Craggette leads Falcons to 30-6 win over Albert Gallatin
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
The Falcons’ Ky’ron Craggette breaks a couple tackles near the 5-yard line on his way to scoring the first touchdown of the game in the second quarter of Friday’s non-conference game against Albert Gallatin at Connellsville Stadium.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Connellsville’s Dyson Rogers (3) and Gage Gillott try to bring down Albert Gallatin’s Malik Kirby (14) during the first quarter of Friday’s non-conference game at Connellsville Stadium.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Connellsville quarterback Josh Maher keeps his legs moving on a quarterback draw as Albert Gallatin’s Dylan Shea (6) and Kolby Varano try to tackle him during the second quarter of Friday’s non-conference game at Connellsville Stadium.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
The Falcons’ Ahmad Hooper finds a seam in the Albert Gallatin defense in the first quarter of Friday’s non-conference game at Connellsville Stadium.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
The Falcons’ Ky’ron Craggette (6) runs through a huge hole in the first quarter of Friday’s non-conference game against Albert Gallatin at Connellsville Stadium.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
The Falcons’ Gage Gillott (18) tries to bring down Albert Gallatin’s Kolby Varano (13) at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter of Friday’s non-conference game at Connellsville Stadium.
CONNELLSVILLE — Connellsville celebrated Senior Night Friday by hosting the Albert Gallatin Colonials in the season finale for both teams.
The Falcons found their stride in the second quarter behind running back Ky’ron Craggette to defeat the Colonials, 30-6, in non-conference action.
Craggette finished with 127 yards rushing on 13 carries and three touchdowns, all in the second quarter.
“I’m very happy with the way the kids played tonight,” Connellsville’s Marko Thomas said. “The kids really stepped it up tonight. I think it was our best all-around game of the year.”
The game was scoreless in the first quarter with the Colonials coming out with a couple of drives deep into Connellsville territory only to be turned away by the Falcons defense.
“I felt we drove the ball well on Connellsville in the first quarter,” Albert Gallatin’s Drew Dindl said. “I thought we had a shot but things didn’t go our way tonight.”
The Falcons broke the game open in the second quarter by scoring 21 unanswered points.
The first came at the 8-minute mark of the quarter when Craggette found a big opening to his right and rumbled 38 yards for the score, breaking a couple of tackles inside the 5-yard line to get into the end zone. The extra-point by Gage Gillott was no good leaving the score at 6-0.
The Falcons added another score less than four minutes later, when Craggette powered his way in from two yards out. The two-point pass from Ahmad Hooper to Josh Maher was good giving the Falcons a 14-0 lead.
“It’s good to end the year with a win,” quarterback Josh Maher said. “We would have liked to made the playoffs, but I’m proud of the way the guys stuck together this season, and gutted it out. I played with most of the seniors since youth league and we have a bond that can’t be broken.”
Connellsville struck again with a little more than a minute left in the half. The Falcons had a first and goal from the 10, set up by a pass from Maher to sophomore receiver Josh Marietta. On the next play, it was Craggette going off the left side for the score. Gillott’s kick gave the Falcons a 21-0 lead at the half.
The Falcons picked up two more scores in the third quarter.
The first came on a 33-yard field goal from Gillott to make the score 24-0. Then just before the end of the quarter the Falcons’ Dyson Rodgers forced Colonials quarterback Tristan Robinson to fumble when he was going back to pass. Seth Kuhns got the good bounce for the Falcons and raced 30 yards for the score to increase the Connellsville lead to 30-0.
“I was very happy to see Seth make that play, getting a scoop and score,” Thomas said. “We played a lot of young kids this year, especially along the offensive and defensive lines. They got a lot of valuable experience. I think they have a lot of ability. I expect to see them in the weight room during the offseason. They should improve from here on out and I expect them to.”
Albert Gallatin avoided the shutout in the fourth quarter when Malik Kirby, who pounded his way to 93 yards on 14 carries, ripped off a 28-yard scoring run for the Colonials.
“Connellsville is a better team than their record shows,” Dindl said. “That’s the reason we stepped back from the WPIAL this year. We were able to play teams we matched up with a little better and have some success. I’m very pleased with our season. We’re going to take a little break, get back in the weight room, get stronger and continue to build this program.”