Jones gains 127 yards in Connellsville’s 45-13 loss
UPPER ST. CLAIR – A balanced Panther attack tore off 28 points in the first quarter and Upper St. Clair’s suffocating defense held Connellsville to one first down in the first half Friday night as the Panthers overran the Falcons, 45-13, for a non-conference home victory. “We had no answers on defense tonight,” Connellsville head coach Tommy Dolde said. “It’s tough to get behind 28-0 early and try to get back into the game, but I never had to tell even one kid to keep their head up, so that was a good sign.”
Connellsville (1-2) continued to excel on kickoff returns, though, as Lance Straughters returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter which put the Falcons on the score board, down 28-7. He had one kickoff return for a touchdown last week, as did Scott Jones.
“Our return team is a bright spot right now and I think our running game is showing signs of improvement,” Dolde said. “Our passing game is a different story, though. It’s a major concern for everybody right now.”
The Falcons fell behind 38-7 in the first half, but threatened with less than a minute left in the half after fielding a punt on their own 1-yard line. The Panthers looked to go into the locker room with a 38-7 lead, but Scott Jones had other thoughts.
He burst through the middle on a draw play, broke two tackles near midfield, and tore off a 70-yard run to the Upper St. Clair 19-yard line with 45 seconds left before halftime. It was Connellsville’s first first down of the game.
The Falcons could not capitalize, though, as Dustyn Pastors was intercepted by Dane Conwell on the USC 10-yard line, his second interception of the game, to snuff out the Falcon scoring attempt and help preserve the Panthers’ 38-7 lead at the break.
Jones spearheaded the Falcon run game with 127 yards on 15 carries.
“Scotty’s a tough runner, even their coach said so after the game,” Dolde said. “He’s gaining over 100 yards with nine defenders in the box since our passing game was not able to open up any seams in the running game.”
He led the attack on the Falcons’ best drive of the game, which was the first possession after halftime. The drive stalled on fourth-and-6 when Trent Hurley completed the first Falcon pass of the game, which was to Leonard Smith, but for only five yards.
The Panthers (3-0) struck again after taking over on downs when McShane hit Shine for a 43-yard touchdown to extend the score to 45-7 and invoke the mercy rule for the remainder of the game.
Justin Coles recovered a Panther fumble early in the fourth quarter to give Connellsville the ball at the Upper St. Clair 45-yard line. Straughters capped the drive with a 4-yard run to close the score at 45-13.
Upper St. Clair broke onto the scoreboard almost immediately as Dane Conwell busted off a 64-yard run to set up the Panthers’ touchdown. Brett Scheller powered off-tackle for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Connellsville was held to zero yards of offense in the first quarter.
Following Straughters’ kickoff return touchdown, Conwell scored his second touchdown of the game from two yards out to extend the lead to 38-7. He ran for 104 yards in the first half.
The Falcons will host Mt. Lebanon Friday before their conference opener the following week against visiting Hempfield.