Defense rules as White stops Red, 20-7

Rayen's Dwayne Smith and McDonald's Corey Grombacher returned interceptions for TDs.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NEWTON FALLS -- Defense dominated offense in the 22nd annual Mahoning Valley Coaches Association Jack Arvin Football Classic Thursday night at Newton Falls High School Stadium.
The White All-Stars turned two first-half pass interceptions into touchdowns to take an early command of the game, then managed to blunt the Red All-Stars' second-half comeback and surge away to a 20-7 victory before some 1,500 fans.
Dwayne Smith of Rayen picked off a pass on the second play of the game and raced 42 yards to a touchdown, while Corey Grombacher of McDonald intercepted a pass late in the second quarter and went 22 yards to a touchdown with 1:07 left, to lift the White ahead. Vance Keirsey of Mineral Ridge kicked both extra points for a 14-0 lead.
Then after the Red rallied behind quarterback Josh Barringer (Jackson-Milton) and Robert McElroy (Chaney) to cut the deficit to 14-7 in the third quarter, Smith delivered a key defensive stop to foil the Red comeback.
Here's what happened: Barringer, inserted in the game for the first time after intermission, drove the Red team 60 yards in 15 plays to McElroy's 3-yard TD dash, and Justin Wolfe (Canfield) added the extra point, to draw the Red within 14-7 at 2:01 of the third period.
But with the Red team driving from its 18 to the White 45 in the fourth quarter, Smith broke in and sacked Red quarterback Frank Ross (Canfield) on fourth down at the Red 49 to doom the drive and dilute the comeback.
Then the White capitalized and drove the 49 yards in eight plays to John Hack's 11-yard scoring dash for a 20-7 lead. Hack is from Mineral Ridge.
Smith, Barringer MVPs
Smith was named the White's Most Valuable Player while Barringer, whose third-quarter leadership rejuvenated the Red offense to enable his team to make a game of it, was selected as the Red's MVP.
The White team consisted of all Trumbull County schools except for Rayen, while the White roster was made up all Mahoning County players except for Salem.
Coach Brian Shaner of Rayen, who directed the White team, lauded Smith for his strong two-way performance.
"What a sack," said Shaner of Smith's key hit of Ross to spoil the Red's comeback. "That's a typical Dwayne Smith sack. We needed a big hit and play and he came through."
Shaner said he is going to miss Smith, who is headed for the University of Akron.
"He had a strong two-way game," said Shaner.
Red seizes momentum
The coach also acknowledged that the Red seized the momentum in the third quarter.
"That was a beautiful drive," he said. "That took our momentum away.
"When it was 14-0, we should have know that [we couldn't let that happen]."
Coach Gary Hoelzel of Canfield, guiding the Red team, said his team was hampered by early offensive mistakes because of rust, inadequate preparation and a limited roster.
"We only had 22 kids and sometimes we only had 14 guys show up for practice, and we had to put together the team with that type of preparation," he explained.
He said he inserted Ross back into the lineup at quarterback to replace Barringer in the fourth quarter because, "I wanted to give both kids an opportunity to play."
He said Ross played a strong defensive game. Ross also completed two passes to Kory Jackson (Chaney) covering 35 and 29 yards.
Hoelzel also lauded Barringer.
"Josh did a great job making things happen," said Hoelzel. And, "McElroy ran real hard."
Runs by McElroy, Barringer and Nate Burney (Mooney) powered the Red's TD drive.
Hoelzel also lauded the play of Joe Rosko (Canfield) and Matt Jenkins (Salem).
kovach@vindy.com