CRUSADERS, GOLDEN BEARS FACE OFF IN MID-SEASON BATTLE
Written by Mario Saggio
Steubenville Catholic Central takes to the road for the second week in a row, venturing to New Cumberland for a battle of 2-2 teams when they face the Golden Bears of Oak Glen.
The Crusaders are coming off of an impressive 49-7 win at Toronto, while the Bears will be looking to rebound from a 48-12 loss at John Marshall. Friday night’s meeting will be the third ever between the two schools. Oak Glen has won the previous two contests, including a 35-27 conquest at Harding Stadium last year.
Steve Daley’s Catholic Central offense has been lighting up the scoreboard and filling the air with footballs through the season’s first four weeks. Central ranks second in team passing in Ohio Division VI, while quarterback Brenton Colabella is the leader in individual passing.
The 6-2, 185-pound junior has completed 68 of 110 attempts for 1,160 yards. He has thrown 14 touchdowns, while being intercepted only twice.
Central has four players among the top 13 receivers in Division VI, including 6-4, 175-pound senior Zach Herrington, who ranks second in the state with 391 yards, including five touchdowns on 19 catches.
Classmate Kyle Laukert (5-10, 150) ranks fifth with 280 yards. His 14 receptions include four that have gone for scores. Ryan Fletcher checks in at eighth with 232 yards and two touchdowns on 13 receptions. The 6-0, 175-pound junior has also rushed three times for 33 yards and a score.
Senior Michael Carapellotti (5-10, 160) has accounted for 147 yards and two touchdowns among his 14 catches.
The Crusader running game has been paced by senior speedster Doug Maslowski (5-10, 195), who has rushed for 273 yards and three scores on 47 attempts.
Sophomore fullback Stone Romano (5-11, 185) has provided a solid inside compliment with 68 yards on 11 carries, while junior Luke Potenzini (6-3, 215) has added versatility at both tight end and fullback in recent weeks.
Defensively, Central has been much more aggressive and created more turnovers than in recent years, notching 12 takeaways so far this season.
Sophomore linebacker Chris Murphy (5-11, 150) leads in takeaways with four fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown last week. Among his 17 stops, he also has recorded two sacks and two tackles for lost yardage.
Romano is second on the team in tackles with 22, including two sacks, a fumble recovery and one tackle for lost yardage. Laukert has tallied 12 stops, including one for negative yardage and a team-leading two interceptions. Senior Kevin Zapolnik has garnered 11 tackles, with four of those behind the line of scrimmage.
In the secondary, 5-10, 160-pound junior Aleks Porreca leads the team in tackles with 25, including six behind the line of scrimmage, as well as one interception. Fletcher is next in line with 21 stops, an interception, a fumble recovery, and one tackle for negative yardage.
5-10, 160-pound junior Khalil Jones has notched 20 tackles and an interception at cornerback. Herrington has added 11 tackles and an interception at safety.
Along the defensive front, 5-8, 205-pound junior Jake McCann leads with 13 tackles (one for negative yardage), while 5-11, 200-pound junior Marty Engle has recorded 10 tackles, with three coming behind the line of scrimmage.
On special teams, Romano has converted eight of nine extra points, with Maslowski making five of his seven attempts. Colabella is averaging nearly 33 yards on 12 punts.
Oak Glen, under first-year coach Ian Whittington, will be celebrating Homecoming at their new stadium, while looking to halt a two-game losing streak. The Golden Bears opened the season with wins over Edison (37-28) and Wellsville (45-0) before falling to Indian Creek (41-9) and John Marshall last Friday.
Versatile junior Bub Haddox quarterbacks the Golden Bear offense, having completed 37 of 64 passes for 324 yards and one touchdown. He has also rushed for 368 yards.
Zack Staley, a 235-pound fullback, injured his shoulder last Friday and his status is uncertain for this week. If he can’t go, senior tailback Tyler Steed will look to pick up the slack. After missing the first two games, he led Oak Glen with 78 yards rushing last week.
Junior David Campbell has crossed the goal line twice this season and put forth a 146-yard effort against Wellsville in week two.
Senior Trey Smith has been a solid contributor, as well, including a 122-yard, one-touchdown effort in the victory over Wellsville.
When Oak Glen airs it out, Haddox has several targets from which to choose. Steed hauled in six passes for 60 yards last week, while senior Cody Howell was the recipient of a 40-yard scoring strike.
Seniors Josh Weltner, Clayton Flowers and tight end Justin Stivason have all been targeted multiple times through the first four games.
The offensive front boasts size, averaging 271 pounds, and experience (five seniors), led by Preston Murray. The 6-1, 265-pound right tackle is a four-way starter and finished third as a junior in voting for the Hunt Award, given to the best lineman in the state of West Virginia.
Logan Curtis shifted to center in the preseason, after starting eight games at tackle as a junior. Jeff Stivason lines up at right guard, while guard Nathan Wright and 6-8, 370-pound tackle Richie Davis man the left side of the line.
The defense boasts six returning starters from last year, including the front four of Murray, Jeff Stivason, Staley and senior Cole Holloway.
Justin Stivason and fellow senior Nation Whittington, the head coach’s younger brother, line up at inside linebacker. Steed and Howell will be the outside backers.
Smith, Weltner and Haddox rotate at cornerback, while Flowers returns for his third year as starting safety.
Special teams are another strong point, as Weltner has been consistent both punting and placekicking, including nailing a 43-yard field goal vs. Indian Creek, while sophomore Micah Swiger broke an 85-yard punt return for a score last week.
Kickoff for Friday night’s game is 7:00.