The Hempfield Spartans kicked off the 2008 season in familiar fashion, earning their eighth straight victory over hometown rival the Greensburg Salem Golden Lions, 27-20, at Offut Field in Greensburg last Friday night.
The Spartans were paced by a strong ground attack, which included two rushing touchdowns from R.J. Thomas of three and four yards, respectively. Thomas rushed for 149 yards on 19 carries in victory. Thomas also scored on a 63-yard screen pass from quarterback Dante Nania in the third quarter.
The Golden Lions had a number of chances throughout the game, but were plagued by six turnovers, including three red zone turnovers in the first half. Salem rallied late in the fourth quarter, which included two touchdown passes from quarterback Steve Fagert to wide out Jerry Cooley, but the Golden Lions couldn’t finish the comeback and fell to 0-1 at home.

Key Statistics

Hempfield
Passing
Dante Nania 1-2, 63, TD

Rushing
R.J. Thomas 19-149, TD(2)
Ryan Hayden 13-34, TD

Receiving
R.J. Thomas 1-63 Yards, TD

Greensburg Salem
Passing
Steve Fagert 11-14, 221, TD(2), INT(2)

Rushing
Matt Adams 17-90
Steve Fagert 12-47

Receiving
Drew Manley 2-37, TD
Jerry Cooley 3-100, TD(2)


Food for Thought: Greensburg Salem earned 458 total yards in the game, while Hempfield only compiled 259, which was enough to pull out the road victory.

Quote of the Week:
“Give Salem credit, they battled and they kept coming at us.”
-Hempfield Area head coach Greg Meisner