Toronto Grinds Out Win Over Central

Toronto used a bruising ground game to rally from a two touchdown deficit Saturday night at Harding Stadium, capturing their first win against Steubenville Catholic Central since 1999 with a 22-14 triumph.

The Red Knights found themselves in a hole early as the home-standing Crusaders jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and looked as if they would cruise to their 11th straight victory over Toronto. The visitors had other plans, though, controlling the clock and chewing up yardage on the ground in taking a 15-14 halftime lead and adding to that advantage in the second half.

The visitors amassed 244 rushing yards on 62 attempts. Spearheading their efforts was 6-4, 260-pound Aaron Thompson. The senior tackle, who had been used sparingly in short-yardage situations through three games, accounted for 114 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Shane Mosti punched in the Red Knights’ other two scores on short runs, posting 65 yards on 23 rushes.

The Crusaders, who were not only celebrating Homecoming but honoring the school’s 1971 Ohio Class AA State Championship squad, fumbled the ball away at their own 29 on their initial possession, Central’s defense stood tall, though, forcing Toronto to punt after three plays. Gathering in the Red Knight punt at his own nine-yard line, junior Brannt Pieniazek gave the Crusaders good field position with a 35-yard return.

On the first play from scrimmage, Central quarterback Brenton Colabella hit Michael Carapellotti in stride and the junior wideout outran the Red Knight secondary to put the Crusaders on the board first. Doug Maslowski’s PAT gave Central a 7-0 lead just 3:41 into the contest.

The visitors then marched from their own 35 to the Crusader 30 where they faced a fourth-and-nine. Central defensive back Steve Mihalyo picked off Toronto’s pass attempt at the 10 and returned the pigskin out to the Crusader 35.

After that, it took the Crusaders only four plays to find the end zone again. Nine-yard runs by Jim Panella and Pieniazek, and a 31-yard pass from Colabella to Pieniazek put the Crusaders at the Red Knight 15. From there, Colabella hit Pieniazek across the middle and the elusive wideout turned it into another score for the hosts. Maslowski’s second PAT upped the lead to 14-0 with 3:27 still remaining in the opening stanza.

Toronto turned the tables on their next possession, going 61 yards in 12 plays - all on the ground - with Thompson bulling his way in from a yard out with 8:33 left in the half. An offside penalty on the two-point conversion attempt moved the ball half the distance to the goal line, from where sophomore Tony McGhee found the end zone, cutting the lead to 14-8.

The Red Knight defense then came up big, forcing the Crusaders to punt after three plays. Tre Ross took Colabella’s punt at his own 23 and was finally hauled down at midfield. Ten plays later, Mosti’s four-yard jaunt tied the score before Zach Price’s extra point put Toronto ahead with 2:47 to play in the first half.

The hosts moved from their own 38 to the Toronto 45-yard line before an incomplete shovel pass on fourth-and-three ended the Central drive and the last real scoring threat of the opening half.

After punting to open the second half, the Red Knights got the ball back on a Joey Chadwick interception and return that landed Toronto at the hosts’ 33-yard line. Toronto kept the ball on the ground for the next eight plays, culminating in Mosti’s second scoring run of the night, this one from three yards out with 2:38 left in the third quarter. Price’s PAT boosted the margin to 22-14.

Central was forced to punt three plays later but the Red Knights muffed Colabella’s kick before falling on the loose pigskin inside their own one-yard line. The Crusader defense presented the offense with a golden opportunity as Toronto went three-and-out, giving the Crusaders possession at the visitors’ 30-yard line following a punt.

Three runs by Colabella brought the hosts to Toronto’s 15-yard line where, on first down, he was dropped at the line of scrimmage and coughed up the ball, which was recovered by the Red Knights’ Ralph King.

Toronto took valuable time off the clock via the ground game before pinning Central back on their own 20 with a 50-yard punt. The Crusaders managed one first down before three consecutive sacks forced a Central punt that rolled dead at the Toronto 39-yard line.

The Blue-and-Gold never got the ball back, as Thompson’s 17-yard run on third-and-10 sealed the win, allowing the Red Knights to run out the clock.

Toronto failed to complete a pass in four attempts, but controlled the clock and time of possession via the ground game, to which King added 61 yards on 14 carries, and McGhee 16 stripes on seven rushes.

For Central, Colabella connected on 12 of his 21 attempts for 170 yards, with half of those completions going to junior Zac Herrington, who finished the night with 52 yards receiving. Carapellotti snagged three passes for 66 yards, and Pieniazek added 47 yards on two receptions. Senior back Jon Emmeling hauled in one spiral for five yards.

Pieniazek carried twice for 19 yards, and Panella three times for 10 stripes.

The Red Knights moved to 2-2 with the win, and closed the gap in the all-time series to 28-10-1. They travel South and across the river this Friday to tangle with the Valley Lumberjacks.

The Crusaders, who fall to 1-3 with the loss, will take to the Harding Stadium turf again to face undefeated Wheeling Central Saturday at 7 p.m.