Mustangs lose tough battle
All good things must come to an end, like Laurel Highlands’ three-game winning streak. But the Mustangs did not go down without a fight as they battled back from a 14-0 halftime deficit but couldn’t come all the way back in a heart-breaking 14-7 loss at Greensburg Salem Friday night at Offutt Field.
Laurel Highlands had only three second-half possessions. They scored on the first and reached the Golden Lion 8- and 17-yard lines on the last two. The Mustangs out-gained Greensburg Salem, 271-241, and had more first downs (16-13), but couldn’t forge a tie against a tough-when-it-had-to-be Golden Lion defense.
The loss drops Laurel Highlands to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in Keystone Conference games, while Greensburg Salem clinched a playoff berth in improving to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in conference games. Laurel Highlands can nail down the fourth playoff spot out of the Keystone by beating Mt. Pleasant at home next Friday.
“Next week is do or die for us,” Laurel Highlands coach Scott Knee said. “We have to get this one out of our system and come in Monday prepared to get ready for a big game next week.
“If we could have pulled this one out, we would have been in good shape for the playoffs, but losing here makes next week’s game of paramount importance.”
Against Greensburg Salem, Laurel Highlands struggled through a turnover-plagued first half in which the teams combined for seven turnovers. The Mustangs had four of them on three interceptions and a lost fumble.
Greensburg Salem’s Brandon Sticca opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter. A strong kickoff return set up the Mustangs at the GS 47-yard line and they moved to the 23 before turning over the ball on downs.
Tony Patitucci’s second interception was returned to the GS 20, but Greensburg’s Jacob Zeoli intercepted on LH’s first play. The Mustangs’ defense, which was strong all game, held, but couldn’t handle the punt and Greensburg’s Cory Bush recovered. Quarterback Chris Marsh then passed to Mike Bonanno for a 46-yard touchdown 3:38 before halftime to push Greensburg Salem’s lead to 14-0.
In the second half, LH quarterback Matt Humbert came to life. He was limited to completing 7 of 12 passes for 68 yards, with three interceptions, in the first half. Yet Knee had no reservations at all about letting Humbert putting the ball back in the air.
“Not with him,” Knee said. “Matt Humbert has done too much for this program to get gun-shy in that situation. We win and we lose with that kid. There’s never any second-guessing.”
Greensburg Central Catholic 21, Brownsville 12
Brownsville exploded to a 12-0 lead less than two minutes into the game, but Greensburg Central Catholic fought back to defeat the host Falcons in an Interstate Conference battle.
Brownsville quarterback Brian Gates connected with wide receiver Mike Piccolomini for a 70-yard pass to the Centurion 5 on the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage and Dougie Patterson scored on the next play to make it 7-0.
After forcing GCC to go three-and-out on its first possession, Patterson returned the punt 53 yards for a score.
The Centurions (3-4, 3-1) put together scoring opportunities on their next three drives. After Adam Waller missed a 31-yard field goal attempt, GCC forced a punt and marched 39 yards in five plays with Ryan Cole scoring from 17 yards out. Jordan Hohn put Greensburg Central in front with a five-yard TD run with 9:31 left in the half. Waller made the extra-point kick after both scores to put the visitors in front 14-12.
Cole returned the second-half kickoff 78 yards to the Falcon 12 to set up Cory Walker’s one-yard plunge to cap the game’s scoring.
The Falcons (2-5, 1-4) drove well into Centurion territory three times in the second half, but came up empty each time with drives ending at the GCC 9, 12 and 2.
Hohn led Greensburg Central with 87 yards on 26 carries.
Patterson rushed for 62 yards on 17 attempts for Brownsville, and Matt Battaglini added 52 yards on 11 carries.
Carmichaels 42, Monessen 0
The Mikes rolled into the Mon Valley and crushed Monessen Friday night, leaving little doubt as to who’s the best in the Tri-County South.
Carmichaels (7-0, 5-0) rushed for 359 yards, including Bobby Hathaway’s 130 and Colby Giles’ 118. Both Giles and Hathaway scored twice, and Jono Menhart and Josh Grim added touchdown runs.
Monessen had only eight first downs and 125 yards of total offense, all on the ground.
“You never think this will happen when you go to Monessen,” said Carmichaels coach John Menhart.
Giles’ three-yard run just 4:12 into the game made it 7-0, then Hathaway scored with 39 seconds left in the quarter on a six-yard scamper. With 5:14 remaining in the half, Giles scored from six yards out to make it 21-0.
