Falcons rally past Scotties in first ‘Battle of 119’
The first “Battle of 119” between Southmoreland and Connellsville had a tremendous buildup with a boisterous crowd, a trophy on the line and great entertainment on and off the field at Falcon Stadium.
But the night took a dark turn early on for the Falcons.
Connellsville quarterback Cooper Wilson went down with an arm injury on their first possession, but the Falcons refused to let that setback spoil their return to the WPIAL.
Jeffrey Nicholson courageously stepped in at quarterback and Linkon Keller scored two long touchdowns as the Falcons rallied from an early deficit to earn a gutsy 21-15 win Friday night.
The Falcons’ reward was seizing control of the “Battle of 119” traveling trophy for the first year of what both schools intend to keep as their annual opening game.
“The kids were talking, they haven’t experienced that amount of support in a long time,” Connellsville head coach Jace McClean said. “That’s why we do this.”
Nicholson connected on 7 of 12 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns with one interception after taking over for the injured Cooper. Three of those completions went to Keller for a whopping 179 yards, including an 80-yard catch-and-run for what proved to be the winning score in the fourth quarter.
The night started out well for second-year head coach Dustin Shoaf and the Scotties in an explosive first quarter.
Dawson Wolfe gave Southmoreland the lead with a 2-yard touchdown run that capped a five-play drive and Liam Smith’s extra point made it 7-0. The senior quarterback/linebacker ran the ball 28 times for 161 yards and added 67 yards passing on six completions.
Connellsville got a double dose of adversity in the first quarter with Cooper, who managed to stay in the game one play after his injury before departing, throwing a long touchdown pass that was negated by a penalty.
“Having your starting quarterback break his arm the second play of the game, stay in for a play and throw an 80-yard touchdown the very next play shows what kind of kids we have,” McClean said. “Unfortunately, it was called back.”
Nicholson entered and threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to Keller to get the Falcons within 7-6 after a missed extra-point kick.
Southmoreland increased its lead with a six-play drive that Reese Jordan finished off with a 9-yard touchdown run and Seth Grosser ran in the two-point conversion after picking up a fumble to put the visitors up 15-6, still in the first quarter.
The Falcons defense stiffened from there, holding the Scotties scoreless the rest of the way.
Nicholson’s second TD toss went 19 yards to Jeremy Jenkins in the second quarter with Tucker Beaman’s extra point slicing Connellsville’s deficit to 15-13.
The score remained that way until the fourth quarter when Nicholson and Keller teamed up again for the go-ahead score.
“It was a screen pass,” McClean explained. “They were getting pressure on us all night and it was a perfect call at the perfect moment.”
McClean gushed about the night overall.
“The atmosphere was electric,” he said. “We had a few surprises for the fans, including the Kick of Destiny, fireworks, and with a little bit of Neil Diamond.”
The Kick of Destiny featured fan Jake Pritts who won a drawing and then a cash prize by successfully kicking a field goal during the break between the third and fourth quarters.
Diamond’s song “Sweet Caroline” was played to rev up the crowd even more.
“When we played that, the student section went crazy,” McClean said. “They were electric all night and even caused a (Southmoreland) false start during the game.
“They brought the energy from the kickoff to the fireworks in the end.”
Rocco Farrell had four receptions for 76 yards for Connellsville, which out-gained the Scotties, 316 to 262, although Southmoreland produced more first downs, 15 to 12.
Mason Pergar was the Scotties’ leading receiver with four catches for 18 yards.
McClean lauded his team’s performance.
“I think overall, winning a close game like this speaks volumes about these kids,” McClean said. “All that we had to battle throughout the game and to pull off the comeback win is amazing.”
SCORING SUM
Southmoreland 15-0-0-0 — 15
Connellsville 6-7-0-8 — 21
First Quarter
S: Dawson Wolfe 2 run (Liam Smith kick)
C: Linkon Keller 84 pass from Jeffrey Nicholson (kick failed)
S: Reese Jordan 9 run (Seth Grosser run)
Second Quarter
C: Jeremy Jenkins 19 pass from Nicholson (Tucker Beaman kick)
Fourth Quarter
C: Keller 80 pass from Nicholson (Keller pass from Nicholson)