Red Raiders keep rolling along
Uniontown’s John Fortugna wasn’t on the sidelines Friday night to watch his team keep its regular-season winning streak alive. Fortugna was definitely in his players’ minds, though, before, during and afterwards as the Red Raiders defeated Derry, 26-13, in the Keystone Conference opener for both teams at Bill Power Stadium.
Ryan Guthrie had a hand in three touchdowns and Matt Smiley returned a kickoff 82 yards as Uniontown (2-0, 1-0) its 13th consecutive regular-season game and ninth straight at home.
“We wanted to win this one for Coach Fortugna,” said Red Raiders running back Bill McLee, who was battling a virus but still rushed for 110 yards on 20 carries.
Fortugna was serving a one-game suspension imposed by the WPIAL after Uniontown was penalized for holding an illegal scrimmage last season.
South Park 41, Laurel Highlands 20
South Park scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions of the second half in rallying from a 12-7deficit to defeat host Laurel Highlands in a non-conference game.
Dan Hatala rushed for a game-high 102 yards and two touchdowns, all in the second half, to lead an Eagles’ rushing attack that amassed 375 yards on 54 attempts. Brett Scruggs ran for 94 yards and a score, and Alex Fulton added 64 yards and two TDs.
Matt Humbert completed 15 of 34 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns along with a pair of interceptions.
Antwjuan Cox snagged five of Humbert’s throws for 143 yards, including an 85-yard TD to open the game’s scoring.
The lead was short lived as Shane Jakubovic returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.
Humbert tossed a 15-yard scoring pass to Andre Ramsey with 30 seconds left in the first half to put the Mustangs (0-2) up 12-7, but South Park regrouped at the break and dominated the second half.
The Eagles led 41-12 when Paul Metz broke free for a 40-yard scoring run late in the game for LH.
Butler 35, Albert Gallatin 8
Albert Gallatin was its own worst enemy in a 35-8 exhibition loss to Butler Friday night.
The Colonials committed eight turnovers – four interceptions and four lost fumbles – and even managed to split the damage with four in each half.
“Obviously, turnovers were the difference in the game,” AG coach Chuck Colburn said. “You just can’t do that and expect to win, especially against a good team like Butler.”
Colburn, however, still believes in his players and in their ability to help turn the program around.
“I still have not lost faith in these kids,” Colburn said. “We’ve come a long way. We just weren’t sharp tonight, that’s all. We had a lot of mental mistakes, which led to putting the ball on the ground and getting the interceptions.”
Despite the lopsided score, Albert Gallatin held tough in many statistical categories, including nine first downs to Butler’s 11, passing yardage (52 yards each) and rushing yards (198 for Butler, 150 for AG). Colburn cautioned, however, that the Colonials should start expecting tangible results in the near future.
“We’re still building, no question about it,” Colburn said. “But it’s time for us to step up and expect to win. These kids have got to learn how to win and they’ve got to figure it out themselves. They believe we can win, they just have to get it done.”
Seton-LaSalle 40, Brownsville 13
Brownsville held the high-powered Seton-LaSalle offense to just 138 total yards in the first half, but the Rebels rolled out 26 second-half points to give them the easy 40-13 win in non-conference action.
Senior quarterback Anthony Doria led the charge with 96 total yards, two rushing and one passing touchdown. The first half started out slow for Doria, who is one of 18 returning starters for the Rebels, as he completed only one pass for four yards.
“They are well-balanced,” said Brownsville coach Don Bartolomucci. “We thought that if we could take away the deep pass, we would be alright.”
Brownsville’s offense totaled 95 yards in the first half and Dougie Patterson accounted for 67 of those yards on nine carries.
Latrobe 21, Connellsville 0
If this had been car racing instead of football, it could have been said that Connellsville’s offense never got out of low gear.
For a while, it looked like the Falcons were going to be stuck in reverse.
Latrobe’s swarming defense dropped Connellsville ball carriers 14 times for 65 yards in losses, and gave up a net of only 18 rushing yards for the whole game as the Wildcats posted their second shutout in as many starts, 21-0, in the Falcon home opener Friday night.
Overall, Connellsville netted just 52 yards – 34 passing and 18 on the ground, didn’t get a first down in the entire first half, and the closest they came to scoring was at 9:17 of the fourth quarter when they reached the Latrobe 32 and fumbled.
Meanwhile, Latrobe was generating 172 net overland and 105 passing, as quarterback Ryan Flynn completed 14 of 23 passes, including a touchdown to Andy Sorice. Chris Sarnese led the Wildcat ground game with 134 yards and two touchdowns in 19 carries.
