Crusaders Hit On All Cylinders In Rout Of Weir High

Written by Mario Saggio

In 2010, the Weir High Red Riders garnered their lone victory of the season with a 14-12 triumph over Steubenville Catholic Central at Harding Stadium. When the two teams met Friday night at Weirton’s Jimmy Carey Stadium, the visiting Crusaders quickly laid to rest any notion of that happening again.

Central scored twice in the first eight minutes and, despite giving up a long scoring pass shortly after that, cruised to a 40-14 triumph that puts the Crusaders at 3-5 on the year. Weir High fell to their seventh loss of the season.

After moving into Red Rider territory on their first possession, the visitors lost the slippery pigskin at the Weir 37-yard line. Four plays later, Central’s Ryan Fletcher picked off a Rider pass at his own 28 and returned it 14 yards.

The Crusaders didn’t let the opportunity slip away, scoring six plays later on Jon Emmerling’s one-yard run. The senior took a pitch on the option and broke a tackle before crossing the goal line with 7:11 left in the opening quarter.

Central quarterback Brenton Colabella connected twice with Emmerling and once each with Zac Herrington and Brannt Pieniazek to set up the score. Doug Maslowski’s PAT gave Central a 7-0 advantage.

Weir High coughed up the ball again only two plays after the ensuing kickoff, this time on a fumble at their own 20 that was recovered by Central’s John-Anthony D’Ulisse.

The Crusaders ended up facing a fourth-and-long after several penalties pushed them back before Colabella hit Michael Carapellotti for a 18-yard gain that sustained the drive. Emmerling scored again from a yard out, this time with 4:14 left in the period, giving Central a 13-0 lead.

The hosts showed signs of life on their next drive when quarterback Harley Mills found Hunter McLaughlin wide open after a play-action fake and the fleet senior outran the secondary for a 56-yard score, cutting the lead to 13-6.

An 11-play drive by the Crusaders moved them from their own 31 deep into Rider territory before a fourth-down pass fell incomplete, ending the threat at the Weir 12-yard line.

The Central defense forced a punt, giving the Crusaders excellent field position at the hosts’ 31, but a first-down fumble gave the ball right back. Three plays later, the Blue and Gold regained possession on a fumble recovery by Joe Fallon.

Starting from their own 48, the Crusaders needed just six plays to reach the end zone. Back-to-back 22-yard completions to Pieniazek and Carapellotti kick-started the drive before Carapellotti hauled in a 6-yard slant for the score. Maslowski’s kick split the uprights and Central held a 20-6 lead with 6:38 left in the half.

Central’s Stephen Callaway forced and recovered another Rider fumble at the Weir 40-yard line just moments later, but the Crusaders couldn’t capitalize. The teams exchanged punts before Central turned the ball over on downs again deep in Rider territory.

The Riders garnered some momentum, converting a fourth-and-inches at their own 37, but an interception by Central’s Steve Mihalyo put an end to that, giving the visitors the ball on their own 31-yard line with time winding down in the first half. Three completions by Colabella moved the Crusaders to the Weir High 10, but a pass to the end zone on the last play before intermission fell incomplete.

The second half started with a series of punts before the Blue and Gold started a drive from their 36. Six plays later, Pieniazek hauled in a short pass across the middle and weaved his way through the Weir High defense for a 49-yard score that boosted the Crusader lead to 26-6 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.

Four plays later, Mihalyo made a diving snag at the Crusader 40 of an errant Rider pass for his second interception of the night. It would pay dividends as, three plays later, Colabella found a seam up the middle before cutting back against the grain en route to a 45-yard scoring jaunt. Maslowski’s PAT made it 33-6 with 1:35 to play in the third quarter.

After a Rider punt hit an offensive lineman, Central had the ball at the Weir High 20. On first down, Louis Fallon took the pitch on a sweep to the left and went untouched into the end zone one minute into the final stanza. Maslowski’s fourth PAT of the game put the lead at 40-6.

The hosts strung together a nine-play, 70-yard drive, capping the scoring with 5:38 left on a one-yard run by Jonathon Rice and a two-point conversion run by Phillip DiGirdamo.

The Crusaders racked up 443 yards of total offense on the night, while the defense forced seven turnovers, recovering four fumbles and picking off three Rider passes.

Colabella completed 19 of his 34 pass attempts for 300 yards. He added 68 rushing yards on seven carries.

Pieniazek paced the Crusader receivers with 108 yards on five receptions. Herrington and Emmerling also tallied five catches each, for 64 and 42 yards, respectively. Carapellotti snagged four passes for 64 yards, with Fletcher gathering in two passes for 32 yards.

For Weir, Mills ended up completing seven of his 17 pass attempts for 128 yards, including three to McLaughlin for 73 yards.

DiGirdamo paced the Rider rushing attack with 70 yards on eight carries. McLaughlin and Rice added 39 and 27 yards apiece, each carrying the ball six times.

The Crusaders return to action Saturday night at Harding Stadium for their final home game of the year, hosting 7-1 Oak Glen. The Riders will look to rebound at home Friday night against arch-rival Brooke.