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Hun Football Learns Lesson In Late Rally at Mercersburg
By Bill Alden
For the first five quarters this season, the Hun School football team had enjoyed a smooth ride.
Kicking off the fall with a 31-0 win over Hill on September 13, the Raiders jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter last Saturday at Mercersburg Academy.
Getting a little sloppy, however, the Raiders hit their first turbulence of the season as Mercersburg took advantage of some Hun miscues and scored 19 unanswered points to take a 19-14 lead in the third quarter.
Handling the adversity with aplomb, Hun reeled off 27 straight points of its own to leave Mercersburg with an impressive 41-19 triumph.
While Hun head coach Dave Dudeck was frustrated by the inconsistency his team showed in relinquishing its early advantage, he chalked the game up as a valuable lesson learned.
"We had to come from behind and we fought back hard," said Dudeck. "We made some mistakes. We could've played better but it was good to go through that and get a win."
The Raiders' comeback was fuelled by an offensive outburst led by quarterback Dom Natale and tight end Craig McGovern.
Natale, a junior transfer from Delbarton, put on an aerial show as he hit on 10-of-21 passes for 263 yards for three touchdowns. His scoring strikes came on passes of 67, 68, and 22 yards.
McGovern, a 6'5, 240-pound senior who will be playing for Michigan State next fall, had six catches for 165 and two touchdowns.
"Dom was terrific," said Dudeck, who also got a sparkling 139-yard rushing performance from speedy tailback Emir Davis and another productive day from Junior Jabbie as he ran for two touchdowns. "Craig no doubt had his biggest game ever for us in terms of yardage. He made some clutch catches."
It was the team's mentality, however, not the gaudy offensive numbers that most impressed Dudeck. "We were sucking wind late in the game but I think they were more tired," said Dudeck, whose program is riding a five-game winning streak having won its last three games in 2002.
"The biggest thing I saw Saturday was the killer instinct we showed, We threw the knockout punch in the fourth quarter."
Although his team is off to a 2-0 start, Dudeck isn't getting carried away with its potential. "It's too early to say that this is a special team," maintained Dudeck, now in his fifth year guiding Hun.
"The next two weeks will determine things. We have Germantown this Saturday and they're always good. They're athletic and scrappy and we haven't beaten them since I've been here. After that we have Lawrenceville and they're always solid."
Based on how the Raiders responded to last Saturday's challenge, Dudeck may have to acknowledge in two weeks that this squad is indeed special.
With her cancer having been determined to be in remission, although she can't be declared as officially cured until she has stayed cancer-free for four more years, Welsh has a new perspective as she goes through her senior year and beyond.
"I feel so much more like I won't take anything for granted," maintained Welsh, who worked as a counselor at a camp in Montana this summer working with children 5- to 10-years old with cancer.
"When people complained about the stupidest things at school last year, I'd just sit there and listen knowing that when I'd go to the hospital there would be people so much worse off than I was. I learned to look forward to little things, like dinner that night or doing something with a friend."
Now that she is back on the field, Welsh is looking forward to following in the footsteps of her older sisters who both have played field hockey at Dartmouth.
"I definitely want to play field hockey at college, hopefully Division 1," asserted Welsh, who picked up two assists in PDS' 4-0 win over Moorestown Friends last Friday. "I'm hoping someone will take a chance on me. I've learned so much through sports, making the most of everything and trying my hardest when I'm out there."
After what Welsh has overcome in the last year, she would certainly add a lot more than athletic ability to any college's roster.
