (Raczak kick), 10:39

M — Davis 37 field goal, 5:33

W — Sapp 10 run (Raczak kick), 2:06

Second Quarter

W — Raczak 39 field goal, 9:57

M — Gillison 64 pass from Krisiak (kick missed), 9:29

W — Warren 11 pass from Krivda (Raczak kick), 5:41

Third Quarter

W — Barnes 87 fumble return (Raczak kick), 6:42

W — Hicks-Taylor 75 run (Raczak kick), 4:33

Fourth Quarter

W — Brown 3 run (Raczak kick), 12:04

W — Isola 1 run (kick missed), 5:48

TEAM STATISTICS `WID`MIS

First Downs `21`10

Rushes-Yards `53-338 `32-58

Passing Yards `122`139

Total Yards `460`197

Passing `8-15-0`9-27-0

Sacked-Yards Lost `0-0`1-8

Punts-Average `4-16.8`6-44.8

Fumbles-Lost `1-0`2-1

Penalties-Yards `5-30`5-95

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — WID, Hicks-Taylor 7-110, Milone 15-81, Brown 16-70, Sapp 6-34, Randle 5-26, Wilson 2-20, Isola 1-1, Cooper 1-(-4). MIS, Vleck 13-28, Custodio 6-19, Huling 3-8, Rainey 2-7, Kurtz 2-2, Krisiak 6-(-6).

PASSING — WID, Krivda 7-12-0, 106 yards; McCaughey 1-2-0, 16 yards; Price 0-1-0, 0 yards. MIS, Krisiak 9-27-0, 139 yards.

RECEIVING — WID, Schlegel 2-42, Warren 2-27, Hicks-Taylor 1-39, Milone 1-9, Sapp 1-4, Price 1-1. MIS, Pyne 4-41, Gillison 3-74, Dieter 2-24.

INTERCEPTIONS — None

MISSED FG — WID, Raczak (42 yards).

Misericordia quarterback Jeff Krisiak scrambles out of the pocket against Widener in Dallas Township on Saturday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Miseri-WidenerFB_1-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordia quarterback Jeff Krisiak scrambles out of the pocket against Widener in Dallas Township on Saturday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

Misericordia safety Tyler Collins catches a blocked punt against Widener Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Miseri-WidenerFB_2-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordia safety Tyler Collins catches a blocked punt against Widener Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

Misericordia’s Colton Pyne (9) runs the ball against Widener in Dallas Township on Saturday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Miseri-WidenerFB_3-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordia’s Colton Pyne (9) runs the ball against Widener in Dallas Township on Saturday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

Misericordia quarterback Clayton Vleck, left, runs a keeper against Widener in Dallas Township on Saturday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Miseri-WidenerFB_4-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordia quarterback Clayton Vleck, left, runs a keeper against Widener in Dallas Township on Saturday afternoon. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

Misericordia tight end Alec Rhoads returns a kickoff against Widener on Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Miseri-WidenerFB_5-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMisericordia tight end Alec Rhoads returns a kickoff against Widener on Saturday afternoon in Dallas Township. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader

By Tom Fox

For Times Leader

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