Connellsville hopes to close season with 2-game winning streak
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Connellsville’s football team is riding high after earning its first Class 5A Big East Conference win of the year and hopes to end its first season back in the WPIAL with a victory for a .500 overall record.
The Falcons (1-4, 4-5) defeated Franklin Regional, 24-21, on Tucker Beaman’s 35-yard field goal with 1:54 left on Friday night. Their Week 10 regular-season finale will be a Thursday-night affair at Fox Chapel (0-5, 1-8).
That’s something completely new to Connellsville head coach Jace McClean.
“This week’s game vs. Fox Chapel is going to be an interesting one,” McClean said. “We’ve never played on a Thursday before. This is new territory for all of us. We had to adjust our practice schedule a little and allow a few kids to recover from Friday’s game.”
McClean was happy to see his players’ hard work all season get rewarded with the win over the Panthers at Falcon Stadium on Senior night.
“Senior night is a game that most kids will remember for the rest of their lives and this game will fall into that category,” McClean said. “This was a special game, not only for the seniors, but for everybody involved. We played one of our best games of the year. We finally played a full four quarters of football.
“The game was very physical and it was back and fourth all night. Seniors Linkon (Keller), Jeremy (Jenkins) and Rocco (Farrell) came up big all game, but it came down to a successful field goal by a sophomore (Beaman) to end it.”
Keller ran for 172 yards and a touchdown and Jenkins added two TD rushes in the win.
“I can’t express how proud I am of this team,” McClean said. “We were so close all year, and to learn from those situations is what it’s all about. It feels great to smile and celebrate after a game like that.”
McClean is hoping for a similar result against the Foxes.
“I keep telling the kids not to focus on the end result, but to play each play like it’s their last,” McClean said. “If you win that play and keep adding them up, then you will more than likely win the game.
“Our main goal at the beginning of the year was to become a better football team every week. This week will show if we were successful or not.”
The game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.