Madonna Shuts Down Crusaders In 28-7 Win

Written by Mario Saggio

Weirton Madonna put the clamps on Catholic Central’s aerial attack, while completely shutting down the Crusader running game, in posting a 28-7 win Saturday night at Weirton’s Jimmy Carey Stadium. Madonna jumped out to a 14-0 first-half lead and staved off a Crusader rally before pulling away in the second half.

The Crusader offense, explosive in their season-opening win over Tuscarawas Central Catholic last week, could only manage four first downs and 70 total yards against a stifling Blue Don defense.

The Blue-and-Gold offense struggled on their initial possession, incurring three illegal motion penalties in the midst of a three-and-out that gave Madonna the ball on the Crusader 48 after Brenton Colabella’s 45-yard punt.

Neither team was able to muster much offense over the next three series before the Crusaders finally showed signs of the offense that lit up the scoreboard seven days earlier. Taking over at their own 16, Central moved into Madonna territory on their first play when Colabella hit Jon Emmerling on a screen pass that the senior back turned into a 37-yard gain.

On the next play, Colabella lofted a deep ball to junior wideout Zac Herrington, who outjumped a Blue Don defender to complete the 36-yard hookup. Two negative running plays and a motion penalty pushed Central back to the 20 before Madonna’s Ross Comis ended the Crusader threat with a diving interception at the three-yard line.

Comis, the Dons’ sophomore signal-caller, then led his team on an eight-play drive that senior Christian Roe capped with a nifty 30-yard scoring jaunt, weaving his way through the Crusader defense en route to the end zone. Senior Joe McCombs’ PAT put Madonna’s lead at 7-0 with eight seconds remaining in the opening stanza.

With the Central offense unable to move the sticks, Madonna regained possession on their own 43 after another Colabella punt. From there, the Dons struck pay dirt again five plays later when Comis connected with 6-4 senior wideout Clay Rokisky, who broke several tackles in the secondary on his way to a 38-yard score with 10:11 left in the half.

McCombs again split the uprights for a 14-0 Blue Don lead.

The hosts looked as if they were going to put the game away after forcing another Crusader punt, taking over at the Central 46. Momentum took a huge swing, though, as senior linebacker Jim Panella’s pressure forced an errant third-down throw by Comis that was picked off at midfield by John-Anthony D’Ulisse. The Crusader junior outran the Madonna pursuit down the left sideline, getting the Crusaders on the board with 6:31 remaining in the second quarter. Junior Doug Maslowski’s conversion cut the Madonna lead in half.

Seemingly unfazed by the turnover, Madonna proceeded to drive from their own 32 to the Crusader 10 before a 9-yard sack by Panella left the Dons with a fourth-and-seven. Senior ends Alex Bednar and Joe Fallon then dropped Comis for a three-yard loss, ending the last offensive threat of the first half.

After intermission, the hosts moved from their 28 to near midfield before Crusader sophomore defensive back Aleks Porreca’s stop after a two-yard gain brought up a fourth-and-short for Madonna. Comis’ pass under heavy pressure fell incomplete and the visitors not only had the ball but the momentum.

The Blue Don defense stemmed the tide, however, and three plays later the Crusaders lined up to punt. The fourth-down snap sailed over the head of Colabella, who covered the loose pigskin on his own 24.

Two plays later, Rokisky latched onto Comis’ spiral in the end zone and McCombs’ kick upped Madonna’s lead to 21-7 with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter.

Another Crusader punt saw the Dons take over at their own 42, from where they dodged bullets on the first two plays. The Crusaders couldn’t cover a Madonna fumble that resulted in a nine-yard loss on first down, and an errant second-down pass went through the hands of a Central defender. A Madonna punt several plays later pinned the visitors back on their own 10-yard line.

Madonna took over in Central territory after another three-and-out and embarked on an eight-play, 46-yard scoring drive with Comis doing the honors from a yard out. McCombs was again perfect on the conversion, staking the hosts to a 28-7 lead with 10:39 left in the game.

Comis completed 12 of 19 passes on the night for 172 yards, including 62 yards and the two scores to Rokisky. The Dons’ field general also paced a ground attack that totaled 230 yards by tallying 115 yards and a score on 22 carries.

Roe added 44 yards and a score on 11 carries, while junior James Fulciniti added 45 yards on six rushes and sophomore Nick Ossman chipped in 21 yards on six attempts.

Sophomore Elliot Nero was at the receiving end of three Comis’ passes for 22 yards. Seniors Ryan Mozingo and Daniel Pietranton were each targeted twice.

For the visiting Crusaders, Colabella threw for 93 yards, despite facing heavy pressure that limited him to four completions on 15 attempts. Besides the long passes to Emmerling and Harrington, he connected with Panella and sophomore Khalil Jones.

Panella carried six times for 21 yards to pace the Crusader ground game.

Madonna hosts Wheeling Central this Saturday while the Crusaders return to the friendly confines of Harding Stadium to host Bellaire that same night. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.