Slow Start Too Much For Crusaders To Overcome Against LaBrae

Written by Mario Saggio

Facing a Leavittsburg LaBrae team that was battling for a playoff berth, the last thing that Steubenville Catholic Central could afford was a slow start. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the Crusaders endured, finding themselves in a 14-0 first-quarter hole, in an eventual 27-13 loss to the Vikings.

The Crusaders finished the 2011 season, their first under Head Coach Steve Daley, with a 3-7 mark. LaBrae moved to 6-4 with the win, finishing seventh in OHSAA Division IV, Region 13. They will travel to second-seeded Orrville for a first-round matchup on Saturday night.

The fourth all-time meeting between Central and LaBrae was originally scheduled for Friday night in Leavittsburg, but heavy rains during the week made field conditions unplayable, forcing the game to be rescheduled for noon Saturday at Warren’s Mollenkopf Stadium.

Neither team could move the sticks on their first possession, and an exchange of punts gave LaBrae the ball back at their own 40, from where they needed only six plays to find paydirt, as sophomore quarterback Peyton Aldridge rolled right off a play-action fake and found tight end Paul Zigmont open in the flat for an eight-yard score midway through the opening quarter. Carrington Herron’s conversion kick split the uprights.

Another exchange of punts saw the Crusaders take over on their own 27-yard line. On fourth-and-three, Central attempted a fake punt, but Brenton Colabella was dropped for a 14-yard loss that gave LaBrae the ball at the visitors’ 20-yard line.

Three plays later, the Vikings doubled their lead on a one-yard plunge by Matt Szorady and Herron’s second PAT of the day.

Throwing caution to the wind, Central again gambled on their next possession, trying to convert a fourth-and-one from their own 45. The LaBrae defense came up big again, stopping the Crusaders for no gain on a quarterback sneak.

Just when it looked like the Vikings might turn the game into a rout, the Central defense stepped up, forcing consecutive incompletions that turned the ball over on downs at the Crusader 35-yard line.

LaBrae foreed another Crusader punt that gave the Vikings possession at their own 25. The hosts moved into Crusader territory before a holding penalty pushed them back to their own side of midfield. One play later, Central’s B.J. Grandinetti ended the threat with an interception at his own 36-yard line.

Inspired by the defensive takeaway, the Crusader offense finally got into gear as four straight completions from Colabella to senior Brannt Pieniazek, and a defensive interference penalty, put Central at the LaBrae 15-yard line. A procedure penalty moved the Crusaders back five yards before junior wideout Zach Herrington went high in the air to bring down Colabella’s pass in the right corner of the end zone.

A high snap on the conversion resulted in Doug Maslowski’s kick being blocked, keeping the LaBrae lead at 14-6.

After a long kickoff return put LaBrae near midfield, the Crusader defense played takeaway again, as senior linebacker Jon Emmerling picked off a LaBrae pass across the middle and returned it from his own 46 to the Viking 41-yard line.

The momentum was short-lived, though, as Zigmont forced a fumble that was recovered by Dan Misinay at the Crusader 45. The Vikings didn’t waste the opportunity, as Szorady scored his second touchdown of the night five plays later on a 16-yard burst.

Herron’s PAT was off the mark, leaving the score at 20-7 just 1:15 before intermission.

The Crusaders threatened late in the half, moving from their 33 to the LaBrae 22, as Colabella connected twice each with Pieniazek and Herrington before a motion penalty put Central at the 27-yard line.

From there, Colabella again tried to hit Herrington on the fade in the right corner of the end zone, but LaBrae had shifted the 6’6" Aldridge to that side and the lanky sophomore came down with the interception that ended the final scoring threat of the first half.

Two sacks by the Viking defense forced a three-and-out on Central’s first possession of the second half, giving LaBrae excellent field position near midfield. Ten plays later, all but one of them on the ground, and the Vikings were on the board again as Szorady punched it in from three yards out. Herron’s third PAT of the day upped the lead to 27-7 midway through the third quarter.

After the teams exchanged punts, Central took over at their own 11. On second down, Pieniazek took a short pass in the left flat, broke several tackles and raced down the sideline before finally being brought down inside the Viking 20-yard line.

The Crusaders were unable to convert, though, as a fourth-and-one pass from the LaBrae seven-yard line fell incomplete in the end zone.