Beth-Center 67, Geibel Catholic 13
The Beth-Center Bulldogs had a season’s worth of touchdowns Friday night, handily defeating the visiting Geibel Catholic Gators, 67-13, for a non-section victory.
Garrett Balas threw three first half touchdowns passes. He tossed touchdown passes of 23 and 51 yards to Mike Morgan, then found Jordan Sweany wide open late in the first half for a 28-yard scoring toss. The sophomore quarterback completed six passes for 144 yards.
George Hilverding and Mike Higinbotham both rushed over 100 yards. Hilverding scored on runs of 58 and two yards, finishing with 156 yards on 13 carries. Higinbotham carried the ball 15 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs (2-0) scored two unusual touchdowns when Sweany fell on a loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown and Brian Ratica picked up a deflected punt that was not downed by Geibel for a 25-yard touchdown return. Chris Mort scored the final touchdown late to close the scoring.
Not to sound ungrateful with the big win, Beth-Center coach Ed Woods was not pleased with the unnecessary penalties – 11-124 – and three fumbles.
“There was no reason for the personal fouls. The score doesn’t reflect how we played,” Woods said.
Alan Colvin scored first for the Gators on a 1-yard dive on the first play of the second quarter. John Bokat found Jeremiah Voithofer open for a 16-yard touchdown pass.
“I’m hoping we’re a resilient group. We’re still a young team. We’ll go back and find out what this team is made of getting ready for Jefferson-Morgan,” Geibel Catholic coach Angelo Dippolito said.
Southmoreland 42, Carlynton 7
Southmoreland scored 20 points in the first quarter and never looked back, cruising past visiting Carlynton, 42-7, for a non-conference victory at home.
The combination of Shane Datz and Brian Connors was strong for the Scotties with two touchdown passes. Datz completed five passes for 124 yards. Connors was his favorite receiver for with three catches for 91 yards.
Mike Frazier raced 71 yards for a first quarter score and Dan Hagerman hit field goals of 39 and 27 yards. Justin Poole returned an interception 31 yards with the defense adding a safety when Carlynton fumbled the ball out of its own end zone.
Mike Mardis closed the scoring for the Scotties (1-1) on a 5-yard run.
Carmichaels 52, Bentworth 32
John Menhart and the Carmichaels football team couldn’t complain Friday night.
Their 53-32 win over Bentworth was like clockwork.
Menhart’s activities included corralling varsity and junior varsity players on off the field, while his troops punched in eight sleek touchdown scores.
The second non-conference win for the Mikes gave their coach a clear conscience, as his post-game thoughts were reduced to leg cramps, personnel changes and “finding” mistakes on the game film.
“Everything pretty much clicked,” Menhart said. “All in all, these were two good steps.”
The clicking included Jono Menhart’s tight-spiral touchdown pass to a wide-open Colby Giles. Not to be outdone by Menhart’s 54-yard touchdown yard run and Bobby Hathaway barreling in for three touchdowns.
Springdale 30, Mapletown 0
The Mapletown Maples not only had problems handling the Springdale Dynamos, but on top of all the other problems they had, they were shutout by the Dynamos 30-0 in a Non-Section matchup at Greensboro, Friday night.
“I don’t know what else could happen?” noted dejected coach George Messich. “We had so many mistakes. It’s ridiculous.”
The Maples fumbled the ball 10 times on the evening and lost four of them not counting the number of bobbled exchanges from center to quarterback.
Another problem the Maples experienced was the injury to senior quarterback Drew Denham who went down late in the first quarter making a tackle. At the time Denham went out with the injury, he was 4-5 passing with 24 yards.