Menhart’s 15-yard scamper with 6:34 left in the third quarter made it 27-0, and Hathaway outran the Greyhound defense for a 53-yard touchdown with 3:23 to play in the third. Hathaway’s ensuing two-point run made it 35-0 and brought on the “Mercy Rule”, where the clock stops only on change of possessions and scores.
Grim capped the scoring with 3:45 to play when he scored from 37 yards out.
Blackhawk 40, Uniontown 0
Their name is Blackhawk, but on Friday night they looked like a flock of Vultures.
Blackhawk scored the first five times they touched the ball to build up a 35-point lead at halftime, then went on from there after intermssion to collar host Uniontown, 40-0, in non-conference play at Bill Power Stadium.
Maybe Uniontown Coach John Fortugna summed it up best when he said “they came in here with a 3-3 record, but that’s the best looking 3-3 team I’ve seen anywhere. They are a very sound team, very strong on defense. We saw them on tape and we knew they were good and fast, and they can also throw, but we felt we could stop them.”
The Cougars (4-3) rushed for 296 yards and passed for 53 more, and a total of 349 yards on offense. In turn, they held Uniontown to 69 yards total, 53 net overland, and 16 passing.
Nine runners figured in the Blackhawk rushing, led by Jeremy Bruce with 66 yards and two touchdowns in seven carries, Adam Gumbert 7-56 and two scores, and Dominic Nardone 5-59 and one TD.
Bill McLee (7-32) and Todd Jackson (5-30) led Uniontown (5-2) rushing. The closest the Raiders came to scoring was in the first quarter when they moved to the Cougar 32, and in the second when they reached the 35.
Cougar Coach Joe Hamilton said “offensively, we kept making the plays. Having the speed we do is rather unusual for us, for as a rule we haven’t been blessed with speed, instead having good runners who could move the ball. Of our seven games, all but one have been shutouts, four by us and two against us.
“We were concerned coming into the game because we know Uniontown is a well coached team with a good game plan, but we were able to get outside and move the ball on them.”
McKeesport 53, Albert Gallatin 28
McKeesport put a Hurt”in” on Albert Gallatin at York Run, 53-28, in a Quad-West Conference battle that turned into a track meet.
The “hurt” was Tiger quarterback Guy Hurt, who rushed for 166 yards on 26 carries and five touchdowns. Fellow backfield mate Ricardo Stuvaints added 157 yards on 19 carries scoring twice. All in all, the Tigers rushed for total of 451 yards on 61 carries with eight touchdowns on the mud-soaked field.
“It was a quagmire,” noted Tiger coach George Smith. “I’ve been in games with fields worse, but not many.”
Oddly enough, the field conditions didn’t hurt either team moving the ball.
The Colonials didn’t move the ball on the ground, they used their aerial attack to move the ball. After starting quarterback Greg Moore was injured early in the second quarter, senior Zach Dawson relieved him and did his best impression of Tommy Maddox, passing 10 of 18 for 172 yards and two touchdowns.
“Zach did a good job for us tonight,” said Colonial coach Chuck Colborn. “He made things happen for us tonight.”
His favorite target was Eddie Robinson, who ended the night with 100 yards receiving on 10 catches and one touchdown. Robinson also added another touchdown on a four-yard run.
“He stepped up tonight,” said Colborn on his senior split end. “He had a good week in practice. He’s trying to prove himself now.”
The Tigers opened the game with a touchdown at the 8:10 mark in the first quarter on Hurt’s first touchdown run. Keith Haselhoff added the PAT kick to make the score 7-0. Albert Gallatin didn’t back down or let the score deflate its confidence.
Penn Hills 48, Connellsville 0
Connellsville went on the road Friday night to face the WPIAL’s second-ranked Quad-A team, Penn Hills.
The Indians relied on big plays, which featured four touchdown passes from junior quarterback Anthony Morelli, to race past the Falcons 48-0 to remain unbeaten this season.
“Tonight’s game was a nightmare from a coach’s point of view”, Penn Hills Neil Gordon said. “We have Pittsburgh Central Catholic next week, and Woodland Hills in two weeks. It was very hard getting them focused on the Connellsville game”.
The muddy conditions and a steady drizzle in the first quarter, plus some solid defense kept the Falcons close. Penn Hills managed to take a 6-0 lead on a five-yard run by Ken Lewis. The PAT by Joe Prokopik made the score 7-0.
“The first quarter and a half I felt we played well defensively”, Connellsville’s Dan Spanish said. “Our defense gave us good field position offensively but once again we failed to execute. You have to knock people off the ball, and tonight we failed to get it done again. That’s been a problem for us all year.”
