Undefeated Barnesville Awaits Crusaders
Written by Mario Saggio
Steubenville Catholic Central looks to make it two wins in a row Friday night, but they face a daunting task, traveling to Barnesville to face the 6-0 Shamrocks. The Crusaders are coming off a 17-6 win at Conotton Valley Saturday afternoon that improved their record to 2-4. The Shamrocks kept their record perfect with a 28-6 win at Caldwell.
Head Coach Luke Johnson’s Barnesville squad has been impressive through the first six games of the campaign, registering wins over John Glenn (34-13), Meadowbrook (21-14), Union Local (39-20), Buckeye Trail (40-13) and Shenandoah (25-6) prior to last weekend.
Senior Zack Dornon (6-0, 160) quarterbacks the Shamrock attack. He threw for 130 yards and two scores against Caldwell, while adding another score on the ground.
At tailback is 5-9, 160-pound Preston Dornon, who ran for 75 yards and a score last Friday. Leading the way for the fleet senior is bruising fullback Jesse Stoudt, a 6-0, 207-pound senior, who was on the receiving end of a touchdown pass in the latest Shamrock victory.
Also snagging a touchdown pass last week was big tight end Tyler Fitzpatrick, a 6-5, 225-pound senior. Joining him among the Barnesville receiving corps are flankers Austin Hannahs (5-6, 130, sophomore) and Colton Pritchard (5-9, 150, junior), along with sophomore split end Kyle McIntire (6-1, 145).
The Shamrocks boast a huge interior line. Senior Ian Wells (6-4, 310) lines up at center. He is flanked by classmates Shane Rominger (5-9, 270) and Colin Hallstrom (5-10, 270) at guard. The tackles are both juniors, Stephen Burkhart (6-0, 295) and Brandon Burkhart (6-1, 177).
Defensively, the Barnesville front line is comprised of Hallstrom and Stephen Burkhart at the tackle spots, with a pair of Wells’ at the ends, Ian and 6-0, 249-pound freshman Mitchell.
Stoudt and Fitzpatrick are the inside linebackers, with Brandon Burkhart and Zack Dornan at the outside spots.
Preston Dornon patrols the secondary from his safety spot, while Pritchard and senior Clay Crosier (5-11, 140) are the starting cornerbacks.
For Catholic Central, senior fullback Jim Panella paced a ground game that had it’s most impressive showing of the season, by far, in last Saturday’s win at Conotton Valley. The 5-10, 200-pound senior bulled his way to 116 yards on 31 carries for a Crusader rushing attack that amassed 210 yards on 65 attempts. Fellow senior Jon Emmerling scored the Crusaders’ first touchdown last week on his way to a 20-carry, 82-yard effort.
Although he has struggled as of late, sophomore quarterback Brenton Colabella has completed 56 of his 116 passing attempts for 845 yards, accounting for 10 touchdowns while being picked off six times.
Senior slotback Brannt Pieniazek hauled in his seventh scoring reception of the season Saturday and leads the Crusaders with 348 yards receiving (on 16 catches). Junior wideout Zac Herrington leads Central in receptions, with 18, accounting for 158 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Emmerling leads the Crusaders in tackles, racking up 61 so far from his linebacker spot. He was a stalwart last week, picking off a Conotton Valley pass and joining senior end Joe Fallon in helping record a safety against the Rockets.
Fallon is second on the team in tackles with 53, and leads in sacks (9) and tackles for lost yardage (8).
Pieniazek leads the secondary with 40 tackles, followed by senior B.J. Grandinetti with 34. Senior Steve Mihalyo and sophomore Ryan Fletcher both had key interceptions in the second half of last week’s victory.
Sophomore tackle Jake McCann’s 17 tackles pace the interior of the Crusader front, a line that was bolstered by the return of 5-10, 215-pound senior end Stephen Calloway.
Colabella has averaged nearly 35 yards per punt while junior Doug Maslowski has converted 10 of 13 extra points on the year.
Friday night’s meeting is only the second all-time between the Crusaders and Shamrocks, with Barnesville taking a 27-9 win last year at Harding Stadium. Kickoff for this week’s game is set for 7:30 p.m.