'We will get better'
New Castle (7) vs. West Allegheny (55)
Written: Aug 30, 2014
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
The measuring tape was stretched to the max — and then some — last night at Taggart Stadium.
Two-time defending WPIAL Class AAA kingpin West Allegheny showed once again it is a championship favorite with a 55-7 win over New Castle in a Parkway Conference clash.
The battle-tested Indians (1-0 conference, 1-0 overall) overwhelmed the inexperienced Red Hurricane, which got a good look at how far it needs to improve to be near the top of the standings after playing its toughest opponent to open the campaign.
“They are the best team in our league and they are going to battle to be one of the best teams in the state. From our perspective, we now know how far away we are from the best team in the league,” New Castle coach Joe Cowart said. “So, we have to own it; we have to wear that for a week. Now, we have to inch our way every day at getting closer than we were tonight. We just have to get better on a daily basis.”
Veteran West Allegheny coach Bob Palko was glad to see his team come out and earn a conference win. However, he has faith New Castle will only improve.
“It’s Week 1 and you’re never satisfied with things. You’re going against a team that’s very young and inexperienced. Don’t look at that score and think New Castle is not a good football team. They are going to be,” he said. “I love those kids, man. I really respect them and they’re young and we have some experience. What does that mean? It means it’s Week 1 and we have more experience. Joe will do a good job here. When playoff time comes, watch for New Castle.”
The ’Canes gave the Indians one of their toughest games last year when the Indians had to rally to pull out a 37-31 win. However, 27 players graduated from that New Castle team, including five who are playing at the NCAA Division I level this year. So, the learning curve is a big one for this young squad.
“We have some dynamic players. It’s a matter of our players trusting in themselves and being dynamic and us, as a coaching staff, putting them in position to exploit their talents,” Cowart said. “Yeah, they were few and far between, but we did see some bright spots. Lucky for us, we have eight more shots at getting better.”
The ’Canes seemed poised to start off strong and limited the Indians to a long and unsuccessful field goal attempt on their first drive. However, New Castle was flagged for roughing the kicker, which gave the guests a first down and Chayse Dillon bolted in for a 13-yard touchdown run on the next play.
Dillon, who is one of team’s top returning players, added another touchdown late in the first quarter to give West Allegheny a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.
The Indians forced a fumble and recovered the ball deep in the ’Canes territory early in the second quarter. Dillon made it count with his 11-yard TD jaunt.
The guests got the passing going later in the second quarter. Andrew Koester found Sean Orsini for a 25-yard touchdown pass and a 27-0 advantage.
New Castle got a spark when Jason Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. However, the ’Canes’ momentum was halted quickly after that when Terence Stephens broke loose for an 83-yard TD scamper.
Another Koester-to-Orsini TD pass gave the Indians a 41-7 halftime edge. The guests scored on their first drive of the second half to enact the 35-point mercy rule and a running clock. The team added another late score.
Offensively, New Castle struggled to generate much. The ’Canes were limited to two rushing yards, but had some success through the air as quarterbacks Pat Minenok and Geno Stone threw for 88 yards.
Stephens led all rushers with 144 yards on 10 carries. Whitney White added 105 yards on nine totes and Dillon added 64 yards on 11 carries.
New Castle visits Montour (0-1, 0-1), which dropped a 48-28 decision to Central Valley last night.
“Montour is a much improved team from a year ago. Coach Cerro always has his guys ready,” Cowart said. “There isn’t a game on our schedule that’s going to be easy. If we’re not prepared, we’re going to see a lot of circumstances like we saw tonight. But I am encouraged about our guys getting better. I know how young we are. We will get better.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
W ALLEGHENY NEW CASTLE
21 First downs 4
355 Yards Rushing 26
12 Yards Lost 24
343 Net Rushing 2
10 Passes Attempted 17
7 Passes Completed 7
0 Passes Intercepted 0
163 Yards Passing 88
506 Total Yards 90
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
1-33 Punts-Average 5-29
5-48 Penalties-Yards 2-20
W ALLEGHENY 14 27 7 7 — 55
NEW CASTLE 0 7 0 0 — 7
Scoring plays
WEST ALLEGHENY — Chayse Dillon, 13-yard run (D.J. Opastnik kick).
WEST ALLEGHENY — Dillon, 1-yard run (Opastnik kick).
WEST ALLEGHENY — Dillon, 11-yard run (Opastnik kick).
WEST ALLEGHENY — Sean Orsini, 25-yard pass from Andrew Koester (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Jason Smith, 90-yard kickoff return (D’Marcus Blanchard kick).
WEST ALLEGHENY — Terence Stephens, 83-yard run (Opastnik kick).
WEST ALLEGHENY — Orsini, 43-yard pass from Koester (Opastnik kick).
WEST ALLEGHENY —Whitney White, 26-yard run (Opastnik kick).
WEST ALLEGHENY —Kamren Cornell, 7-yard run (Ryan Cunningham kick).
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