CCHS Football Game Results

Friday, October 12, 2012

Steubenville Catholic Central 53, Weirton (WV) High 8

WRAP-UP from steubenvillecentralcrusaders.com, published 10/19/2012

CRUSADERS TAKE TO ROAD VS. WEIR HIGH

Written by Mario Saggio

Head Coach Steve Daley takes his Crusaders of Steubenville Catholic Central on the road to face cross-river rival Weir High Friday night. While the host Red Riders have struggled and are still seeking their first win of the 2012 campaign, Central is on a four-game winning streak.

The teams have faced one common opponent thus far. Weir suffered a 33-12 home loss to Oak Glen two weeks ago. One week before that, Catholic Central earned a hard-fought 28-6 road win over the Golden Bears.

Although Tony Filberto’s Red Riders will be honoring five players on Senior Night, Weir High’s lineup will feature many underclassmen as injuries forced eight freshmen into action in a 51-12 loss to Magnolia last Friday night, their seventh of the season.

Freshman Jake Wypasek (5-7, 135) lines up at quarterback after a knee injury sidelined sophomore William Larch.

Another freshman, 5-8, 150-pound Kameron Davis, will line up in the slot. He garnered 40 yards on 14 carries last week, including one of Weir’s touchdowns on a 14-yard run.

5-10, 195-pound senior Eric Piatt returned at tailback after missing several games due to injury. He paced the Riders with 90 yards on 11 carries last week, including a 71-yard touchdown burst.

Darren Baldwin, a 6-1, 225-pound senior, lines up at fullback.

When the Riders take to the air, senior Matt Barnes (5-8, 140) is a key performer. He caught two passes against Magnolia.

Another freshman, 5-5, 135-pound Seth Maloni, will see duty at split end, along with 5-9, 150-pound junior Jaquan Ware.

6-1, 220-pound James Owens is the only senior starter on the offensive line at his left guard spot. Another freshman, 5-9, 140-pound right tackle Jacob Parr, along with three juniors - right guard Daniel Mohoroski (6-0, 260), center Shain Livada (5-10, 205), and left tackle Devin Dollison (6-1, 200) - make up the rest of the offensive front.

Defensively, Dollison and Owens booked the Riders’ five-man front. Mark Parr, a 6-0, 170-pound sophomore, will be the nose tackle, with 5-9, 215-pound junior Taylor Zaney and 6-0, 250-pound freshman Kyle Baldwin manning the tackle spots. 5-10, 220-pound freshman Matthew Thompson provides depth at tackle.

Darren Baldwin and Ware occupy the two linebacking spots.

Piatt and Davis patrol the secondary from their safety spots, with Barnes and 5-5, 135-pound sophomore Jonathan Rice occupying the corners, with help from Maloni.

The Crusaders raised their record to 5-2 with last Saturday’s 63-14 romp over Barnesville, which vaulted them from seventh to third in Ohio Division VI, Region 21. The top eight teams in each region qualify for the postseason playoffs, with the top four hosting first round games.

Doug Maslowski’s five-touchdown, 195-yard rushing effort paced a Central ground game that racked up 277 yards last week. For the year, the senior has rushed 81 times for 605 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Junior Luke Potenzini (six carries, 29 yards and two scores) and sophomore Stone Romano (20 carries, 87 yards) have provided the running game with a presence between the tackles.

Passing is still the key to an offense that is averaging 42 points per game, as junior quarterback Brenton Colabella leads Ohio Division VI in touchdown passes (22), completions (107) and attempts (181), while ranking second in yardage with 1,815.

Senior wideout Zach Herrington leads the division in touchdown receptions (nine) and receptions (32), and stands second with 572 receiving yards.

Classmate Kyle Laukert’s 439 receiving yards are sixth-best in the state. He has latched onto 21 passes, including four scores.

Junior Ryan Fletcher has matched Laukert’s 21 receptions, adding 338 yards (12th in D6) and three touchdowns.

Senior Michael Carapellotti also has three touchdown receptions among his 16 catches and 174 yards.

The Crusader defense continues to improve, allowing an average of just over eight points over the past four games. Central’s penchant for forcing turnovers continues, as evidenced by three interceptions last week, including one returned by Fletcher for a touchdown.

Through seven games, Central has picked off 12 enemy passes, recovered nine fumbles, and scored four touchdowns. The pass rush has accumulated 12 sacks, and forced a safety last week on an intentional grounding in the end zone. The stop troops have also recorded 46 tackles for lost yardage on the year.

Junior Jake McCann paces the defensive front with 23 tackles, including one for lost yardage, a sack, and the safety in the win over Barnesville. Senior Geno Taglione is next with 16 tackles and also has a sack and one stop behind the line of scrimmage.

Junior Marty Engle has recorded 15 stops (three for negative yardage), while senior Steve Butto has been intsrumental in the front line’s efforts.

Sophomore linebacker Stone Romano is second on the team in tackles with 39, including seven behind the line of scrimmage. He has also recorded four sacks and a fumble recovery.

Classmate Chris Murphy is the team leader in sacks with five, among his 35 tackles, five of which have been for negative yardage. He also paces the squad with four fumble recoveries.

Senior backer Kevan Zapolnik has eight stops behind the line of scrimmage and a sack among his 29 tackles.

