Neshannock defense stymies Shenango
Neshannock (33) vs. Shenango (0)
Written: Sep 08, 2014
By Dan Irwin
New Castle News
“Offense” and “Neshannock” have been pretty much synonymous over the past two high school football seasons.
The Lancers averaged around 37 points per game in 2012 and 2013, and already have posted 88 in just two contests this year. Still, it took a couple of defensive gems Saturday to stake Neshannock to a lead in its Big 7 Conference contest at home against Shenango before the Lancers were able to walk away with a 33-0 win.
The Wildcats (1-1 conference, 1-1 overall) marched to the Neshannock 7 on the game’s opening drive, but quarterback Evan Kendall was hit on first and goal, and coughed up the ball. Rocco Fazio plucked the pigskin out of the air and raced 95 yards the other way for a touchdown.
The Lancers (2-0, 2-0) were nursing that 6-0 advantage early in the second period, when Jeff Sanflippo intercepted a Kendall pass at the Shenango 39 and returned in to the 2. One play later, Robert Lindsey crossed the goal line to establish a 13-0 edge.
“I said it from the beginning of the year, our defense is the heart and soul of this football team,” Neshannock head coach Fred Mozzoccio said. “They’re going to carry us this year. We have a defensive mindset, and they came out tonight and pitched a shutout for us. They sort of made things easier on the offense, getting those two early picks.
“Shenango is huge up front. They have a big, strong offensive line and their fullback (Jason Wallace, 65 yards on 12 carries) is a hard-nosed runner. We knew we were going to have to hunker down and play some tight football. Our philosophy was to give them a few yards; let’s bend, but don’t break. Eventually, we hoped to get a turnover, and it happened that way tonight.”
Led by quarterback Frank Antuono, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 112 yards and 2 TDs, Neshannock’s offense began to find its footing late in the first half. Antuono hit Jimmy Medure on a 37-yard scoring pass to cap a six-play, 59-yard drive just before intermission. Antuono’s 1-yard run then finished off a 14-play, 68-yard drive in the third period, and the sophomore signal-caller tossed a 25-yard TD pass to Seth Dueitt to add the exclamation point to an eight-play, 71-yard march in the fourth.
Although he’d been cleared to play by a doctor, senior running back Eli Owens — the 2013 county rushing leader — missed his second-straight game as the result of an injury suffered in last season’s WPIAL playoffs. Owens dressed, but Lindsey once again shouldered the bulk of the ground game, carrying 11 times for 62 yards.
“The score dictated a lot of it,” Mozzoccio said of Owens. “We didn’t need him, so we didn’t use him. He should be ready to go next week.”
Shenango squandered two big first-half plays by Tyler Root to put itself in a hole. Root’s 55-yard return of the game’s opening kickoff set up the Wildcats’ drive that ended in the red-zone fumble recovered by Fazio, while a 40-yard run two series later went for naught when the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs at the Neshannock 33.
“We couldn’t finish on offense at all, and they picked up a couple third downs in the second half that led to points,” Shenango head coach Mike Commesso noted. “We played good defense overall, and offensively we did move the ball. We just didn’t finish.
“Not only did we turn over the ball, but they were turnovers that led to points. That really changed the momentum. I would have liked to see what would have happened if we had punched in that first drive. But we didn’t.”
*****
SHENANGO NESHANNOCK
11 First downs 14
179 Yards Rushing 176
57 Yards Lost 42
122 Net Rushing 134
15 Passes Attempted 14
6 Passes Completed 10
1 Passes Intercepted 0
29 Yards Passing 112
151 Total Yards 246
4-1 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
3-31.3 Punts-Average 3-34.7
3-22 Penalties-Yards 3-30
SHENANGO 0 0 0 0 — 0
NESHANNOCK 6 14 6 7 — 33
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Rocco Fazio, 95-yard fumble return (kick failed).
NESHANNOCK — Robert Lindsey, 2-yard run (Seth Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Jimmy Medure, 37-yard pass from Frank Antuono (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Antuono, 1-yard run (kick failed).
NESHANNOCK — Dueitt, 25-yard pass from Antuono (Dueitt kick).
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