LaBrae was able to manage several first downs before punting to put Central back on their 24-yard line. Colabella and Herrington connected down the left side for a 42-yard gain, before Pieniazek’s one-handed grab and 30-yard scamper down the right side on fourth-and-10 put the Crusaders inside the five.

On second down, Colabella evaded the Viking pressure, rolled right and hit Herrington coming back across the field for their second scoring connection of the game. Maslowski’s PAT pulled the Crusaders within two scores with 3:19 left in the contest.

Maslowski squibbed the ensuing kickoff that eluded several Vikings and precipitated a mad scramble for the ball, with the hosts eventually falling on it and retaining possession at their own 22.

The playoff-bound Vikings garnered one first down, taking valuable time off the clock, before punting from midfield to the Central 20. Colabella hit Pieniazek and Herrington before again connecting with Pieniazek on the game’s final play that saw several laterals before Pieniazek was brought down by a host of LaBrae defenders as the clock and the Crusaders’ season wound down.

Szorady amassed 176 yards on 24 carries to go along with his three scores, while Aaron Brown added 61 yards on eight carries and Carl Brown totaled 48 yards on nine carries.

Aldridge completed three of his 11 pass attempts for 22 yards and ran twice for 19 yards.

For the Crusaders, Colabella connected on 24 of 42 attempts for 319 yards passing, his third straight 300-plus outing. The sophomore signal-caller finished the season 139 of 260 for 1,950 yards and 18 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.

In his final game as a Crusader, Pieniazek hauled in 11 passes for 194 yards, giving him a year-end total of 39 receptions for 771 yards, to go along with a team-leading 10 touchdowns. On the ground, he toted the ball 17 times for 34 yards.

Herrington, the team leader in receptions, grabbed 10 passes for 86 yards, tallying two touchdowns for the second week in a row. For the year, the junior wideout caught 41 passes for 389 yards and four scores.

Junior Michael Carapellotti added two catches for 39 yards, totaling 16 for 294 and three scores in 2011.

Emmerling added one reception to go along with his interception. Over the course of the year, the versatile senior grabbed 26 passes for 303 yards, adding 118 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

For the season, fullback Jim Panella finished his senior year as the Crusaders’ leading rusher, notching 276 yards and two scores on 91 carries. He also tallied 101 yards on nine receptions.

Defensively, Emmerling finished the season as the Crusaders leader in tackles with 97, nine of which went for lost yardage. He also had three sacks and two interceptions to his credit.

Also among the linebackers, Panella garnered 29 tackles, two for negative yardage, and two sacks on the year .Junior linebacker John-Anthony D’Ulisse added 29 stops, recovered two fumbles, and had an interception return for a touchdown.

Senior ends Joe Fallon, Stephen Callaway and Alex Bednar were stalwarts for the Crusaders’ 2011 defense, despite battling various injuries throughout the year. Fallon was second on the team in tackles with 84, and led the team in both sacks (12) and tackles for lost yardage (15), to go with a fumble recovery.

Callaway, who missed a significant portion of the season due to a serious knee injury, but was a mainstay upon returning to action. Four of his 10 tackles went for lost yardage, to go with two sacks and a fumble recovery.

Bednar was sidelined much of the season with hip and leg problems, but still managed 18 tackles, three for minus yardage, and a fumble recovery early in the year. He also hauled in a touchdown reception in the season opener.

Sophomore Jake McCann was the leading tackler among the underclassmen on the front line with 27 stops.

Among the seniors in the secondary, Pieniazek was the leading tackler, recording 66 stops from his safety position. He also tallied three sacks and three tackles for lost yardage.

B.J. Grandinetti was next in line among the seniors with 50 tackles, as well as a sack and an interception, while Steve Mihalyo was the team leader in interceptions with five, to go along with 31 tackles.

Sophomores Aleks Porreca (54 tackles, two interceptions) and Ryan Fletcher (41 tackles, three interceptions) paced the underclassmen defensive backs.

On special teams, junior Maslowski converted 19 of 26 extra point attempts in his initial season as Crusader kicker, while Colabella averaged just over 34 yards per punt.

Pieniazek was the top punt returner, accumulating 98 yards on nine returns, while sophomore Ryan Fletcher brought back 10 enemy offerings for 92 yards.

Grandinetti paced Crusader kickoff returners with 307 yards and an 88-yard score on 13 returns. Sophomore Khalil Jones was next in line, tallying 174 yards on nine returns. Fallon returned seven kicks for 161 yards, followed by Fletcher with 70 yards on five attempts.