Mt. Lebanon defence bedevils Connellsville
MT. LEBANON – Both Connellsville and Mt. Lebanon entered Friday’s WPIAL Class AAAA first round playoff game with three-game winning streaks, but only the seventh-seeded Blue Devils’ streak continued by virtue of their 34-0 victory over the visiting Falcons. The Blue Devils will face Trinity, a 20-17 winner over Penn Hills, in the quarterfinals.
“It was a tough game because we really couldn’t get anything going,” said first-year Connellsville head coach Tommy Dolde. “Our defense was on the field a lot and it took a lot out of our team.”
Even though the Falcons ended the season on a losing note, they compiled the program’s first winning season in six years and qualified for the playoffs.
“I told all our kids after the game we left everything on the field, so for that they are winners, not losers,” Dolde said. “We really wanted to change the perception of Connellsville football this year and give football back to the community that supports us so much, and I feel we accomplished that goal this year.”
The Falcons had a hard time running against a tough Mt. Lebanon run defense, managing only 33 yards on the ground in the first half and 111 overall while never threatening to score. Connellsville gained only seven first downs in the game and did not advance past the Mt. Lebanon 25-yard line until midway through the fourth quarter.
Substitute Blue Devil quarterback Tim Barr fumbled a snap and the Falcons recovered at the Mt. Lebanon 38-yard line for their best starting field position of the game. Connellsville got as far as the Mt. Lebanon 18-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs with two minutes left in the game, preserving the Blue Devil shutout.
“Mt. Lebanon really had a good game plan against our offense,” Dolde said. “They triple-covered our best receiver (Terrance McCrae) and we couldn’t take advantage of that.”
Both teams combined for 85 yards in penalties in the first quarter, including 55 yards by Mt. Lebanon. The Blue Devils had 115 yards by halftime. The Falcons actually began the game by committing a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
“The penalties surprised me because a lot of them were stupid mistakes,” Dolde said. “I don’t think there were any bad calls, just us losing focus.”
The Blue Devils won the toss and elected to receive. The Mt. Lebanon return man signaled for a fair catch of the Connellsville pooch kick, but was hit by a Falcon defender, giving the Blue Devils the ball at the Connellsville 43-yard line to start the game.
They took advantage of the excellent field position and struck first by mounting a 43-yard touchdown drive. Mark Sutton fueled the drive by running for 30 yards on five carries. Quarterback Nick Till ran five yards around left end, touching the pylon for the touchdown.
Midway through the second quarter, Connellsville fell behind 14-0 after Mt. Lebanon put together another touchdown drive. Sutton banged one yard over right tackle for the score.
The Blue Devils usually stick to the ground attack, but balanced their offense with the passing game on the drive and caught the Falcon defense off guard. Till completed 3-of-4 pass attempts for 66 yards on the drive, including a 38-yard pass to running back Chip Young, who made an acrobat over-the-shoulder catch.
The Falcons could not get a first down on the first possession of the second half and were forced to punt. On the ensuing possession, the Blue Devils mounted a 58-yard scoring drive to take a 21-0 lead with 5:26 left in the third quarter. Till banged in from one yard on a quarterback keeper for his second rushing touchdown of the game.
Mt. Lebanon took to the air on its next possession as Till hit Young for a 34-yard touchdown pass after Young got behind the Falcon defensive backs.
The Blue Devils took a 27-0 lead with less than three minutes left in the third quarter.
They put the game out of reach four minutes into the fourth quarter after Joe Rodella finished the scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Blue Devils ahead, 34-0.