Scores from across the state:
WESTERN REGION
Altoona 41, St. John’s, Wash., D.C. 12
Beaver 27, Burrell 21
Beaver Falls 41, Shady Side Academy 20
Belle Vernon 25, Yough 0
Bellefonte 7, Philipsburg-Osceola 0
Beth-Center 67, Geibel 13
Bethel Park 41, Trinity 13
Bishop Carroll 14, Bedford 12
Bishop McCort 28, Central Martinsburg 6
Blacklick Valley 21, Berlin 12
Blairsville 21, Ligonier Valley 14
Brashear 33, Carrick 0
Brentwood 47, Jefferson-Morgan 8
Brockway 21, Ridgway 20 (OT)
Brookville 26, Clearfield 18
Butler 35, Albert Gallatin 8
Cambridge Springs 15, Union City 14
Cameron County 7, Port Allegheny 6
Carmichaels 53, Bentworth 32
Central Catholic 50, Franklin Regional 7
Central Dauphin 41, State College 15
Charleroi 12, South Allegheny 6
Clairton 7, California 0
Clarion-Limestone 21, St. Marys 14
Claysburg-Kimmel 16, Juniata Valley 14 (OT)
Cochranton 9, Conneaut Lake 0
Conneaut Valley 35, Maplewood 34 (2 OT)
Curwensville 21, Elk County Christian 0
East Allegheny 17, Greensburg Central Catholic 14
Eisenhower 21, Coudersport 14
Ellwood City 21, Apollo-Ridge 8
Erie Central 26, Meadville 14
Ford City 35, Freedom 0
Fort LeBoeuf 34, Seneca 14
Fox Chapel 15, Shaler 12
Franklin 30, Erie East 18
General McLane 38, Iroquois 0
Greensburg Salem 18, Mount Pleasant 3
Grove City 39, Lakeview 0
Hampton 34, Chartiers Valley 15
Harbor Creek 13, Girard 7
Highlands 35, McGuffey 7
Hollidaysburg 42, South Western 28
Hopewell 49, Montour 7
Huntingdon 29, Tyrone 20
Indiana Valley 47, North Pocono 0
Jeannette 38, Northgate 0
Kane 53, Johnsonburg 0
Karns City 39, Keystone 28
Kennedy Catholic 7, Slippery Rock 3
Kiski Area 28, Baldwin 3
Knoch 42, Peters Township 0
Latrobe 21, Connellsville 0
Lewistown 19, Bald Eagle 13
Marietta, Ohio 34, Greenville 7
Marion Centre 21, Homer-Center 6
Mars 10, Center 5
McDowell 41, Central Mountain 20
Meyersdale 12, Conemaugh Township 10
Monaca 37, Laurel 14
Moniteau 21, Union-Rimersburg 14
Moon 35, Blackhawk 28
Moshannonon Valley 26, Glendale 0
Mt. Lebanon 19, McKeesport 14
New Brighton 21, Deer Lakes 7
New Castle 46, Ambridge 7
North Catholic 20, Quaker Valley 0
North East 14, Fairview 6
North Hills 49, Ringgold 0
Northern Bedford 31, Everett 14
Northwestern 36, Corry 6
Norwin 26, Indiana 14
Penn Hills 55, Plum 20
Penn-Trafford 10, Hempfield 7
Penns Valley 14, Chestnut Ridge 0
Pine-Richland 26, Keystone Oaks 8
Portage 47, Conemaugh Valley 0
Punxsutawney 34, DuBois 0
Redbank Valley 15, Clarion 14
Richland 13, Central Cambria 10 (OT)
Riverside 23, Farrell 20
Rochester 20, Mohawk 12
Saegertown 28, Linesville 18
Seneca Valley 24, Canon-McMillan 7
Seton-LaSalle 40, Brownsville 13
Sheffield 35, Otto-Eldred 14
Smethport 35, Youngsville 0
Somerset 25, Cambria Heights 13
South 8, Oliver 6
South Park 41, Laurel Highlands 20
South Range, Ohio 28, Hickory 16
South Side Beaver 49, Neshannock 20
Southern Huntingdon 32, Williamsburg 0
Southmoreland 42, Carlynton 7
Springdale 30, Mapletown 0
Sto-Rox 23, Monessen 17
Thomas Jefferson 37, Kittanning 0
Titusville 28, Strong Vicent 0
Union 33, Cornell 0
Uniontown 26, Derry 13
Upper St. Clair 16, North Allegheny 13
Valley 10, Elizabeth Forward 3
Warren 41, Oil City 13
Washington 8, South Fayette 7
Waynesburg 47, Steel Valley 0
West Allegheny 20, West Mifflin 6
West Branch 41, Tussey Mountain 0
West Greene 31, Avella 14
West Middlesex 35, Mercer 15
West Shamokin 24, Allegheny-Clarion Valley 14
Wilkinsburg 24, Fort Cherry 6
Woodland Hills 28, Gateway 7
Youngstown Ursuline, Ohio 45, Wilmington 0
