Vikings too much for Red Raiders, 49-13
Mount Pleasant quarterback Lucas Pieszak passes during the first quarter while being pressured by Uniontown's Cam Walton in Friday's Big East Conference game at Mount Pleasant.
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Ky’ron Craggette looks for a lane to run through during Friday’s Big East Conference game at Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant's Pete Billey takes the handoff from Lucas Pieszak during the first quarter of Friday's Big East Conference game against Uniontown at Mount Pleasant.
Uniontown's Jake Murray tackles Mount Pleasant's Alex Kadylak during Friday's Big East Conference game at Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant's Alex Kadylak looks to get past Uniontown's Jake Murray during Friday's Big East Conference game at Mount Pleasant.
Uniontown's Ky'ron Craggette takes a handoff from quarterback Dom Richter during the first quarter of Friday's Big East Conference game at Mount Pleasant.
Uniontown's Ky'ron Craggette gains some of his 167 yards during Friday's Big East Conference game at Mount Pleasant. The sophomore running back surpassed 1,000 yards rushing this season.
MOUNT PLEASANT — Mount Pleasant goes into the offseason on a winning note following Friday’s 49-13 Senior Night victory over Uniontown in Big East Conference (AAA) play at Mount Pleasant.
The Vikings (2-6, 2-8) had two individual achievements reached in the season finale, as junior wide receiver Jacob Johnson become the single-season reception leader in school history and senior quarterback Lucas Pieszak surpassed 1,000 yards passing for the second consecutive year.
Johnson finished this year with 43 catches, which breaks B.J. Bellush’s record of 42 that was set in 1992. Johnson had six receptions for 159 yards and scored two touchdowns. Pieszak was 7 of 16 for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
“Jacob Johnson is a special kid and a heck of an athlete,” Mount Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas said. “The kid deserves everything he gets. It is pretty good for our quarterback to get two 1,000-yard seasons because we are known to run the football.
“We came out ready to win and knowing that we were going to have to play a good game. That was No. 1. We respected what they were going to do.”
Red Raiders sophomore running back Ky’ron Craggette went over the 1,000-yard mark this season after gaining a game-high 167 yards on 19 carries and scoring one touchdown. Craggette gained 1,086 yards rushing this year.
“It was awesome to have Ky’ron (Craggette) get 1,000 yards this season,” Uniontown coach Cedric Lloyd said. “He was still chugging away.”
“You see a kid (Craggette) like that on tape, you know what you’re going to get,” Fazekas said. “He ran hard in the second-half, too, and is a quality kid.”
Mount Pleasant forced Uniontown (0-8, 0-10) to punt on its first two possessions, but the Red Raider defense forced a turnover on downs on the Vikings’ first drive.
Mount Pleasant cracked the scoreboard at 4:17 of the first quarter when Johnson scored on a 37-yard run for a 7-0 lead after the first of seven PATs by Bradley Tait. Johnson’s run capped a four-play drive. The junior rushed for 55 yards on six attempts.
The Vikings drove inside the Uniontown 10, but the Red Raiders forced a fumble that Cam Walton returned inside Mount Pleasant territory.
Uniontown was called for a block-in-the-back penalty on Walton’s return and took over at its own 30. The Vikings forced the Red Raiders to punt after a three-and-out.
“The youth and inexperience shows,” Lloyd said. “We have a guy running down the field and he gets a penalty for a block in the back. You can see his numbers when you make that block.
“We are going to have to find some linemen. I started a couple of juniors on the line, but they’re first-year guys. I’m playing with all these first-year inexperienced guys that don’t know all the tricks of the trade, but there’s no excuses. You have to play. We have to look at where we are if we want to improve.”
Mount Pleasant extended its lead to 14-0 at 11:16 of the second quarter when Johnson pulled in a 31-yard touchdown reception from Pieszak.
The Red Raiders cut the deficit to 14-6 when quarterback Dom Richter scored on a 46-yard run at 10:13 of the second to cap a four-play, 68-yard drive that took one minute. Uniontown’s two-point conversion rushing attempt failed. Richter had 105 yards on 10 carries.
The Vikings took advantage of a 38-yard return by Asher O’Connor to the Red Raiders’ 27 when Pete Billey scored on a 14-yard run at 7:37 of the second to cap a six-play drive. Billey rushed for 106 yards on 15 carries and scored twice.
Mount Pleasant capped the first-half scoring on Billey’s five-yard run with 37 seconds remaining for a 28-6 advantage.
The Vikings scored on the opening possession of the second half when Alex Kadylak scored on a 60-yard run for a 35-6 lead at 10:07 of the third quarter. Kadylak rushed for 119 yards on nine attempts.
Ethan Donitzen recovered a fumble to give Mount Pleasant the ball at its own 41 before Johnson capped the four-play drive with a 70-yard touchdown catch from Pieszak at 6:48 of the third for a 42-6 advantage. The Vikings were backed up at their own 30 due to a penalty.
Trenton Abair capped Mount Pleasant’s scoring with a five-yard run at 9:30 of the fourth quarter for a 49-6 lead.
Craggette scored on a 76-yard run with 8:31 remaining and Scott Fitzpatrick added the extra point to cut the deficit to 49-13.
Big East Conference
Uniontown 0 6 0 7 — 13
Mount Pleasant 7 21 14 7 — 49
First Quarter
MP: Jacob Johnson 37 run (Bradley Tait kick), 4:17
Second Quarter
MP: Jacob Johnson 31 pass from Lucas Pieszak (Bradley Tait kick), 11:16
U: Dom Richter 46 run (run failed), 10:13
MP: Pete Billey 14 run (Bradley Tait kick), 7:37
MP: Pete Billey 5 run (Bradley Tait kick), :37
Third Quarter
MP: Alex Kadylak 60 run (Bradley Tait kick), 10:07
MP: Jacob Johnson 70 pass from Lucas Pieszak (Bradley Tait kick), 6:48
Fourth Quarter
MP: Trenton Abair 5 run (Bradley Tait kick), 9:30
U: Ky’ron Craggette 76 run (Scott Fitzpatrick kick), 8:31
Records: Mount Pleasant (2-6, 2-8), Uniontown (0-8, 0-10).