Latrobe shuts out Connellsville
LATROBE – Talk about a reversal of fortunes. Going into its WPIAL Quad-A South Conference game against Connellsville, Greater Latrobe had just 374 yards on the ground – total – and no one rushed for 100 in a single game.
Friday night, the Wildcats had almost that much rushing (291) and, not one, but two runners, Brent Heckel and David Duhaim, go over the century mark.
And the Wildcats had given up the second-most points of any team in Quad-A. But the one thing Connellsville and Jones didn’t get was in the end zone as they were shut out by host Greater Latrobe, 19-0, last night at Memorial Stadium.
Defensively, Greater Latrobe had given up 1,196 yards rushing. Connellsville finished with 166 and tailback Scott Jones got his 100 – 140, to be exact – but nearly all of those came in the second half.
“We thought all week there¹d be a good chance for us to run the football,” GL head coach Pat Murray permitted. “I thought our backs and offensive line played a nice game.”
Give some – no, make that a lot – of credit to the guys up front. Jake Gibas, Chad Schmeling, Paul Simkovich, Scott Miller and Anthony Kesslar cleared the way for the Wildcats to gain 403 yards, including 119 by Heckel, 102 from Duhaim and another 112 passing by quarterback Rob Weber.
“I didn¹t realize that. I didn’t realize we were even close to having anything like that,” Murray said, referring to GL’s two 100-yard rushers. “We ran the ball fairly well. It was a great job by our offensive line.”
And that, agreed Connellsville coach Tom Dolde, was the difference, especially in the first half when the Wildcats (1-1, 2-4) scored all of their points.
“We weren’t coming off the ball quick enough,” he offered. “You have to come off the ball harder than the guy in front of you.”
At halftime, Connellsville (0-2, 1-5) managed just 24 yards, and Jones 18. Although the Falcons had 148 and Jones 122 in the second half, they weren’t able to score.
“We knew they had a freshman quarterback (Trent Hurley). We knew their offense revolved around Jones,” Murray reasoned. “The game plan was to run blitz and tackle him. The kids did a very good job of doing that.”
With Jones and the Falcons going nowhere in the first half, Greater Latrobe was able to do something else. For the first time since the season opener against Derry Area, the Wildcats played with the lead.
They scored on the game’s initial series, going 64 yards in seven plays, the big one covering 26 on a pass from Weber to Heckel on third down and nine from their 37. Heckel then took it the final 23 yards around left end on a counter play following a fake into the line to Steve Kozemchak with Connor Shields kicking the extra point at 8:21 of the first quarter.
Greater Latrobe then forced Connellsville to go three and out, and immediately scored again. Three big runs, two by Duhaim (16 and 22 yards) and one by Heckel (21 yards), put the ball on the 26. After two plays netted a yard, Weber barely eluded the rush and found wide receiver Nick Sorice over the middle for GL¹s second touchdown at the 3:55-mark. Just like that, the ‘Cats were up, 13-0.
The game’s only other touchdown came with 47 seconds left in the half when Greater Latrobe went 71 yards in only 10 plays. Passes to Heckel and Sorice covered 25 and 31 yards with the former then scoring from the 2.
“It didn¹t help having our two corners out,” Dolde said of Lance Straughters (shoulder) and Aaron Meade (knee), both sidelined with injuries. “{We gave up some passes tonight.
“In the second half, you saw us coming off the ball pretty hard. When you’re not coming off the ball, you’re not going to get much, I don¹t care who you got playing running back.”
But it certainly wasn’t from a lack of trying on the part of Jones and the Falcons. Again, Jones ripped off some big runs in the second half, 19, 36, 16 and 21 yards, including 84 in the fourth quarter alone, but Connellsville was turned away twice deep in Wildcats’ territory on an interception by Heckel in the end zone and also on downs at the GL 4.
“Scott Jones is a fantastic running back. It¹s tough to lose when you¹ve got a back like that,” Dolde said.
“You’ve got to hand it to him,” Murray added. “He’s an excellent athlete.”
Hurley rushed for 36 yards on just four attempts, but completed only 4-of-10 passes for a measly six yards.
Along with his 119 yards rushing, Heckel had three receptions for 56 yards while Sorice had two for another 56. The Wildcats also got 25 yards on the ground from Weber and Kameron Zitelli, and 20 by Steve Kozemchak.
“We¹re improving. We just want to keep it going,” Murray stated.
It won’t, however, be easy next week as GL is home Friday to Pittsburgh Central Catholic (1-0, 4-1), which faces Norwin today. The Vikings opened the season as the top-ranked Quad-A team in the state, but a loss to Woodland Hills dropped them to No. 3.
“They have a very good program,” Murray noted. “We know what they¹re all about.”
Connellsville is on the road again next Friday at Penn-Trafford (1-1, 2-4).