Sep 6, 2013 By Les Harvath for The 5 min read

MONROEVILLE — Gateway lived up to its No. 5 Quad-A billing Friday night with a 41-22 win over visiting Connellsville at Pete Antimarino Stadium, the home of the Gators.

But it wasn’t easy and, though it may be little consolation to the winless Falcons (0-2, 0-2), the game was closer than the final score. If, that is, one considers a scoreless first quarter as any indication.

After falling to Kiski Area last week, Dave McDonald’s Falcons faced most likely their sternest test of the season and the Gators, with four D-I prospects on the roster, scored five second-quarter touchdowns on five possessions to take an insurmountable 35-8 lead at the half.

Finishing a first-quarter possession early in the second quarter, Gateway’s Zaihe Regus scored on a three-yard run at 10:21 of the period. Following a Connellsville punt, Gateway quarterback Jimmy Moore connected with Delvon Randall on a 35-yard scoring strike at 7:28 of the period for a 15-0 lead.

However, smelling upset, Connellsville marched 65 yards in five plays for a touchdown at 6:06 to narrow the Gators’ lead to 15-8. Dylan Knopsnider had carries of 18 and 42 yards to open the drive, and his one-yard touchdown run put momentum on the Falcons’ side of the field. Knopsnider led all ball carriers with 88 yards on six attempts, all in the first half.

But Gateway responded on the ensuing kickoff in unusual fashion. Following two Connellsville penalties on successive kickoffs that went out of bounds, Montae Nicholson returned a third kickoff 74 yards to take the wind out of the Falcons’ sails.

“We had him hemmed in and three guys had a good shot at him,” McDonald said, “but he was able to get outside and move down the sideline for the score.”

Following a Connellsville punt, Moore and Randall connected on a nine-yard touchdown pass and, after Connellsville fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Moore hit Ricky Rogers with a four-yard touchdown pass at 2:12 of the period for the Gators’ third touchdown in a 3:38 span.

“We moved the ball, especially in the first quarter,” McDonald said, “but we lost six fumbles and an interception. You can’t do that, especially against a team like Gateway and expect to come out on top. We were in the same boat as we were last week. You can’t keep shooting yourself in the foot and expect things to come out in your favor.”

Connellsville finished with 262 yards rushing on 51 attempts.

Connellsville’s woes were best illustrated in the opening period when the Falcons lost their first fumble of the night, at the Gators’ 10-yard line. Later in the period, Connellsville quarterback Jade Maher was sacked on fourth down for an six-yard loss at the Gateway 27, thwarting another scoring opportunity.

“We were down 15-8 with six minutes remaining in the second quarter and everything fell apart,” McDonald said. “Even at the half the entire team was positive we could come back, despite the score. At the half I told them we were getting the ball to open the third quarter and we had to move the ball, score, start chipping away, and get a stop on defense, but it didn’t work out that way. We seemed to move the ball at times but we turned out to be our own worst enemy. Defensively, we didn’t tackle well and we’ll be spending more time on that phase of the game this week. And we’ll be working on shoring up our pass defense, as well.”

Moore completed 18-of-32 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns. For the Gators (2-0, 2-0), Randall caught seven passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns, Rogers caught six passes for 68 yards, and Nicholson had four receptions for 60 yards.

For Connellsville, sophomore William Bell came off the bench in the fourth quarter to rush for 67 yards on seven carries. Bell’s 42-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the night at came at 9:23 of the period. Connellsville’s final points came on a Jimmy Cellurale-to-Kyle Johnson 12-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds remaining in the game.

Connellsville will travel to Hempfield next Friday to resume Quad-East play.

 

 

Foothills Conference

Connellsville   0-8-0-14 — 22

Gateway         0-35-6-0 — 41

Second Quarter

G: Zaihe Regus 3 run (Jimmy Moore run), 10:21 (0-8)

G: Delvon Randall 35 pass from Jimmy Moore (Kevin Fitchwell kick), 7:28 (0-15)

C: Dylan Knopsnider 1 run (Michael Parlak run), 6:06 (8-15)

G: Montae Nicholson 74 kickoff return (kick failed), 5:50 (8-21)

G: Delvon Randall 9 pass from Moore (Joseph Klonicki kick), 2:42 (8-28)

G: Rogers 4 pass from Moore (Christopher Conti kick), 2:12 (8-35)

Third Quarter

G: Nicholson 18 pass from Moore (kick failed), 10:02 (8-41)

Fourth Quarter

C: William Bell 42 run (kick failed), 9:23 (14-41)

C: Kyle Johnson 12 pass from Jimmy Cellurale (Bell run), :27 (22-41)