Indians defeat Falcons
HARRISON CITY – At one time, the winner of this game won the conference title. But with Pittsburgh Central Catholic in the mix, not this year.
Instead, Connellsville and Penn-Trafford are fighting to earn a playoff berth in a weak Quad-South Conference.
Penn-Trafford (3-4, 2-1) took another step toward reaching a postseason berth Friday night at Warrior Stadium with a 44-7 win over the visiting Falcons (1-6, 0-3), despite a gutsy performance by Connellsville’s Scotty Jones, who rushed for 209 yards on 26 carries.
Penn-Trafford’s big-play defense blocked a pair of Connellsville punts and six Warriors scored touchdowns.
Connellsville appeared primed for a mid-season upset early in the first quarter as the Falcons took the opening kickoff and moved to the PT 31 in five plays.
On fourth and six (following a Falcons procedure penalty), Connellsville freshman quarterback Trent Hurley connected with tight end Leonard Smith for an apparent first down at the Warriors 20.
But as Smith struggled for additional yardage, he fumbled and the Warriors recovered at their 19-yard line.
Penn-Trafford took advantage of the turnover and marched 81 yards in 14 plays, with Steve Huegel booting a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
“From there, everything went downhill,” Connellsville coach Tommy Dolde said, as his Falcons slipped further from playoff contention.
“Penn-Trafford scored 24 points following turnovers, including 21 on special teams, and that’s indicative of our youth. We are a very young team playing against experienced seniors and it took its toll. We have to learn from this, and we will. Not many people see it this way, but high school athletics represent a life-long learning experience and we are learning from games such as this.”
Connellsville’s bottom began to fall out midway through the second quarter when the Warriors’ John Granatire blocked a Falcons’ punt.
Paul Stefanik caught the tumbling ball at the Connellsville 33 and waltzed his way to the end zone for a 9-0 lead.
Penn-Trafford quarterback Erik Rasky scored from the four with a minute remaining in the second quarter for a 16-0 lead at the half.
The Indians put the game out of reach early in the third quarter. Justin Edwards caught a 41-yard scoring strike from Raskey and, following a second blocked punt, Matt Curry scored from the one.
A Connellsville eight-quarter-long scoring drought ended with 2:19 left in the third period when Scott Jones scored on a 41-yard run. Jones carried the ball on all eight plays of the Falcons’ 92-yard touchdown drive and gained all of Connellsville’s 94 yards in the third quarter.
“Week in, week out, Scott is the best player on the field, for either team,” Dolde said. “He’s an incredible talent and fun to watch. He is strong and gets the tough yards inside and will go outside and break the long runs. With our young and inexperienced offensive line, much of the yardage he gets inside he gets on his own. He’s a natural at football.”
In the fourth quarter, Penn-Trafford’s Tim Cortazzo caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Rasky and Bob Westerlund capped the scoring by catching a 38-yard TD pass from Pat McEwen with just under two minutes remaining in the game.
Penn-Trafford coach Art Tragesser was more than pleased with his Warriors’ special teams effort.
“Every day we work on special teams play, including blocking punts, and tonight it paid off,” Tragesser said. “We were fortunate in that we scored on the first block and recovered the second at Connellsville’s one.”
With the win, Penn-Trafford inched closer to a post-season berth, but “nothing is guaranteed,” Tragesser said. “We haven’t clinched yet, but if we keep winning everything is up to us.”
Before clearing his bench in the final period, Tragesser used six running backs and six different receivers.
“We like to spread the ball around and get it into the hands of different people,” Tragesser said. “We have people who can run and catch and this keeps defenses off-balance. We went through an early stretch when things weren’t going well, but these kids didn’t give up and they are being rewarded now with a shot at the playoffs.”
Despite trailing 16-0 at the half, Dolde kept his offense on the ground and let Jones carry the load.
“We have a freshman at quarterback and he’s learning just like everyone else,” Dolde said. “We have an inexperienced offensive line (with only one upperclassman) and he doesn’t get that much time to set up and find his receivers. We’re young, but we’ll turn this around.
“To be successful you can’t hang your head and quit and these kids haven’t done either. Despite our record, they have kept a great attitude and we are learning each week, and we’ll be a better team for it.”