Playoff hopes dashed
Laurel (20) vs. Beaver (41)
Written: Oct 17, 2015
  By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
Beaver’s Darius Wise singlehandedly dashed Laurel High’s playoff hopes.
The Bobcats’ junior quarterback had a hand in all six of his team’s scores last night as Beaver posted a 41-20 victory over the home-standing Spartans in a WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference game on Senior Night at the Leonard S. Rich Athletic Complex.
“Darius just made plays,” Laurel coach Brian Cooper said. “He’s a great athlete. We had our opportunities to capitalize. I thought we moved the ball well, but eventually (Wise) got the momentum there and took it away from us. I thought we played hard the entire game.”
Wise rushed 16 times for 336 yards and five touchdowns. He also threw a 74-yard TD pass to Oliver Neish as Beaver improved to 4-2 in the conference and 5-2 overall.
“It was a tremendous performance, but I don’t think it surprises anybody,” Beaver coach Jeff Beltz said. “He’s just that caliber of an athlete.”
Laurel, which dipped to 2-4 and 3-4, was able to match Wise and the Bobcats score for score in the first half.
Wise got his big night started on his team’s first offensive play, rambling 91 yards for the touchdown. Will Connelly’s point-after kick was off the mark, but Beaver held a 6-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
The Spartans answered on their next possession, driving 55 yards in five plays. Jake McDougal capped the drive by scampering into the end zone from 33 yards out. Zach Morrison added the PAT, and Laurel held a 7-6 with 8:43 left in the first quarter.
“A couple things were working with our running game,” Cooper said. “Our counter game was working, and we like to run the Jet.”
Wise gave his team the lead again with five minutes left in the quarter, this time breaking free 44 yards for the score. Connelly added the kick to make it 13-7.
“Darius, being the player he is, made some big plays to get them out of some holes,” Cooper said. “That was the difference in the football game, if you ask me.”
But, Laurel came right back. Two plays later, McDougal hooked up with Jordan Dantico on a 43-yard TD pass. Morrison’s kick was no good, leaving the game knotted a 13-all with 4:09 to go in the first quarter.
“The ability to throw the football helped us a ton,” said Cooper, whose team threw for 169 yards in the contest.
The Spartans retook the lead early in the second quarter, as Spencer Jones scored from a yard out to cap a nine-play, 52-yard drive. Morrison’s boot gave the hosts a 20-13 edge just a minute into the second quarter.
“Spencer Jones played his heart out for us tonight,” Laurel senior captain Jake Wilson said. “He ran the ball hard every single play, and left his heart out on the field.”
Wise’s 26-yard TD run with 3:29 to go before the half tied the game at 20-20 before disaster struck for the Spartans.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jesse Pacifico fumbled and Charlie Zorich recovered for the Bobcats at the Laurel 20-yard line. Three plays later, Wise trotted into the end zone from 12 yards out to give his team a 27-20 lead it would take into the half.
“That really swung the momentum our way,” Beltz said of the fumble recovery. “We had great kick coverage.”
Wise’s 74-yard scoring strike to Neish in the third quarter, along with Wise’s 89-yard TD scamper in the fourth quarter, set the final.
Laurel will travel to Ellwood City Lincoln Friday.
“This loss puts us out of the playoffs, but we’re going to play hard the rest of the year,” Cooper said. “That’s what we do.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
BEAVER LAUREL
11 First downs 16
421 Yards Rushing 248
15 Yards Lost 24
406 Net Rushing 224
8 Passes Attempted 24
4 Passes Completed 6
0 Passes Intercepted 0
92 Yards Passing 169
498 Total Yards 393
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-3
5-26.6 Punts-Average 4-35
8-68 Penalties-Yards 8-80
BEAVER 13 14 7 7 — 41
LAUREL 13 7 0 0 — 20
Scoring plays
BEAVER — Darius Wise, 91-yard run (kick failed).
LAUREL — Jake McDougal, 33-yard run (Zach Morrison kick).
BEAVER — Wise, 44-yard run (Will Connelly kick).
LAUREL — Jordan Dantico, 43-yard pass from McDougal (kick failed).
LAUREL — Spencer Jones, 1-yard run (Morrison kick).
BEAVER — Wise, 26-yard run (Connelly kick).
BEAVER — Wise, 12-yard run (Connelly kick).
BEAVER — Oliver Neish, 74-yard pass from Wise (Connelly kick).
BEAVER — Wise, 89-yard run (Connelly kick).
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