Union cashes in big plays to knock off Rochester
Union (26) vs. Rochester (22)
Written: Aug 30, 2014
By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
The Union High football team found just enough magic last night to pull out a victory.
The Scotties were facing long-yardage plays on four separate occasions in the fourth quarter and conquered them each time.
Anthony Rush made two key connections with Cornell Charles and two more to Jordan Best in the final frame as Union rallied for a 26-22 Big Seven Conference home decision over Rochester. It was the lidlifter for both squads.
“I dug down on a few of those play calls,” Scotties coach Stacy Robinson said. “I hate using them all up quick, but I have a bunch more. That’s the funny part, we didn’t execute the first three downs and then it came to fourth down and the execution was crisp. The guys responded well under pressure.
“With their tradition, and they’re one of the top football programs in the state, anytime you get a victory over Rochester, it’s a plus. I’m happy we were able to pull out a win. We were able to fight and find a way to eke out a victory.”
With the score knotted at 14, Rush hooked up with Charles for a 24-yard gain on third-and-23 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Three plays later, Rush found Best for a 23-yard touchdown on a third-and-13 play with 9:29 to go in the contest.
The Rams, though, answered right back with a five-play, 36-yard drive which was capped off by a Montrail Strozier four-yard touchdown tote with 6:44 to play. The score was aided by a long kickoff return.
Union marched 71 yards in nine plays to take the lead for good. Rush kept the drive alive when he teamed up with Charles for a 16-yard gain on third-and-10. Six plays later, the game was on the line for the Scotties as they faced a fourth-and-8 at the Rams’ 44.
Rush found Best again on a pass over the middle. Best shook loose and sailed into the end zone to put Union up to stay at 26-22 with 3:20 to go.
“Coach Rob is really good at drawing up plays to get us big first downs when we need them,” Rush said. “We just try and go out and execute them and stay calm.
“We try treating it like it’s a first-and-10, staying calm and making plays.”
Said Robinson of the game-winning touchdown, “Design-wise, I thought it would work. When he threw it, I thought ‘what is he doing?’ He threw it and he put it on him. Hey, we’ll call him Anthony Football on that play. “
Best finished with five catches for 88 yards, while rushing for 49 yards on 13 carries. He hauled in three receiving touchdowns and rushed for another.
“Jordan Best got it done; he’s filling the role of the guys that we had here in front of him,” Robinson said. “He’s played with some great players over the years. Now he’s carrying the mantle or us.”
Rush was 14 of 21 for 215 yards with three touchdown passes. Last year, Rush threw for 681 yards as a junior.
“I tried doing what I’m taught to do in practice. Read, go through my progressions and stay calm in the pocket and put the ball on people,” Rush said of his performance. “I had trust in my line that they’d be in the right positions.
“I just threw the ball whenever they were open and they made plays because they’re playmakers.”
Rochester’s last shot started at its own 20 with 3:20 to go. The Rams gained just 15 yards though and turned it over on downs with 1:41 remaining when a fourth-and-six pass fell incomplete. Rochester was out of timeouts, allowing the Scotties to run out the clock.
The Rams rolled up 247 rushing yards and 285 total yards.
“I thought we dominated the football game,” said Rochester coach and Shenango graduate Gene Matsook. “They couldn’t stop us on offense.
“We broke down on defense and gave them three plays that we broke down with. Hopefully we’re going to learn from that. It was our breakdown. Hopefully it will propel us forward.”
Union’s Jullian Johnson was ejected just 13 seconds into the second quarter when play got a bit physical. He will miss the Scotties’ next game, a 7 p.m. nonsection home matchup with Bishop Canevin on Friday.
“That’s the first shoe that fell for our team. Jullian is a big part of our team. Every aspect of our game. There’s no use in crying about it. We had to go out and get it done. In the words of Mike Tomlin, it’s next man up.”
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)
ROCHESTER UNION
13 First downs 16
247 Yards Rushing 111
13 Yards Lost 32
234 Net Rushing 79
5 Passes Attempted 21
3 Passes Completed 14
0 Passes Intercepted 0
51 Yards Passing 215
285 Total Yards 294
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
0-0 Punts-Average 2-22
5-28 Penalties-Yards 7-40
ROCHESTER 0 6 8 8 — 22
UNION 0 14 0 12 — 26
Scoring plays
UNION — Jordan Best, 27-yard run (kick blocked).
ROCHESTER — Montrail Strozier, 7-yard run (kick blocked).
UNION — Best, 6-yard pass from Anthony Rush (Cornell Charles pass from Rush).
ROCHESTER — Ishmael Tucker, 3-yard run (Brenden Johnson run).
UNION — Best, 23-yard pass from Rush (pass failed).
ROCHESTER — Strozier, 4-yard run (Tucker run).
UNION — Best, 49-yard pass from Rush (pass failed).
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