New Castle passes test against Indiana
New Castle (35) vs. Indiana (16)
Written: Sep 12, 2009
By RON PONIEWASZ JR.
rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com
Darrian Rice’s season debut was a memorable one — even though it came a week late.
Rice sat out New Castle High’s season opener against Butler. The benching came after doctors told him he sustained a brain stem injury in the team’s final scrimmage.
A second opinion overturned the grim prognosis and unleashed Rice’s enthusiasm and talent.
Rice hauled in four passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns as the Red Hurricane rolled past Indiana 35-16 in a nonconference matchup at Taggart Stadium.
“I was praying to God that He was going to let me be able to play again; it was definitely a relief,” Rice said. “I couldn’t have come up with a better way for it to happen.”
Rice, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound sophomore, reached the end zone on receptions of 14 and 65 yards in the second quarter and 48 yards in the third period.
“Darrian (was) really down in the dumps after he had the first checkup when he was told he wouldn’t be able to play,” New Castle coach Frank Bongivengo Jr. said. “I think he obviously makes a difference.
“He’s a very good player. We’re happy to have him back.”
’Canes sophomore quarterback Johnny Matarazzo shares that sentiment.
“He’s pretty fast,” Matarazzo said. “It’s great having that speed to throw to.”
Matarazzo was 15 of 20 for 368 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He fell short of Michael Bongivengo’s single-game passing record set last year against Montour in a 48-12 victory. The coach’s son, who is now competing at Seton Hill, threw for 379 yards and five scores.
Matarazzo is a son of John Matarazzo, who was a standout tight end at New Castle in the 1980s before going on to the University of Pittsburgh.
“I thought Johnny played a great game,” Bongivengo said. “He got the ball in the right people’s hands.
“We always tell him, those little, short passes can be big plays. He hit some short passes that went for big plays.”
Said Johnny Matarazzo of his early success, “It’s pretty crazy right now. I just went out there and it came together. I always knew I could do it. It was just going to be a matter of time.”
New Castle (2-0) did the bulk of its damage in the first half. The ’Canes rolled up 385 yards of total offense in the first 24 minutes in building a 28-0 halftime bulge. New Castle did all that while losing the time of possession battle, 14:25 to 9:35.
“It’s frustrating,” Little Indians coach Mark Zilinskas said. “I thought we played pretty well up front defensively in the first half.
“Matarazzo just kept putting the ball where it needed to be. Whether you put together a time-consuming drive or a quick one, if it results in points it doesn’t matter. Points are points.”
Justin Fleo capped the first-half scoring on a 40-yard touchdown run with 4:53 left. Fleo was able to weave through the Indiana defense and was aided by a thunderous block by Jajuan Jay.
Fleo made a critical cutback, and Jay was able to lay out a blocker in the open field to spring Fleo for the score.
“That was a great block,” Bongivengo said. “Our receivers have blocked tremendously well down the field so far.
“Jajuan laid the kid out. It was a nice, clean block. He banged him pretty good.”
Said Matarazzo of the block, “I was running right beside him, and it was just crazy. That was a great block.”
The ’Canes’ defense played sharp in the first half, holding the Little Indians (0-2) to 95 total yards.
“I thought the defense played a stellar game,” Bongivengo said. “The final score is not indicative of how our defense played.
“That’s a tough offense to stop, and I thought they did a great job of bottling them up.”
New Castle honored former offensive and defensive line standout Anthony D’Ambrosia with a No. 54 decal on the helmet. D’Ambrosia, a 2008 New Castle High graduate, is battling leukemia.
“We always talk about family. When you’re a Red Hurricane, no matter how long ago, you’re part of the family,” Bongivengo said. “Everybody feels bad, and we keep in him in our prayers every day.”
The ’Canes open Parkway Conference action at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Taggart Stadium against Blackhawk. New Castle hasn’t beaten the Cougars since a 25-0 verdict in 1987.
INDIANA NEW CASTLE
17 First downs 13
242 Yards Rushing 116
14 Yards Lost 29
228 Net Rushing 87
8 Passes Attempted 20
3 Passes Completed 15
1 Passes Intercepted 1
62 Yards Passing 368
290 Total Yards 470
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
7-32.1 Punts-Average 3-39.3
1-5 Penalties-Yards 5-39
INDIANA 0 0 2 14 — 16
NEW CASTLE 7 21 7 0 — 35
Scoring plays
NEW CASTLE — Justin Fleo, 66-yard pass from Johnny Matarazzo (Spenser Rapone kick)
NEW CASTLE — Darrian Rice, 14-yard pass from Matarazzo (Rapone kick)
NEW CASTLE — Rice, 65-yard pass from Matarazzo (Rapone kick)
NEW CASTLE — Fleo, 40-yard run (Rapone kick)
INDIANA — Safety, the ball was snapped over the punter’s head and through the end zone
NEW CASTLE — Rice, 48-yard pass from Matarazzo (Rapone kick)
INDIANA — Kyle Edgar, 10-yard run (pass failed)
INDIANA — Alex Pettina, 20-yard pass from Tyler Shrader (Kyle Decker run)
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