Including Penn Hills, Connellsville has faced Pittsburgh Central Catholic and Woodland Hills during the past three weeks. The Falcons have been outscored 148-3 during the stretch.
The drizzle stopped in the second quarter, and Morelli started to heat up. Finding some difficulty going through the Falcons on the ground, Penn Hills used its speed to open up the passing game.
Morelli burned the Falcons with three second-quarter touchdown passes. The first was a 75-yard bomb to sophomore David Harvey. The PAT by Prokopik made the score 14-0. With 1:56 left in the half, Penn Hills had the ball at its 23. Morelli set up a screen pass to Lewis, who took it 77 yards for the score. A failed two-point conversion left the score 20-0.
The Indians intercepted a Chris Marsinko pass with 59 seconds left. They drove to the Connellsville 15 with nine seconds remaining. After a timeout, Morelli found tight end Ralph Festa on a fade pattern for a 15-yard scoring pass. The two-point run by Lewis increased the Penn Hills’ lead to 28-0.
” What really disturbed me about tonight’s game was that we could not sustain a drive and had to rely on the big play”, Gordon explained. “We’re fortunate to have athletes with some speed, to beat them deep, and make some plays for us”.
Mapletown 36, Geibel Catholic 21
The last time Mapletown coach George Messich ran the hook-and-lateral was in 1988 when Derek Bochna turned the play into an 88-yard touchdown against Geibel Catholic at Connellsville Stadium.
Messich dusted off the playbook and turned the game around against the Gators late the third quarter when Justin Corso caught a Drew Denham pass for 10 yards, then pitched it to the outside to Andy Latusek for a 62-yard gallop down the sideline for a touchdown.
Bolstered by the momentum change, Mapletown kept its Tri-County South Conference playoff hopes alive with the victory over Geibel. Mapletown improves to 2-3 in the conference while the Gators slip to 1-4.
Gerod Buckhalter staked the Maples to a two-touchdown lead in the second quarter, but Geibel countered with a score late in the first half on Dan Chorba’s 3-yard run. Ardie Renze’s short touchdown run with three minutes drew Geibel to within a point, 15-14.
The backbreaking play for the Gators happened with Mapletown pinned down on a third-and-15 at its own 28-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“We were a little tired on defense. A lot of teams would have folded. Our kids didn’t quit,” Messich said.
Mapletown continued to build on the momentum when Latusek scored his second touchdown of the game on a 20-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Latusek finished with 128 yards rushing and 69 receiving. Buckhalter caught four passes for 33 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns.
Geibel scored with only 24 seconds left in the game when Mitch Erdely found Jeremiah Voithofer open in the back of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Chorba slipped his way through the Mapletown defense for 206 yards on 21 carries.
California 28, Jefferson-Morgan 21
Ryan Robinson rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown, and also scored on a 65-yard punt return to help California stay in the Tri-County South playoff hunt with a victory over visiting Jefferson-Morgan.
The Trojans (3-4, 3-2) overcame four turnovers on fumbles to take over sole possession of third place.
Robinson opened the scoring with a 10-yard TD run, but J-M quarterback Matt Ferencak ran for a 14-yard touchdown with three seconds left in the first quarter and Eric Cox kicked the extra point to put the Rockets (1-6, 1-4) up 7-6.
Josh Bongiorno put California ahead to stay with a 13-yard run late in the second quarter.
Calvin Kent’s six-yard touchdown burst and Robinson’s two-point conversion run gave the Trojans a seemingly comfortable 21-7 advantage. Joey Yokiel returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards for a score to cut the gap to seven.
Robinson countered that return with one of his own on a punt with 11 minutes left in the game, and Dan Yurkovich caught the two-point conversion pass from Parke Bongiorno.
Yokiel gave the Rockets some hope when he pulled in a 42-yard TD pass from Ferencak with 2:55 left, but California hung on for the victory.
Parke Bongiorno completed six of 13 passes for 104 yards. Yurkovich pulled in three passes for 76 yards.
In other local game, Frazier upset host West Greene, 13-12, to create a three-way tie for fourth place in the Tri-County South between the Commodores (3-4, 2-3), Pioneers (4-3, 2-3) and Mapletown; Class AA Waynesburg Central (5-2) put up a tough fight against Class AAA power Thomas Jefferson before falling at home, 22-14; Belle Vernon (6-1, 5-0) maintained its position atop the Keystone Conference with a 20-0 shutout over host Mount Pleasant (0-7, 0-4); Beth-Center (2-5, 0-5) lost its fifth in a row to Black Hill Conference Burgettstown on the road, 26-15; and Interstate Conference leader Jeannette (7-0, 4-0) defeated visiting Southmoreland (1-6, 0-5).
