Hudson flows through Falcons for 346
McKEESPORT — Connellsville’s defense could not contain McKeesport running back Khaleke Hudson and the Tigers ran away with a 36-7 Foothills Conference win at Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium Friday night. Hudson rushed for 346 yards and five touchdowns on 16 carries.
“It is what it is. (McKeesport) is a very good football team,” Connellsville coach Dave McDonald said. “They got better as the game went on. That’s what a well-coached team does.”
Anthony DeMarco paced Connellsvile by gaining 101 yards on 18 carries.
“Anthony is a hard runner and a tough kid,” McDonald said. “He’s a senior captain and that’s what we expect out of him.”
The Falcons started the game on the right foot. They forced a punt, started their first possession near midfield then reeled off two first downs and moved into Tiger territory at the Mckeeesport 22-yard line. However, Derek Brubacher was sacked twice, pushing the Falcons back 15 yards. They turned the ball over on downs at the McKeesport 37-ayrd line and could not regain their composure afterwards.
“If you think about it, we got off the field on the first drive. We had guys in position,” McDonald said. “They had some guys make a couple big plays.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Hudson kicked his game into high gear. He scored two touchdowns on a 46-yard run early in the second quarter and a 66-yard run late in the second. Both times, it looked like the Falcon defense was closing in, but he squirmed out of the would-be tacklers grasp and broke free.
“We didn’t tackle well in the first half,” McDonald said. “We had guys in position to make plays and we just didn’t make the plays.”
Hudson ran for 190 yards and scored two touchdowns on 10 carries in the first half alone. The Tigers are not known for throwing the ball, but they threw three passes in the final minute of the first half, completing one that moved them into field goal range. Caleb Shork booted the 36-yard field goal in the final seconds of the half to give McKeesport a 16-0 lead at the break.
The Falcons stormed out of the locker room and started the second half like they did the first half. They took the kickoff at the 19-yard line and pounded the ball fueled by DeMarco’s five rushes for 30 yards on the drive. They drove to the McKeesport 31-yard line but once again self-destructed.
Brubacher attempted to hit Caleb Pittsment on a short pass to the left, but the ball tipped off Pittsment’s fingers and Kyreek Sayels caught the tip drill for the interception. He actually scored a touchdown on the pickoff return, but it was called back due to a push in the back.
“We put together a nice drive to start the third quarter,” McDonald said. “We talked at halftime to try to score and make it a game again. You can’t turn the ball over against a good team.”
Hudson picked up where he left off in the first half and scored three rushing touchdowns in the third quarter. He had 342 yards and five touchdowns on 16 carries.
He banged in for a two-yard touchdown midway through the third. He added a 42-yarder less than two minutes later and scored a 76-yarder with 54 seconds left in the third to give the Tigers a commanding 36-0 lead which started the continuous clock.
“The fullback (Hudson) got away from us in the second half,” McDonald said. “We couldn’t tackle him. I don’t know how many yards they had after our first or second guy was on him.”
The Falcons cracked the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Brandon Hone broke down the left side and scored a 31-yard touchdown.
Connellsville travels to Penn-Trafford next week.
“It’s not going to get any easier,” McDonald said. “They’re ranked ahead of McKeesport. We need to have a great week of practice and show up next week and play.”
Foothills Conference
Connellsville 0-0-0-7 — 7
McKeesport 0-16-20 — 36
Second Quarter
M: Hudson 46 run (Shork kick) 11:55
M: Hudson 66 run (run failed) 3:17
M: Shork 34 fg 02.9
Third Quarter
M: Hudson 2 run (Shork kick) 6:44
M: Hudson 42 run (Shork kick) 4:33
M: Hudson 76 run (kick failed) :54.1
Fourth Quarter
C: Hone 31 run (Fogle kick) 9:16