Turnovers turn the tide in Mohawk’s loss
Mohawk (12) vs. Aliquippa (47)
Written: Aug 30, 2014
By Steve Treu
New Castle News
The final score notwithstanding, Mohawk High actually represented itself fairly well in last night’s season opener against Aliquippa.
In fact, the Warriors were basically just a handful of plays away from being in this game.
Of course, that handful of plays happened to be a ghastly five turnovers in a 47-12 home loss to the Quips. Aliquippa converted all five miscues into touchdowns.
“Aliquippa is a great football team, I give them all the credit in the world,” Mohawk coach Joe Lamenza said. “But we had some breakdowns that led to scores. You can’t make those mistakes against any team, and you certainly can’t make them against a great football team like Aliquippa.”
The Quips intercepted three passes, returning a pair of them for touchdowns, and recovered two of five fumbles by the Warriors to jump out to a 47-0 lead in the second quarter.
Following a quick opening drive that was capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Darrien Fields to Patrick Anderson, Mohawk fumbled on its first play from scrimmage and the Quips capitalized on the next snap with another scoring pass (34 yards from Fields to Laturne Beasley).
Mohawk quarterback Ricky Malutic then guided his team on an 11-play march into the Aliquippa red zone, but the Warriors turned it over on downs.
Then came the non-play of the game.
With Aliquippa driving for another score, Mohawk defensive back Jon Kent came up with an interception and returned it nearly 50 years to give the Warriors life.
Alas, a roughing-the-passer penalty negated the pick and Aliquippas Roscoe Hodge scored from 8 yards out on the next play. The rout was on.
“This was a big test, we were looking forward to it,” Lamenza said. “But we got off to a bad start.”
Mohawk’s next four possessions ended in turnovers, with Anthony Barton’s 37-yard pick-6 being followed quickly by Kaezon Pugh’s 39-yard interception return for a score off of a tipped ball.
With the mercy rule in effect, the Warriors fought to the end and produced a pair of second-half touchdowns.
Malutic scored on a fourth-down, 5-yard keeper midway through the third quarter and then threw 12 yards to Michael Kurtz for a touchdown early in the fourth. On that play, Kurtz caught the ball short of the goal line but made a nice effort to dive inside the right pylon.
“There were some bright spots,” Lamenza said. “We moved the ball well on offense the entire game and put together some nice scoring drives.”
As one would expect from a championship contender in the opener, the Quips were not satisfied with a 35-point rout. Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac told his troops that there was much room for improvement.
“We did OK, but there are some things we need to work on, he said. “We’re definitely not in shape yet, so we have to work harder.”
Sophomore Cayne Yakubik ran hard in the second half and led the Warriors with 43 yards on 10 carries. Kurtz gathered in a team-high five receptions for 55 yards, including a sweet, diving 11-yard grab for a first down.
A few noteworthy individual plays for Mohawk were turned in by Zach Shasteen (a nice kickoff return), Jesse Wolfe (who dropped an Aliquippa defender with a strong stiff arm) and Mehmet Iclek (with a big hit for a 2-yard loss on a Quips RB).
“We had a lot of first-time starters and I think this was a great learning experience for them,” Lamenza said.” It’s something we can build on for next week.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
ALIQUIPPA MOHAWK
9 First downs 12
202 Yards Rushing 132
3 Yards Lost 35
199 Net Rushing 97
4 Passes Attempted 18
4 Passes Completed 11
0 Passes Intercepted 3
144 Yards Passing 102
343 Total Yards 199
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 5-2
0-0 Punts-Average 0-0
5-27 Penalties-Yards 1-5
ALIQUIPPA 22 25 0 0 — 47
MOHAWK 0 0 6 6 — 12
Scoring plays
ALIQUIPPA — Patrick Anderson, 24-yard pass from Darrien Fields (Kaezon Pugh run)
ALIQUIPPA — Laturne Beasley, 34-yard pass from Fields (run failed)
ALIQUIPPA — Roscoe Hodge, 8-yard run (Robert Cashaw pass from Fields)
ALIQUIPPA — Cashaw, 77-yard pass from Fields (Fields kick)
ALIQUIPPA — Anthony Barton, 37-yard interception return (run failed)
ALIQUIPPA — Pugh, 20-yard run (kick failed)
ALIQUIPPA — Pugh, 39-yard interception return (run failed)
MOHAWK — Ricky Malutic, 5-yard run (kick failed)
MOHAWK — Michael Kurtz, 12-yard pass from Malutic (pass failed)
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