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Democrat Photo by Rob Potter

ROSCOE’S JOHN CLANCY looks for some running room between Hancock defenders Karl Anderson, left, and Stephen Gorshack in a September game.

Roscoe Survives
Tough Season

By Rob Potter

November 30, 2004 – Overall record: 1-7

League record: 1-2 Section IX, Class D

Top Players: Coach Fred Ahart praised the upperclassmen on the Blue Devil roster for their hard work.
“We only had nine juniors and seniors this season and they played very hard all year,” Ahart said.
The four seniors are Joe Bowers, Christopher DeVeau, Steven Ryder and Dustin Sullivan. The juniors are Daniel DeVantier, Troy Kirchner, James Madera, Justin Murphy and Shawn Wilcox.

Team Leaders: Kirchner and Sullivan both played quarterback this season. Sullivan completed 43 of 75 passes for 497 yards and had two touchdown passes. Kirchner completed 24 of 45 passes for 390 yards and threw for four TDs.
Adding a couple of halfback option pass plays, as a team Roscoe completed 69 of 122 passes for 909 yards this past season. In addition to the six touchdowns Kirchner and Sullivan completed between them, Kirchner successfully threw a two-point conversion pass. (Tyler Schmidt also threw a two-point pass this season.)
DeVantier caught 19 passes for 331 yards and three TDs. When he wasn’t playing quarterback, Kirchner caught 15 passes for 178 yards, including one TD and a two-point conversion.
Other players who made receptions this season were Schmidt (15 for 173 yards, including one TD and a two-point conversion), John Clancy (12 for 114 yards) and Ryder (five for 64 yards).
While the Blue Devils gained the majority of their yardage through the air this autumn, Sullivan and Ryder each had a touchdown run. Clancy led the team with 84 yards on 35 carries. Other players to run the ball this season for the Blue Devils were DeVantier (72 yards), Madera (53 yards), Sullivan (50 yards), Ryder (33 yards) and Justin Haas (26 yards).

Season Highlight: “It was definitely our win against Webutuck,” Ahart said. “It was a good game. Both teams played well.”
In that Section IX Class D contest, which was played on October 9 in Roscoe, the Blue Devils stopped Webutuck on a two-point conversion attempt in the second overtime to preserve the win.
A 12-yard run by Ryder in the fourth quarter allowed the Blue Devils to knot the score at 16-16.
Neither team scored on its possession in the first overtime period, when each squad had a first down at the opponent’s 20-yard line.
In the second OT, Sullivan scored on a 1-yard run and Kirchner booted the ball through the uprights on the extra-point try to give Roscoe a 23-16 lead. An 18-yard run by DeVantier set the stage for Sullivan’s run into the end zone.
Webutuck scored a touchdown on its possession to pull within a single point at 23-22. But on the ensuing two-point try, Tyler Schmidt tackled the Webutuck ballcarrier short of the goal line to seal the Blue Devils’ victory.

Other: After a winless 2003 season, Ahart noted that the dramatic victory over Webutuck was a boost for the Roscoe football program.
He also noted that the Blue Devils’ passing game was steady throughout the season.
“Our passing game was very good this season,” the veteran coach said. “A lot of our rushing yards came through our passing game. The passing game was very effective.”

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