Griffin, Wood cruise past Pottsgrove

Reason to worry? Not even close.

The kid who played right tackle last night for Archbishop Wood High in a PIAA Class AAA state quarterfinal, held in nippy temps at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, was George Griffin, a 6-3, 275-pound junior.

He might as well have been Alfred E. Neuman, or Bobby McFerrin.

"It wasn't that big a deal," Griffin said. "No reason to be concerned. You do what you always do. You listen to the coaches, follow what they say, and you remember how hard you've worked in practice."

As Wood cruised past Pottsgrove, 41-22, setting up a semifinal revenge match against likewise-explosive Allentown Central Catholic next weekend (details TBA), the offense posted touchdowns on the first six possessions. Most of the drives were easy-as-piers. Somehow, two necessitated a total of 13 plays.

Doing the blocking for the major damage-doers -- tailback Desmon Peoples (Rutgers), quarterback Joey Monaghan (Ivy/Patriot interest) and wideout Nate Smith (West Virginia) -- were center Brandon Arcidiacono (Rutgers) guards Chris O'Connor and Diego Racanco, and tackles Fran Walsh and Griffin, who's normally a guard.

O'Connor and Racanco were promoted to starting status due to the injury-caused absences of guard Nick Arcidiacono, Brandon's brother, and Frank Taylor, a Boston College commit.

Griffin slid one spot to his right. And pretty much wreaked havoc.

"If we'd really needed him, Nick could have played tonight," Griffin said. "He's been out for a couple weeks with a quad injury. Frank's injury, a knee, happened in the first practice of this week. He was going downfield to block a linebacker.

"I've been Frank's backup at tackle and Chris O'Connor has been mine at guard, so it wasn't like these were new assignments. Tackle's not much different, really. Usually you're blocking d-ends, but Pottsgrove was using a 5-3 so I had to block d-tackles. You're still hitting people at the point of attack."

Wood needed just two plays to establish command. After Monaghan hit Kyle Adkins for a 13-yard gain, Peoples uncorked a 52-yard spurt right up the middle.

The next series produced a TD for Smith on a 30-yard middle screen from Monaghan. Soon, the scoreboard read 21-0 thanks to a 12-yard frolic for Peoples.

In only one half of action, Peoples turned eight carries into 106 yards and three scores. Monaghan finished 5-for-6 for 135 yards and two scores to Smith, the aforementioned 30-yarder and a perfectly thrown home-run ball that Smith caught in stride, behind single coverage, for a 75-yarder.

"When you see those nice TDs, it's awesome," Griffin said. "You get satisfaction every time they score. They (backs/ends) know it: We're the workhorses."

Unlike some linemen, who dream of somehow becoming guys who actually touch the ball, Griffin is as satisfied as they come with his role.

"I like the physicality of it," he said. "You're always hitting people."

The final, first-half TD came on a 5-yard run by Peoples while backup rusher Ryan McMullin, with the mercy-rule clock already zooming along, motored 24 yards for a score with 7 minutes, 14 seconds left in the third quarter.

Thereafter, the backups did little and Pottsgrove had a chance to feel mildly good about a trio of scores. The most impressive came on defense as Steve Ambs blocked a punt and recovered the ball at the back of the end zone, before anyone from Wood had a chance to turn the play into a safety by batting the ball over the back line.

In the other East-based quarterfinal, ACC smoked Shamokin, 56-14, as quarterback supreme Brendan Nosovitch (South Carolina) again was electric. In last year's AAA semifinal, ACC wilted Wood, 49-27, as Nosovitch accounted for all seven TDs and 602 yards of passing/rushing.

Griffin, who lives in Warrington, is starting to receive some letters from colleges. With his size and skill, letters will no doubt yield to sincere interest.

"I didn't KNOW I'd be starting this season," he said, "but I did know I'd be in the mix. You just have to work hard."