Oct 15, 2005 By Jim Downey 3 min read

Yough has a big play offense and the Cougars had it on display Friday night with a Keystone Conference-clinching 36-19 victory at Laurel Highlands. The Cougars clinched the conference title with the win, improving to 6-0 in the conference and 7-1 overall. Laurel Highlands (4-4) slips into a tie with Uniontown at 4-2 in the conference with the two rivals ending the season at Uniontown.

Albert Gallatin and Mount Pleasant are looming close behind at 3-3.

“We’re upset. We were fighting for first place,” said Laurel Highlands head coach Jack Buehner. “We don’t have time to sit and dwell on the negatives. This group has taken a businesslike approach all season. There’s a lot more than pride on the line (with Uniontown).”

The Mustangs defense saw a lot of Cody Wilson, too much, in fact, as the Yough running back scored on runs of 51, 2 and 65 yards with his final touchdown breaking the game open early in the third quarter.

Wilson gained 229 of the Cougars’ 303 yards on 25 carries.

“We have some athletes,” said Yough head coach Jim Wehner, whose Cougars played on a grass field for the first time this season. “It took some time (to get going). The field didn’t help.”

“We knew (Cody) Wilson and (Craig) Sedunov were great individual players,” said Buehner. “They have great home run hitting ability. We knew they could get the big play. I didn’t think they’d get so many.”

The final score doesn’t indicate how close the game was at the half with Yough holding a slim 15-13 lead.

The Mustangs made the most of an early break when Yough punter Brad Janiro bobbled the snap and Sedunov was trapped for a 6-yard loss on the desperation toss at the Cougars’ 26.

Laurel Highlands converted two fourth down conversions on the scoring drive, including a 7-yard pass to Rusty Richards from Jared Jodon on a fourth-and-1 at the Yough 7 the touchdown.

Yough came right back 48 seconds late on Wilson’s 51-yard scoring sprint. The extra point was missed, tying the game at 6-6.

Laurel Highlands lost three fumbles, and committed a couple of costly penalties, the first leading to Yough’s second touchdown. A personal foul moved the ball deep into Laurel Highlands’ territory and Sedunov did most of the work with an 18-yard gain.

Wilson scored from the 2-yard line, but the two-point pass failed for a 12-6 game.

The Mustangs kept it close on the ensuing drive, moving 78 yards on 11 plays. The drive was capped by Jodon’s 1-yard plunge and Fiano’s extra point gave the Mustangs a 13-12 lead. Mario Basara’s 30-yard field goal at 5:53 of the second quarter provided the halftime lead.

The Cougar offense started rolling in the second half, and the Laurel Highlands defense started to wear down.

When Wilson took a break, Sedunov picked up the slack with 86 yards on 13 carries.

An interception killed one Mustangs’ drive in the first quarter and a pair of fumbles killed drives in the second half.

“We’re not used to playing used to playing from that far behind. They had a couple of big plays,” said Buehner. “We had so many turnovers. That typically doesn’t happen.”

“Laurel Highlands is a good football team. Jack Buehner had them prepared,” lauded Wehner. “At halftime, we decided to run down their throats until they stopped us.”

Jodon passed for 186 yards, but a lot of those were late in the game, as were Gregg Forse’s 102 yards receiving.

“We decided to put our best defensive back on Forse and pressure Jodon,” said Wehner. “(Jodon) is good. He sees his routes.”