Other scores:
Aliquippa 38, Quaker Valley 27
Baldwin 17, Norwin 0
Beaver 35, Ellwood City 0
Beaver Falls 20, Center 15
Bedford 47, Cambria Heights 0
Bellefonte 19, Lewistown 0
Bellwood-Antis 28, Chesnut Ridge 7
Bishop Carroll 38, Somerset 6
Bishop Guilfoyle 44, Mount Union 6
Bishop McCort 14, Johnstown 7
Blairsville 35, Northern Cambria 0
Bradford 21, DuBois 10
Brentwood 21, Riverview 0
Buffalo St. Francis, N.Y. 19, Erie Cathedral Prep 16
Cambridge Springs 22, Linesville 8
Campbell Memorial, Ohio 45, Kennedy Catholic 44
Campbell Memorial, Ohio 45, Kennedy Catholic 44, OT
Canevin 21, Avella 7
Canon-McMillan 62, Ringgold 0
Central Cambria 54, Central Martinsburg 21
Chartiers Valley 37, McGuffey 19
Clarion 40, Moniteau 6
Clearfield 49, Bald Eagle Area 7
Corry 16, Iriquois 14
Coudersport 35, Youngsville 6
Derry 20, Yough 14
Elk County Catholic 40, Otto-Eldred 0
Everett 36, Tussey Mountain 34
Farrell 38, Avonworth 12
Ford City 41, North Catholic 7
Forest Hills 46, Penn Cambria 0
Fort Cherry 48, Bentworth 6
Franklin 51, Mercyhurst Prep 7
Freeport 40, Deer Lakes 6
Gateway 26, Latrobe 9
General McLane 27, North East 20
Girard 21, Seneca 7
Greenville 32, Hickory 12
Grove City 34, Mercer 0
Hampton 28, Kittanning 21
Harbor Creek 38, Fort LeBoeuf 0
Hollidaysburg 27, Coatesville 21, OT
Homer-Center 48, Purchase Line 0
Huntingdon 28, Indian Valley 21, OT
Indiana 33, Plum 15
Johnsonburg 7, Cameron County 0
Kane 30, Brockway 13
Karns City 35, Central Mountain 16
Keystone 31, Allegheny-Clarion Valley 7
Keystone Oaks 35, Elizabeth Forward 16
Kiski Area 21, Franklin Regional 7
Kiski School 42, Linsly School, W.Va. 22
Knoch 42, Valley 6
Lakeview 29, Conneaut Lake 0
Leechburg 35, Serra 13
Mars 46, Apollo-Ridge 30
Meadville 67, Erie East 28
Mohawk 20, Union 0
Moon 23, Montour 7
Moshannon Valley 12, Northern Bedford 6
Mount Lebanon 14, Shaler 7
New Brighton 24, Freedom 17
New Castle 18, Hopewell 0
North Allegheny 42, Butler 7
North Hills 14, Bethel Park 7
Northgate 44, South Allegheny 14
Northwestern 43, Fairview 20
Oil City 22, Brookville 13
Perry 47, Brashear 0
Pine-Richland 38, Highlands 13
Portage 33, Berlin 0
Punxsutawney 43, St. Marys 14
Richland 9, Westmont Hilltop 7
Ridgway 26, Curwensville 20, 2 OT
Riverside 35, Neshannock 13
Rochester 41, Laurel 7
Saegertown 33, Maplewood 21
Saltsburg 16, Laurel Valley 14
Schenley 35, Westinghouse 6
Seneca Valley 37, Hempfield 0
Seton-LaSalle 19, East Allegheny 7
Shade 20, Ferndale 12
Sheffield 14, Smethport 0
Slippery Rock 42, Reynolds 20
South Fayette 34, Carlynton 14
South Park 20, Steel Valley 6
Southern Huntingdon 20, Claysburg-Kimmel 15
State College 10, McDowell 7
Sto-Rox 41, Chartiers-Houston 6
Titusville 35, Erie Central 0
Trinity 21, Penn-Trafford 17
Tyrone 14, Philipsburg-Osceola 7
Upper St. Clair 28, Fox Chapel 7
Warren 32, Strong Vincent 12
Washington 34, Charleroi 8
West Allegheny 43, Ambridge 7
West Branch 33, Glendale 0
West Middlesex 27, Sharpsville 7
West Mifflin 27, Peters Township 7
Williamsburg 21, Juniata Valley 0
Wilmington 20, Sharon 13
Windber 7, Conemaugh Township 0
Woodland Hills 38, Central Catholic 0