Oct 14, 2006 By Ed Kolencik 3 min read

UNIONTOWN – Sophomore quarterback Jake Cramer threw for 165 yards and two scoring passes, and also scored once on the ground, as Belle Vernon handed Uniontown a 31-0 loss Friday in Keystone Conference action. The win is one big step forward for the Leopards as they try to secure a playoff berth, while the Red Raiders have a daunting task ahead of them with two games remaining if they hope to see the post-season.

“This is the first time all year that we put everything together,” said Belle Vernon coach Lou Rood.

“Offense, defense, special teams. We were just able to execute, come up with the big plays and score the points.”

Uniontown’s shutout loss is its third of the season.

After a scoreless first quarter, Ian Connolly literally kicked things off the B-V as he split the uprights from 24 yards out at the 10:11 mark in the second.

It quickly turned into the Cramer show as he scurried two yards for the Leopards’ first score followed by a Connolly extra point.

On the ensuing squib kickoff, the ball hit a Uniontown player and the Leopards found themselves with another chance to score with 1:07 in the half.

Cramer connected with Tyler Shutterly on an 18-yard strike at with 36 ticks remaining in the half.

The Leopards peeled off 13 points in 37 seconds as they led 17-0 going into the half.

Midway through the third quarter, Cramer completed a 52-yard touchdown pass to Brian Layhue which extended the lead to 23 points.

Turnovers plagued the Red Raiders as they had eight in total, five fumbles and three interceptions.

“You can’t win a football game with eight turnovers,” said Uniontown coach John Fortugna. “You can’t do it. Every time we started to get something going, we had a turnover.”

Uniontown came out with a head of steam in the second half, but things quickly went south for the Red Raiders.

“That’s one thing that we try to do,” said Rood. “If you don’t take advantage of the turnover, it gives them life again.”

Belle Vernon led in every statistical category with the exception of penalties as they had 10-for-65 compared to 4-for-16 for Uniontown.

The Leopards put together 397 total yards of offense, highlighted by Cramer’s efforts, but the running game also stepped up as Shane Curran rushed for 85 yards in 16 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Jon Krepps shared time in the backfield with 40 yards on 14 carries.

Daylen McLee led the Red Raiders with with 64 yards on 11 carries.

Uniontown quarterback Douglas Sanner completed 5-for-10 passes for 57 yards. His favorite receiver Kevin Sanders caught three passes for 40 yards.

As the regular-season winds down, Belle Vernon (2-2, 3-4) sits in sole-possession of fourth place in the Keystone Conference.

“I think we’re looking pretty good right now with what we want to do and what we want to execute,” said Rood. “We can run the ball, we feel we can throw the ball. We have people that can catch it and our line is steadily improving.”

Uniontown slips to 1-3 in the conference and 1-6 overall with an uphill battle against first-place Mount Pleasant next Friday.

“We just have to work hard and we’re not going to let up,” said Fortugna. “We’re going to get ready.”