CINCINNATI -- If Jay Volpenhein doesn't get you, Kyle Blaha will.
That's how things went most of the game for the McNicholas football team Friday as Anderson cruised past its neighborhood rival 39-0 in a steady and often driving rain at McNick's Penn Station Stadium.
PHOTO GALLERY: Anderson 39, McNicholas 0
Anderson turned the ball over on downs on its first possession but started pouring on the offense after that. Volpenhein, the Redskins' senior quarterback, scored three rushing touchdowns, and senior running back Kyle Blaha added three more while the Anderson defense stifled the Rockets all night.
"I think this team is really good," Volpenhein said. "We fought through adversity with the rain and everything. We're a throwing offense and we decided to play and we came out really well as a team."
Blaha put Anderson on the board first when he raced 61 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with 5:08 remaining in the opening quarter for a 7-0 lead. He followed that with a six-yard touchdown run less than four minutes later to complete and eight-play, 62-yard drive.
"Kyle is a really hard runner," Volpenhein said. "He is a smart runner. He is very patient. What makes him so great is his physicality. It's hard to hit a guy like that over and over again with a low center of gravity."
Volpenhein, who transferred to Anderson from McNick after his freshman year, opened the second quarter with an eight-yard touchdown run around the right side and a 19-0 lead with 11:49 left in the quarter. He followed that with a 13-yard scoring run through the middle on 4th and 4 to finish a 90-yard drive with 3:51 to play before halftime, and Blaha went in from three yards out for a 31-0 halftime lead. The Redskins failed on four straight point-after attempts in the first half, including three two-point conversions.
Volpenhein amassed 158 yards on 14 carries in the first half for Anderson and finished with 168 yards. The quarterback completed 21 of 34 passes for 262 yards and capped the scoring with a four-yard touchdown run midway through in the fourth quarter.
"Jay Volpenhein is an ultra-competitor and does a great job of leading our offense," Anderson coach Evan Dreyer said. "He is running very well. Today in the weather, he threw the ball OK to make some first downs."
Blaha added 139 yards on the ground and 11 more through the air.
"Kyle Blaha dedicated himself this summer to football," Dreyer said. "It's very exciting to see a kid have a great day to be able to show how good he is."
While the Anderson offense was having its way, the Redskins defense didn't allow the Rockets near the end zone.
"Our defensive staff had an excellent performance," Dreyer said. "We're proud of the kids and our coaches on defense."
Anderson did not change a thing in the game plan, despite the rain.
"We just decided that everything would work," Volpenhein said. "The defense played really well. They gave up zero points and that's the reason we won."
Now the Redskins will turn their attention to a game next Friday at Harrison at 7 p.m. with a lot to improve even in light of Friday's dominating performance.
"We have to work on execution," Volpenhein said. "Crisper routes. Catching the ball in traffic. Get over the humps of things. We're going to play as a team and we're going to win some games this year."
Harrison rallied from down 21-7 and 47-38 to beat the Redskins 48-47 last Sept. 9 at Anderson.
"We're 2-0 and we head to Harrison," Dreyer said. "They beat us last year, so it's going to be a great game. They have a great quarterback and we have a great quarterback. It should be a great game to watch."
McNicholas will host Taft next Friday at 5 p.m.
Box score
Anderson: 13-18-0-8: 39
McNicholas: 0-0-0-0: 0
Blaha 61 run (Johnson kick)
Blaha 6 run (kick failed)
Volpenhein 8 run (pass failed)
Volpenhein 13 run (pass failed)
Blaha 3 run (pass failed)
Volpenhein 4 run (Watt pass from Volpenhein)
Records: Anderson 2-0, McNicholas 1-1
