The Sussex County Punishers (2-0) of the Diamond Football League, with their 33-7 win over the Baltimore County Bulls on March 3, earned sole possession of first place in the Central Division of the Mid-Atlantic Conference.
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Kendall Harmon and the Punishers’ running game put the Bulls away in a 33-7 win to give them sole possession of first place in the central division.
The Punishers dominated all facets of the game in the win, racking up 140 yards of rushing and 190 passing yards on nearly an identical number of plays (30 rushes and 21 passes). They also caused five turnovers, including recovering a fumble for a touchdown, and connected on two of three field goal attempts.
And the new additions to their lineup continue to contribute.
Quarterback Kurt Purnell, a former Hampton University quarterback, tossed his third, fourth and fifth touchdown passes, in addition to adding 40 rushing yards.
Purnell tossed two touchdown passes to wide receiver Torrez Spence in their Week 1 win over the Prince George’s County Headhunters. And since then, the coaching staff has been eager to find additional ways for him to make plays.
So, during their bye week last week, offensive coordinator Butch Yocum devised a new offense that would better take advantage of Purnell’s play-making ability: they instituted the shotgun offense, and it worked to perfection.
“I like the offense going through me, because that means that I have to make things happen,” Purnell said.
“Our offense isn’t a basic offense — it’s wide open,” he added. “I can either stay in the pocket or I can run if things break down, and that’s when I can kill a team.”
According to Yocum, the Punishers’ new offense was designed to give Purnell enough room to read coverages from the quarterback position, as well as freeze the defense on misdirection running plays that will allow either Purnell or the running backs room to maneuver in the open field — much like the offense West Virginia University runs.
“What we run now was based off of what West Virginia runs,” Yocum said. “Most of our formations are out of the shotgun, and out of that we can run option, dives, sweeps, quarterbacks sweeps, as well as passes.
“And by the fourth quarter, the Bulls were so confused that they didn’t know where we were running the ball,” he added.
“When you get someone like Kurt, you have to use him to your advantage,” Yocum continued. “He’s such a great athlete that if you put him in the (shot) gun and give him five yards to maneuver, it’s going to mess the defense up.”
The Bulls had to call consecutive timeouts on a lengthy Punishers drive just before halftime, just to catch their breath.
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Newly acquired quarterback Kurt Purnell slices and dices through the Baltimore Bulls’ defense, in addition to tossing three touchdown passes in a 33-7 Week 3 win.
And even though his feet give him excellent options to gain yardage on almost every play, it’s his arm and decision making ability that makes Purnell a great quarterback, according to head coach John Boyer.
“It’s hard to explain,” Boyer said. “He’s like a Joe Montana. He reads a defense like a text book and he can get the ball out really fast.”
Purnell completed passes to five different receivers — including Spence’s third and fourth touchdown receptions of the year and to newly converted tight end Brian Walker.
Walker had served selflessly as the Warhawks’ fullback for the past four seasons but made the switch to tight end this season. And against the Bulls, Walker reeled in his first catch of the season and his first career touchdown reception.
Spence led the team with four catches, totaling roughly 100 yards and two touchdowns.
“(Purnell) is that new type of quarterback that can go through his reads, and if it’s not there can go,” Bulls head coach Derek Krumholtz said. “He’s an excellent athlete and has a rocket arm. He’s probably their best ball carrier, so he gives them a great option on offense.
“He definitely deserved to win Player of the Game honors,” Krumholtz added.
Purnell punished the Bulls through the air in the first half on the way to a 17-7 Punishers lead and forced the Bulls to account for all of the Punishers’ receivers – which, in turn, opened up the running game in the second half.
The Bulls shifted from their 4-3 base defense to a 4-3-5 nickel-type defense, in which they dropped their outside linebackers in favor of defensive back support.
The Punishers’ three-headed running-back monster, of Kendall Harmon, Jermeal Young and Larry Oliver, gashed their way to 140 rushing yards on equal individual carries.
And though none of the three were able to score in the second half, newly added kicker George Mayer converted when the offense stalled. He appears to be the piece of the puzzle that may put the Punishers over the edge and into the playoffs this season.
Mayer belted in 25- and 40-yard field goals and nailed two of three extra-point attempts.
“George (Mayer) is a great kicker,” Krumholtz said. “There aren’t many teams that have anything that resembles a kicker, and he gives them another great option to score if a drive stalls.
“The (Fredrick County) Outlaws won the championship the last two years by two and six points, so a field goal here or there could make the difference in the win or loss,” he added.
“He’s been a God-send, Boyer added. “Last year we lost three games by nine points because we didn’t have a kicker.”
Hassand Moasser scored the Punishers’ lone defensive touchdown after recovering a forced fumble by defensive lineman Troy Haynes in the end zone.
And now that they’ve ascended to the top of their respective division, the Punishers hope to continue their strong play as they head into a four-game road trip starting with the Queen Anne Thunder on March 10.
“All we have to do is keep playing team ball and we’ll win, Yocum said. “Right now we have the mindset that we’re going to take one game at a time,” he added.
The Punishers hope to win enough games to make the DFL four-team mid-Atlantic region playoff starting on April 28.
The champion of the mid-Atlantic region will travel to Florida to play the DFL’s Southern Region champion at the Wide World of Sports complex in Disney World in early June.