Springdale football snaps long losing skid with victory over Summit Academy

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, September 9, 2023 | 7:33 PM

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It’s been more than 22 months, but the Springdale football team finally can celebrate a victory.

Boom go the Dynamos.

Springdale raced to a big first-quarter lead and held on to beat host Summit Academy, 35-21, in a Class A nonconference battle Saturday afternoon.

“That was a long time coming,” Springdale coach Ryan Tempalski said. “It feels good to finally have one in the win column.”

The win ends a 13-game losing streak for the Dynamos and was the program’s first triumph since a first-round playoff victory over West Greene in November 2021.

“Last year, every game we got better and the kids kept coming because they believed in the system,” Tempalski said. “From last year to this year, that entire team is back. It’s the second year through the system, and I had high expectations coming into this year. The first two weeks, you could see how much better we are.”

In the first quarter, the Dynamos exploded for 20 points on two flawless offensive drives and a pick-6.

Springdale came out and attacked through the air. Senior quarterback Chase Weihrauch connected on 6 of 11 passes for 51 yards overall, but he was 4 of 5 passing for 33 yards in the opening quarter.

“We were just going with the flow,” Weihrauch said. “We watched a lot of film and kind of knew what they were going to line up in, and we did what we had to do. I’ve been working a lot on passing the ball and looking at their different defenses and doing what I can.”

The first drive of the game covered 60 yards and ended on a 9-yard scoring run by senior running back Noah Bradley.

Weihrauch capped off the Dynamos’ second drive by scoring on a 1-yard run.

In between those touchdowns was a defensive gem turned in by junior linebacker Garrett Myers.

Summit Academy quarterback Andrew DeArmitt took the snap and went to pitch laterally to Knights running back Steyn Sarduy, buy Myers intercepted the sideways pitch and went untouched 47 yards for the Springdale score.

“You don’t see that. That play never happens,” Tempalski said. “It’s funny because in three games, I believe that’s the first time I’ve ever blitzed him. Whether they were ready for that play or not, it was an unbelievable play that was such a momentum boost.”

The Knights turned to big plays to get back in the game.

Late in the first quarter, DeArmitt hit speedy wide receiver Kye’mere Robinson in stride for a perfect 65-yard scoring pass.

Then, following a Summit Academy interception by Matthew Hooper, DeArmitt did a great job avoiding another Dynamos blitz and heaved one into the end zone into the waiting arms of Hooper, cutting the Springdale lead to six.

The Dynamos answered with a long drive that ate up the second-quarter clock as senior running back Brayden Layhew scored on a 6-yard run with less than one minute left in the second quarter.

A pop pass from reserve quarterback Owen Scheuring to Myers was good, and the 2-point conversion gave the Dynamos a 28-14 halftime lead.

After offense ruled the first half, both teams made adjustments and the defenses limited the opposition to only one score each in the second half.

Robinson scored on a 48-yard third-quarter run for the Knights, and Weihrauch scored on his second 1-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter to ice the victory.

The Dynamos rushed for 205 yards, with Weihrauch leading the way with 155 yards on 22 carries.

Summit Academy fell to 0-3 and has lost 10 straight games. It begins Big 7 Conference play Friday.

Springdale is 1-2 and opens Eastern Conference action at home Friday against Leechburg.

“There are no easy games,” Tempalski said of the Eastern Conference. “Everyone beat us last year. Leechburg lost a couple of players, but they’re still a good team.”

Tags: Springdale, Summit Academy