Stepoli leads Greyhounds to win over Maples
The Greyhounds, who were favored to win the Tri-County South Conference this season, entered Friday’s game at Mapletown with an 0-2 record. Sophomore quarterback Terrance Stepoli made sure the Greyhounds didn’t fall to 0-3 as he accounted for four first-quarter touchdowns in a 54-0 win over the Maples (0-3).
“They are such a fast football team and we just can’t simulate that speed in practice,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “The only time we see speed like that is during the game.”
Stepoli, a 6-foot-5 signal caller, showed off his speed on the very first play of the game. He dropped back to pass but the Maples came with pressure and forced him to run.
He danced his way to a 44-yard run and then one play later scored from 12 yards out for a 7-0 lead.
It was the Greyhounds’ first score of the season and their first score since the Class A quarterfinals last year.
“That’s not something that we are used to,” Monessen coach Andy Pacak said.
The Greyhounds unveiled a spread offense in the first half that took advantage of Stepoli’s running ability and his strong arm.
On the Greyhounds’ second possession, Stepoli connected with Talifero Clark for a 42-yard scoring strike and a 13-0 lead.
The Greyhounds then took advantage of three-straight Maples’ turnovers to build a 33-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
“Against a team like that, we have to try and slow the game down and have some sustained drives,” Messich said. “We just weren’t able to do that tonight.”
Pacak said the Greyhounds have been tinkering with the spread offense the first couple of weeks and decided to use it exclusively this week against the Maples.
“We had a good week of practice and in those first two games we just wanted Terrance to get his feet wet,” Pacak said. “We thought we could do some things in the spread with Terrance and I think we’ll do it a little more now. It’s always been part of our offensive package and Terrance really makes it work.”
Monessen (1-2) returns to action next week when it faces West Greene while the Maples travel to Carmichaels for a rivalry contest.
“We did do some good things and we have to try and build off of those,” Messich said. “It’s always a tough game against Carmichaels and I’m sure this game will be no different.”