Salem Vs. Girard

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Salem at Girard August 22, 2008 Football

By Greg Gulas

Kyle Stadelmyer helped dedicate the new turf with four touchdowns.

GIRARD — When the Girard Indians hold a dedication ceremony, they do it record-breaking fashion.

Playing the very first game on their new artificial turf, quarterback Kyle Stadelmyer rushed for 189 yards and four touchdowns, picked off a Quaker pass and added another touchdown on a punt return as the Girard Indians easily outdistanced Salem, 47-12, Friday in the season opener for both schools at Arrowhead Stadium.

It also marked the first game for both teams as members of the All-America Conference.

Stadelmyer, a senior, was starting his first varsity game at quarterback, replacing injured Adam Charles who hurt his knee earlier in a scrimmage and is out for the season.

All Stadelmyer did was become the all-time leader in all-purpose touchdowns with 52 (he broke the old mark of 47 which was held by Brett Dutton) and rushing touchdowns with 47 (eclipsing Dutton’s mark of 44) while his 32 points scored set the new standard for points in a single game as well.

“I had butterflies before the game because I just wanted to get the season underway,” said Stadelmyer.

“The key to our victory tonight was a total team effort. The holes were there for me all game and the blocking by our offensive line was absolutely superb.

“Adam [Charles] is a great quarterback and a great teammate and we are going to miss him. I told him, however, that he is still a big part of this team so just hang in there with us all season long,” he added.

Stadelmyer’s 51-yard run at 5:42 of the opening period staked the Indians to the early 6-0 advantage, needing just one play into the second quarter to make it 14-0 when he scored from a yard out.

His 31-yard touchdown scamper at 11:27 of the second period increased their lead to 21-0, but when Quaker quarterback Trent Toothman found the end zone from a yard out, Salem cut the Indians’ lead to 21-6.

The Stadelmyer show was far from over in the opening half of the season as he added a 7-yard touchdown scamper at 5:30 of the frame for a 28-6 Indians margin, stretching their lead to 35-6 at halftime when he found the end zone on a 41-yard punt return with just 1:18 remaining before intermission.

“Kyle [Stadelmyer] is a big-time player and has been since his sophomore year. This was a great win for us to start the season, but we were far from perfect in our overall play,” said Girard coach Bud McSuley.

“The offensive and defensive lines did a great job, but we did make some little mistakes that will need to be corrected before our next game,” he added.

“We didn’t come off of the ball like we should have and missed the ball defensively as well. We just need to make some adjustments and we should be fine.”

Dan Graziano, a freshman who took over the signal-calling duties from Stadelmyer, added a 3-yard scamper in the third period and then a 17-yard run for a touchdown in the final stanza for a 47-6 Girard lead, but Salem’s Eric Bailey got the Quakers in double digit scoring when he scored from a yard out with 4:16 remaining to round out the scoring.

“This was a tough loss for us to say the least. Credit Girard’s overall play because that was the key to their victory,” said Salem coach Bill Miller.

“[Kyle] Stadelmyer is a nice running back; very elusive. He’s special,” added Miller.

“I told our players after the game that the greatest improvement you make is between the first and second games of the season, so we’ll now head back to practice, stick to our plan and get ready for United next week. You can bet they will be ready for us,” he added.