Lancers light it up against Chartiers-Houston
Neshannock (49) vs. Chartiers-Houston (14)
Written: Oct 18, 2014
By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
There were fireworks before the start of last night’s football game at Bob Bleggi Stadium.
Home-standing Neshannock High made sure there were plenty of pyrotechnics on the field, too.
The Lancers scored on all seven of their offensive possessions and piled up 538 yards of total offense in a 49-14 non-conference victory over Chartiers-Houston. The number of former star lineman Tom Brzoza was retired by the district before the game, the first player in school history to be so honored.
“I thought the kids played really well,” said Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio, whose team improved to 8-0 on the season. “They came out and executed from the very beginning. I felt like we were clicking on all cylinders tonight. I was very pleased.”
Junior running back Jonah Vitale helped spearhead the Lancers’ offensive attack by scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 72 yards on 11 carries.
“Our offense was really clicking tonight,” Vitale said. “Everybody stayed on their blocks, and I was able to pick up some yards. I couldn’t have done it without the linemen.”
Fellow junior running back Steven Phillips gained a game-high 88 yards rushing. He also had a touchdown run among his 13 totes.
“Steven’s hard to see back there,” Mozzocio said. “He’s small and he runs very low to the ground. He’s like a knuckleballer when he gets in there. He’s quick and shifty. I was proud of both Steven and Jonah tonight.”
While the junior duo was doing the job on the ground, quarterback Frank Antuono was carving up the Buccaneers through the air. The sophomore signal caller completed 12-of-15 passes for 349 yards with two touchdowns.
“Frank Antuono played one heck of a football game tonight,” Mozzocio said. “He was right on with everything thing he did — his reads, getting the ball to the open receiver, going through his progressions. He just continues to get better each week.”
Neshannock, which is ranked third in state in Class A by the Pennsylvania Football News, wasted little time in taking control of the game.
After forcing the Bucs (4-4) to punt on their first possession, the Lancers put together a tidy six-play, 61-yard drive that was capped when Vitale scored from 4 yards out. Seth Dueitt added the first of his seven extra-point kicks on the evening to give Neshannock a 7-0 lead at the 7:52 mark of the first quarter.
The Lancers went to the air on their next offensive series, as Antuono hooked up with Rocco Fazio for a 77-yard TD strike to give the hosts a 14-0 cushion with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter.
Vitale added touchdown runs of 3 and 2 yards in the second quarter, to increase Neshannock’s lead to 28-0 lead at the half.
“Jonah’s a north-south runner,” Mozzocio said. “He picks his hole, gets those shoulders square and he’s awfully explosive. He does a real nice job.”
The Antuono-to-Fazio combo again found the end zone early in the third quarter, this time teaming up on a 17-yard scoring pass to bring the mercy rule into effect.
Antuono used his legs to hike the Lancers’ lead to 42-0 midway through the third quarter when he scored on a 10-yard run.
Char-Houston, which competes in the Black Hills Conference, finally got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter. Quarterback Alec Ferrari hooked up with Austin Warchol on a 31-yard TD pass with 1:46 remaining in the stanza.
Neshannock added a late touchdown in the third quarter, when Phillips bulled his way into the end zone from 2 yards out.
The Bucs rounded out the scoring on Spencer Terling’s 5-yard run at the 10:49 mark of the fourth quarter.
While the Lancers’ offense was piling up the numbers, the defense also did its fair share as Adam Wawrzynski, Zach Barnes, Jimmy Medure, Sean Doran and Vitale each recorded a sack.
Neshannock will host Union at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We’ve just got to keep practicing hard and keep going after it,” Vitale said. “Union’s been a rival for us for a long time. It should be a good game.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
CHAR. HOUSTON NESHANNOCK
11 First downs 18
114 Yards Rushing 205
45 Yards Lost 16
69 Net Rushing 189
16 Passes Attempted 16
10 Passes Completed 12
0 Passes Intercepted 0
168 Yards Passing 349
237 Total Yards 538
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
3-34 Punts-Average 0-0
1-13 Penalties-Yards 8-80
CHAR. HOUSTON 0 0 7 7 — 14
NESHANNOCK 14 14 21 0 — 49
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Jonah Vitale, 4-yard run (Seth Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Rocco Fazio, 77-yard pass from Frank Antuono (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Vitale, 3-yard run (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Vitale, 2-yard run (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Fazio, 17-yard pass from Antuono (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Antuono, 10-yard run (Dueitt kick).
CHAR-HOUSTON — Austin Worchol, 31-yard pass from Alec Ferrari (Mike Cushma kick).
NESHANNOCK — Steven Phillips, 2-yard run (Dueitt kick).
CHAR-HOUSTON — Spencer Terling, 5-yard run (Cushma kick).
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