Bulldogs outrun Greyhounds
The Bulldogs used a stifling defense and a punishing ground attack, as they wore down the visiting Greyhounds to put themselves on top of the conference standings. The night started poorly for Monessen as it opened the game deep in its own territory, on the 7 yard line. Things quickly got worse when, on the second-play from scrimmage, quarterback Terrance Stepoli was intercepted by Beth-Center’s Dominic Moore who returned it 25 yards for the game’s first score.
Monessen answered with its first score of the night after recovering a fumble on a Beth-Center fake punt when Stepoli found a wide-open Talifario Clark in the right-corner of the end zone. Stepoli finished the night 8-of-20 passing for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
Offensively, the Bulldogs quickly found a weakness in the Monessen defense, as they allowed Moore to roll out of the pocket and dump passes off to a wide-open Jeff Tarley for much of the first half. Tarley hauled in five passes for 53 yards.
When the Greyhounds adjusted to the play in the second half, Moore was able to counter with an adjustment of his own and tuck the ball away and dive ahead for chunks of yards at a time.
“Our coaches told me if the pass wasn’t there to just take the run,” said Moore. “When they (Monessen) adjusted to it in the second half I just kept taking the yards and doing what my coaches told me.”
Beth-Center went into halftime leading by a slim two-point margin and received the kickoff to open play in the second half. The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a methodical, clock-killing drive that ended in a 2-yard keeper by Moore to extend the lead to nine. He finished the game 8-of-14 passing for 74 yards, while finishing with a game-high 89 yards rushing on 22 carries.
“He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached,” Woods said. “Every game he leaves everything he has out there on the field. When he walks off that field after a game he is drained, he leaves it all out there for us.”
Thanks to Beth-Centers ground game, Monessen’s offense rarely touched the field in the second half, running only three offensive plays in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs continued to pick up four- and five-yard gains, seemingly at will, as they continued to run out the clock keeping Monessen’s high-powered offense standing on the sidelines.
“I think we just had all of the momentum at that point,” said Woods. “I told our kids at halftime that we needed to come out after the half and score to make a statement. And that’s exactly what we did, and we just kept building on that.”
Aside from Moore’s standout night, the Bulldogs also received a strong game from running back Joshua Lockett, a transfer from T.C. Williams high school in Virginia. Lockett scored three touchdowns on runs of 2, 12 and 1, while finishing with 84 yards on 20 carries.
“There’s still a lot of football left,” Moore said. “We lost early in the season, but we’ve really grown a lot and come together as a team. We’re like a family here. We just have to make sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves and remember there are still a lot of game we have to play. We just have to keep playing Beth-Center football.”
Scoring Summary:
Monessen 6 7 0 0 – 1 3
Beth-Center 8 7 7 14 – 35
BC – Dominic Moore 25 Interception return (Moore pass to Jeff Tarley)
M – Terrance Stepoli 10 yard pass to Talifario Clark (Pass failed)
BC – Joshua Lockett 2 run (Steve Fiedler kick)
M – Nick Bolias 6 pass from Stepoli
BC – Moore 2 run (Fiedler kick)
BC – Lockett 12 run (Kick Failed)
BC – Lockett 1 run (Fiedler kick)