Scotties keep flickering playoff hopes alive
Brownsville quarterback Brandon DeCarlo (4) looks for running room as Southmoreland's Chas King (34) and Brady King (43) pursue him during Friday's game at Redstone Field.
Ed Cope
Southmoreland’s Dakota Datz (left) gains yards as Brownsville’s Byron Mayers tries to bring him down Friday night at Redstone Field.
Southmoreland's Jake Pisula (15) is brought down by Brownsville's Caleb Kirkland (54) as teammates Justin Livengood (10) and Josh Thomas (52) move in on the play Friday night at Redstone Field.
Brownsville's Marcellis Grooms (25) gains some yards as he is pursued by Southmoreland's Brady King (43) Friday night at Redstone Field.
REPUBLIC — Southmoreland kept its flickering playoff hopes alive and spoiled Brownsville’s Senior Night with a 35-20 Class AA Interstate Conference win at the Falcons’ Redstone Field Friday night.
Scoring on four consecutive first-half possessions, the Scotties took a commanding 28-0 lead into the locker room in a game opposing coaches agreed represented the best and worst halves of football.
“We simply had a great first half,” Scotties coach Dominic Pecora said. “That might have been our best half of the entire season. And the second half might have been our worst of the season. We took our foot off the gas, but you have to credit Brownsville for a strong second half. We needed this win and we got one. We still have an outside shot at at playoff spot, but it’s not a great one. We needed a win and that’s what we got.”
After Brownsville took the opening kickoff and drove to the Scotties’ 9-yard line before the drive stalled like a Mustang sitting idly in the garage all winter, the remainder of the first half was all Southmoreland.
Kyle Cohen capped the Scotties’ first drive with a 44-yard touchdown reception from Dakota Datz. After Brownsville went three-and-out, Datz upped Southmoreland’s lead to 14-0 with a 12-yard run with only 27 seconds remaining on the first-quarter clock. When Brownsville fumbled the ensuing kickoff, sophomore workhorse Jake Pisula scored the first of his three touchdowns on a one-yard run. Pisula’s second score came on a 9-yard run midway through the second quarter, and he completed the hat trick with a 7-yard run early in the final quarter.
Pisula rushed for a team-high 146 yards on 22 carries, while Datz added 95 yards on 14 rushing attempts.
Brownsville (0-7, 0-6) averted a shutout when Tre Durkin scored on a 61-yard run with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.
Pisula’s third touchdown gave the Scotties a 35-6 lead before the Falcons turned on the offense.
Durkin scored on a 9-yard run with 4:17 remaining in the game, and he completed his own hat trick, scoring on an 11-yard run with 12 seconds remaining in the contest. Durkin took game rushing honors with 205 yards on 14 attempts. Durkin had runs of 15 and 20 yards in the opening quarter, 18 and 61 yards in the third period, and 17, 51, and 11 yards in the final quarter. Durkin’s output represented a career high.
“Tre did just as good a job on defense and on special teams,” Brownsville coach Von Braddock said. “He responded whenever we needed him.”
But in the tale of two halves, Braddock was as disappointed in his Falcons’ first half as Pecora was in his Scotties’ performance after intermission.
“I wasn’t happy with our first half at all,” Braddock said. “Our second half was much better, all around. We moved the ball better and we played better defense. At the half we simply told the kids, ‘You can play with them, regardless of the score,’ and that’s what they did. We lost some momentum when our opening drive stalled and we started to hang our heads when Southmoreland dominated in the first half, but we came out much stronger in the second half. Our kids have to learn to play the entire 48 minutes. You can’t wait until you’re down 28 points to decide to play. If they buy into that system, they’ll be fine, and that’s how well they responded in the second half.”
While Durkin was almost quietly amassing his 205 yards rushing, Pisula and Datz stole the first half show to give the Scotties their comfortable halftime lead.
“Dakota has been tremendous for us and he had another fine game,” Pecora said. “He has as much on his plate as any quarterback in the WPIAL and he gave us another strong effort tonight.”
Pisula, on the other hand, recently moved into the starting lineup following an injury and “has been doing an excellent job,” Pecora continued.
With everything having to go their way in the season’s final two weeks to reach the playoffs, Pecora noted that his Scotties “lost to the top four teams in the conference, to four tremendous conference teams. We’re 2-5 overall, 2-4 in the conference and this is where I thought we would be at this time. We’re young. We are playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores and I can see the maturity and improvement. We need to finish strong the final two weeks of the season.”
In the unusual stat line department, Brownsville outrushed Southmoreland, 313-241, and dominated the clock, keeping possession for 30 minutes to 18 for the Scotties.
Interstate Conference
Southmoreland 21-7-0-7 — 35
Brownsville 0-0-6-14 — 20
First Quarter
S: Kyle Cohen 44 pass from Dakota Datz (Jacob Hixson kick), 6:24 (7-0)
S: Datz 12 run (Hixson kick),:27 (14-0)
S: Jake Pisula 1 run (Hixson kick), :05 (21-0)
Second Quarter
S: Pisula 9 run (Hixson kick), 5:44 (28-0)
Third Quarter
B: Tre Durkin 61 run (run failed), :29 (28-6)
Fourth Quarter
S: Pisula 7 run (Hixson kick), 10:59 (35-6)
B: Durkin 9 run (pass failed), 4:17 (35-12)
B: Durkin 11 run (Durkin run), :12 (35-20)