Bluejays fall in physical playoff battle

Pads were popping for all four quarters, but at the end of the night, it was Anselmo-Merna who had a little more ‘pop’ as they captured a 46-20 home win over Guardian Angels Central Catholic in the quarterfinals of the Class D3 State Football Playoffs on November 6. “That was a very physical football game, one of the hardest hitting games I can remember,” GACC head coach Matt Schlaebitz said. “Anselmo-Merna just had more weight behind them in the middle and made some incredible plays when they had the opportunity. Number 44 [Dane Duryea] for them was a load carrying the football.” Duryea finished the game with 191 rushing yards on 33 carries and three touchdowns. As for GACC, they struck first with a Joe Eames touchdown run. Then closed out the first-half scoring when Luke Guenther hit Trevor Steffen for a Bluejay TD, making it a 16-14 game at halftime. But in the second half, Anselmo-Merna scored the next four touchdowns to seize control.

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