Junior safety Aleks Porreca leads the Crusaders in both tackles (40) and tackles for lost yardage (nine), while adding an interception. Fletcher has added 36 tackles, four for negative yardage, three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Herrington has also been solid at safety, recording 16 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery returned for a score.

Junior Khalil Jones has made 27 stops and picked off two passes from his corner spot while Laukert has 23 tackles, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery for a score.

The kicking game has been solid with Romano converting 18 of 21 PATs through seven games, and Maslowski connecting on nine of his 12 conversion attempts.

Fletcher is averaging nearly 27 yards per kickoff return, while Jones averages 19 yards on kickoffs and over 13 on punt returns.

Central will be looking to even the all-time series record against Weir High, who holds an 11-10-1 edge, despite the Crusaders’ 40-14 triumph last year. Friday’s contest will kick off at 7 p.m.

CRUSADERS TROUNCE WEIR HIGH FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

Written by Mario Saggio

Steubenville Catholic Central continued their winning ways Friday night at Weirton’s new Jimmy Carey Stadium, routing the host Weir High Red Riders by a 53-8 count. The high-scoring Crusaders rolled to a 40-0 halftime lead en route to their fifth straight win, improving their record to 6-2 and keeping themselves in the midst of the Ohio Division VI, Region 21 playoff hunt. Steve Daley’s troops currently stand seventh in the region. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason.

Weir remained winless through eight games, the loss spoiling Senior Night in front of the home crowd. The Riders surrendered over 350 yards in total offense and coughed up six turnovers to the ball-hawking Crusader defense.

The visiting Crusaders wasted no time getting on the board, taking the opening kickoff and marching 73 yards in six plays for their first score of the night, a 16-yard run by senior Doug Maslowski just 2:20 into the contest.

Linebacker Kevan Zapolnik snuffed out a Red Rider reverse for a 12-yard loss to put the brakes on Weir’s opening drive. A short punt several plays later gave Central possession at the enemy 38-yard line.

Three plays later, junior quarterback Brenton Colabella rolled left and hit senior wideout Kyle Laukert in the end zone for an 18-yard scoring play with 4:45 to play in the opening quarter. A failed two-point conversion kept the score at 12-0.

Zapolnik came up big again on Weir’s next possession, intercepting a pass at the Rider 41 and returning it to the 30-yard line. It took Central just four plays to convert, Colabella connecting with senior Zach Herrington in the right corner of the end zone from 15 yards out. Stone Romano’s PAT put Central on top 19-0 less than a minute before the end of the first quarter.

A Weir punt put Central at their own 46. A 36-yard Colabella to Herrington strike set up Maslowski’s second scoring run of the night, a 15-yarder around right end that saw the Crusader back break several tackles. Romano again converted for a 26-0 lead three minutes into the second quarter.

The Crusader defense stepped up again two plays later when junior Aleks Porreca pounced on a loose ball at the hosts’ 34-yard line. Five plays later, Maslowski reached pay dirt for the third time, on a 30-yard burst around the right side. Romano again split the uprights for a 33-0 lead 6:42 before halftime.

After forcing another Rider punt, the Crusaders marched 70 yards in 10 plays before Luke Potenzini bulled his way into the end zone from two yards out less than a minute from intermission. Romano’s PAT staked the Crusaders to a 40-0 halftime lead.

Crusader junior Tony Godich recovered a loose ball at the Central 40 on the opening possession of the second half, but the Riders got the ball back on Matt Barnes’ interception at his own 25-yard line.

Weir then mounted an eight-play scoring drive, culminating in a 48-yard scoring pass from freshman quarterback Jake Wypasek to senior fullback Daren Baldwin on a fourth-and-seven play with 2:57 left in the third quarter. Senior Eric Piatt’s conversion run made the score 40-8.

Central junior Khalil Jones gathered in the ensuing kickoff on his own eight-yard line, eluded several would-be tacklers and took off down the left sideline, outrunning the Rider coverage for an electrifying 92-yard touchdown return. This time, Maslowski converted the PAT.

An interception by Central freshman John Fallon halted Weir’s next drive at the Crusader 30. Weir forced a punt that gave them the ball back at their own 40-yard line but a fumble two plays later was recovered by Crusader sophomore Nate Neely.

After another Central punt, the Riders coughed it up again, with another Crusader freshman Cedro Parise pouncing on the loose ball at the Weir 32. Three plays later, Parise swept around right end for the final points of the night as Daley had his quarterback take a knee on the ensuing conversion with 4:16 to play.

The victors rolled to over 200 yards on the ground. Maslowski paved the way with 140 yards and three scores on just nine carries. Colabella and Laukert both carried three times for 18 yards.

Weir did manage 131 yards on 46 carries. Freshman Jaquan Davis tallied 72 yards on 27 carries, while Piatt toted the ball 12 times for 66 yards.

Colabella completed nine of his 10 passing attempts for 143 yards and two scores. Herrington and Laukert hauled in three passes and one score each. Jones and fellow juniors Ryan Fletcher and Johnny DiCarlantonio each recorded receptions.

Wypasek and Baldwin hooked up three times for all of Weir’s 59 passing yards.

The Crusader victory evened the all-time series record between the two schools at 11-11-1. Weir continues to seek their first win of 2012, traveling to arch rival Brooke Friday night. The Crusaders return home Saturday night to entertain Weirton’s other high school, the 6-1 and state-ranked Madonna Blue Dons.