EASTERN REGION
Allentown Allen 33, East Stroudsburg South 2
Allentown Dieruff 35, Northampton 7
Archbishop Ryan 43, Archbishop Wood 0
Avon Grove 49, Caravel Academy, Del., 12
Bellefonte 7, Philipsburg-Oceola 0
Bermudian Springs 34, Steelton-Highspire 20
Berwick 21, Wyoming Area 20
Bethlehem Catholic 40, Whitehall 6
Biglerville 6, Boiling Springs 0
Bishop O’Reilly 41, Bishop O’Hara 0
Bishop Shanahan 12, Chichester 7
Blue Mountain 33, Stroudsburg 9
Boyertown 48, Perkiomen Valley 41
Calvary Christian 20, Morrisville 8
Carlisle 42, Harrisburg 12
Central Columbia 7, Hughesville 0
Central Dauphin 41, State College 15
Chambersburg 28, Red Land 21
Chichester 7, Bishop Shanahan 12
Cocalico 45, Garden Spot 28
Columbia 47, Northern Lebanon 0
Conrad Weiser 34, Reading Holy Name 20
Cumberland Valley 44, Cedar Cliff 7
Danville 10, Shikellamy 7
Delaware Valley 42, East Stroudsburg North 21
Downingtown 41, Roosevelt, D.C., 6
Dunmore 10, West Scranton 8
East Pennsboro 24, Susquehannock 3
Easton 52, Nazareth 14
ELCO 10, Lancaster Catholic 7
Emmaus 24, Pleasant Valley 19
Erie McDowell 41, Central Mountain 20
Freedom 43, Pocono Mountain 6
Gettysburg 14, New Oxford 13
Glen Mills 66, Anacostia, D.C., 6
Governor Mifflin 34, Exeter 14
Halifax 13, Juniata 12
Hamburg 39, Daniel Boone 22
Hanover 68, York County Tech 0
Hanover Area 28, Wilkes-Barre GAR 0
Hempfield 31, Red Lion 10
Hershey 28, West Perry 19
Honesdale 15, Carbondale 8
Indian Valley 47, North Pocono 0
Interboro 18, Monsignor Bonner 6
Jim Thorpe 27, Mahanoy Area 3
La Salle 37, Bishop McDevitt 0
Lackawanna Trail 41, Bishop Hafey 14
Lakeland 63, Riverside 0
Lampeter-Strasburg 63, Donegal 18
Lancaster McCaskey 27, William Penn of York 24
Lansdale Catholic 35, Spring-Ford 6
Lebanon 21, Palmyra 7
Lehighton 30, Tamaqua 21
Lewistown 19, Bald Eagle Area 13
Lourdes Regional 42, Bucktail 12
Lower Dauphin 51, Elizabethtown 7
Loyalsock 40, South Williamsport 0
Manheim Central 54, Middletown 14
Manheim Township 34, Ephrata 33
Mechanicsburg 28, Big Spring 14
Mifflinburg 47, Lewisburg 7
Millersburg 26, Upper Dauphin 0
Milton 28, Warrior Run 15
Milton Hershey 51, James Buchanan 0
Minersville 27, North Schuylkill 6
Mount Carmel 49, Panther Valley 16
Muhlenberg 26, Wyomissing 16
North East, Md., 22, Unionville 13
North Penn-Blossburg 62, Sayre 16
Northern 39, Central York 14
Northwestern 40, Saucon Valley 6
Notre Dame-Green Pond 35, Palmerton 6
Parkland 48, Allentown Central Catholic 13
Pen Argyl 12, Northern Lehigh 10
Penn Manor 27, Solanco 8
Pennington 20, Academy of New Church 0
Pine Grove 33, Shippensburg 9
Pittston Area 20, Scranton 16
Pottsville 21, Reading High 18
Reading Central Catholic 49, Fleetwood 8
Ridley 29, Upper Darby 7
Salisbury 33, Bangor 0
Schuylkill Haven 3, Marian Catholic 0, OT
Schuylkill Valley 42, Kutztown 39
Selinsgrove 27, Jersey Shore 0
Shamokin 29, Montoursville 14
Shenandoah Valley 48, Pottsville Nativity 6
Southern Columbia 34, Bloomsburg 12
Spring Grove 26, Conestoga Valley 13
Sun Valley 42, Haverford School 7
Susquenita 12, Susquehanna Township 7
Towanda 33, Athens 0
Tri-Valley 30, Williams Valley 26
Trinity 53, Waynesboro 0
Tunkhannock 37, Crestwood 0
Upper Perkiomen 28, Phoenixville 0
Valley View 21, Mid Valley 13
Wallenpaupack 13, Western Wayne 7
Warrior Run 28, Milton 15
Warwick 16, Cedar Crest 14
West Chester East 35, Chester 12
West York 51, Kennard-Dale 8
Wilson 42, Dallastown 7
Wyalusing 43, Wellsboro 38
York Suburban 49, Littlestown 7