New Castle holds off Greensburg Salem
New Castle (45) vs. Greensburg Salem (38)
Written: Nov 07, 2009
By JOE SAGER
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
GREENSBURG — Offensively, the New Castle High football team accomplished a lot last night.
The Red Hurricane racked up 339 passing yards — as well as another 225 on the ground — and 45 points.
Overall, though, those eye-popping numbers proved to be just enough as New Castle escaped Offutt Field with a thrilling 45-38 victory over Greensburg Salem in a WPIAL Class AAA first-round encounter.
The ’Canes (8-2) had no choice but to explode offensively since their defense struggled to stop the Golden Lions (8-2). Both teams combined for 931 yards and 83 points.
Despite New Castle’s efficiency with racking up yards and points, the team had plenty of deficiencies: six fumbles (two lost), eight penalties for 96 yards, one blocked punt and two Greensburg Salem fourth-down conversions, including a fake punt.
“We’ll take any type of win we can get. But, we have to play better,” said New Castle running back Keith Keene, who dashed for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “I’m very disappointed with the fumbles and penalties. We have to cut that down.”
While the ’Canes may have been able to escape with a sloppy win last night, they know they may not be as fortunate when they battle West Allegheny (8-2), a 31-17 winner over Knoch, on Friday at a site to be determined. The Indians posted a 28-21 win at New Castle earlier in the year when Mike Caputo scampered for more than 300 yards.
“It was good to get a win and it’s good to move on, so we’re happy about that,” New Castle coach Frank Bongivengo Jr. said. “This one is over and there’s nothing we can do to change anything that happened. So, we have to worry about West A.”
A majority of the ’Canes’ woes came in the first half. They raced to a 14-0 lead on a Johnny Matarazzo 1-yard run and a 34-yard pass to Darrian Rice. However, New Castle presented opportunities to the Golden Lions in the form of five fumbles (one lost) and six deflating penalties for 76 yards.
“The nightmare first half was brought on by us. We played undisciplined football and that’s what I told the kids,” Bongivengo said. “We were undisciplined and it’s going to cost us. It cost us in this game.”
The hosts crept back and knotted the game at 14 to start the second quarter. The ’Canes responded when Matarazzo hit Marcus Carter in stride for a 41-yard TD strike for a 21-14 edge with 1:56 left in the half.
Greensburg Salem seemed poised to knot the game just before halftime. However, Justin Fleo intercepted Nate Sphon’s pass at the 5 with 32 seconds remaining.
Two plays later, Fleo turned a screen pass into a 72-yard outburst before he was tackled at the Golden Lions’ 12 with five seconds left.
“I caught it and I wanted to try to go as far as I could,” Fleo said. “As soon as I got down the field, I just ran out of gas. That was as far as I could go.”
It gave Spenser Rapone adequate time to boot a 29-yard field goal to give New Castle a 24-14 edge at the intermission.
“Those are absolutely huge points,” Bongivengo said. “They could have gone in and tied the game up. Instead, we’re up by 10 at halftime. It was a huge play. Fleo did a good job pretty much all night. To his credit, he made some big plays when we needed them.”
After the Golden Lions scored on their first possession of the third quarter, Fleo sparked the ’Canes again as he ripped off a 74-yard kickoff return to the hosts’ 18. One play later, Keene jetted in for the TD and a 31-21 edge.
“As soon as they scored, I knew we had to redeem quick because this was a dogfight,” Fleo said. “There was a big hole and I took it.”
New Castle clung to its lead before Greensburg Salem marched back once again. A late touchdown in the second half and a 30-yard field goal off a recovered fumble tied the battle at 31 with 11:13 remaining.
The ’Canes took the lead on James Napier’s 1-yard plunge. After a rare defensive stop, New Castle went up, 45-31, with 3:28 to go when Keene exploded for a 40-yard TD burst on fourth down.
“The line was blocking really well and we needed that play,” Keene said.
The lead seemed safe — but, it wasn’t. The Golden Lions promptly marched down the field for a touchdown in less than two minutes to trim the deficit to 45-38.
Greensburg Salem executed an onside kick and recovered the ball on the ’Canes’ 47 with 1:43 to play. However, New Castle’s defense came up with a big stop as Rice intercepted Sphon’s fourth-down desperation pass with less than a minute to go.
“I knew our defense would come through. They struggled all night, but I knew they’d come through at the end,” Keene said. “We have to get our heads in the game and cut down the penalties. We’ll be all right.”
In addition to his long kickoff return and defensive plays, Fleo finished with six receptions for 162 yards. Matarazzo, who passed for 299 yards in the first half, completed 13 of 16 passes for 339 yards.
Greensburg’s Matt Adams, who entered the battle with 884 rushing yards on 171 carries, lugged the rock 24 times for 107 yards.
Now, the ’Canes must turn their attention to their quarterfinal matchup with West Allegheny.
“We came out with a victory and now we have to prepare for next week,” Fleo said. “West A is a tough team and we have to redeem ourselves.”
NEW CASTLE GR. SALEM
23 First downs 23
236 Yards Rushing 225
11 Yards Lost 39
225 Net Rushing 186
16 Passes Attempted 21
13 Passes Completed 12
0 Passes Intercepted 2
339 Yards Passing 181
564 Total Yards 367
6-2 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
1-17 Punts-Average 4-23.8
8-96 Penalties-Yards 2-25
NEW CASTLE 14 10 7 14 — 45
GR. SALEM 7 7 14 10 — 38
Scoring plays
NEW CASTLE — Johnny Matarazzo, 1-yard run (Spenser Rapone kick).
NEW CASTLE — Darrian Rice, 34-yard pass from Matarazzo (Rapone kick).
GREESNBURG SALEM — Nate Sphon, 26-yard run (Daine Mangery kick).
GREESNBURG SALEM — Michael Nowicki, 10-yard pass from Sphon (Mangery kick).
NEW CASTLE — Marcus Carter, 41-yard pass from Matarazzo (Rapone kick).
NEW CASTLE — Rapone, 29-yard field goal.
GREESNBURG SALEM — Vinny Mongelluzzo, 2-yard pass from Sphon (Mangery kick).
NEW CASTLE — Keith Keene, 18-yard run (Rapone kick).
GREESNBURG SALEM — Brian Riffle, 1-yard run (Mangery kick).
GREESNBURG SALEM — Mangery, 30-yard field goal.
NEW CASTLE — James Napier, 1-yard run (Rapone kick).
NEW CASTLE — Keene, 40-yard run (Rapone kick).
GREESNBURG SALEM — Sphon, 4-yard run (Mangery kick).
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