’Canes prove to be own worst enemy against Hampton
New Castle (14) vs. Hampton (33)
Written: Nov 03, 2014
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
ALLISON PARK — The playoffs marked a new season and a new start for the New Castle High football team.
However, some of the Red Hurricane’s old weaknesses remained. Hampton took advantage for a 33-14 win last night in a WPIAL Class AAA first round game at Fridley Field.
Two major deficiencies hurt New Castle the most — poor tackling and turnovers. Both allowed the Talbots (9-1) to score 21 points in the second half and pull away for the triumph. Hampton racked up 331 yards on the ground and turned a fumble into seven points.
“The mistakes we’ve seen throughout the course of the year, they tend to rear their ugly heads in big games — penalties, turnovers, the inability to stop the run on the defensive side,” New Castle coach Joe Cowart said. “It was no secret what they were going to do. They were going to run the ball and get after it and they did. We talked about being a fast and physical unit. We weren’t fast enough and we weren’t physical enough. That’s why the white shirts are walking out of here with a loss.”
The Talbots move on to meet Ringgold (9-1), a 24-14 winner over Gateway, in the second round. The ’Canes’ season closed at 4-6.
“New Castle is a very class act. I thought their coaches did a good job. We knew it was going to be a battle because they very athletic,” Hampton coach Jacque DeMatteo said. “I am very proud and happy for our kids that we were fortunate enough to come out of here with a win.”
Hampton got on the scoreboard on the game’s opening possession. The team marched methodically 75 yards for a score and an early 6-0 lead.
New Castle went ahead, 7-6, with 4:07 remaining in the second quarter. Daylyn Glenel, who was held to one yard on his first three carries, found daylight and exploded through a hole in the middle of the line 78 yards for a touchdown. Geno Stone added the PAT boot.
The ’Canes could not hold onto that lead at halftime. The Talbots responded with a 63-yard drive in 3:03 to post a 12-7 advantage on Matt Rech’s 17-yard TD trot.
New Castle appeared poised to regain the lead on its first drive of the second half. However, Glenel was stripped of the ball and Hampton recovered at its own 27. Again, the Talbots churned their way on the ground for another long TD drive. Matt Grabowski scored on a 3-yard quarterback keeper to boost the hosts’ lead to 19-7.
Once again, the ’Canes moved the ball and Pat Minenok’s 64-yard pass to D’Marcus Blanchard set up the team at the Hampton 5. However, the ’Canes could not punch it in and turned the ball over on downs.
“That was huge,” DeMatteo said. “Our defense has been playing well all year. My hat goes off to them. I am just very proud of our kids and their toughness.”
On the Talbots’ first play from the 5, Rech broke off a 55-yard run. The hosts continued their momentum and cashed in on Nate Hyre’s 22-yard TD pass from Grabowski and a 26-7 lead early in the fourth.
New Castle’s Marcus Hooker had a 43-yard kickoff return and the offense went into hurry-up mode. The ’Canes cashed in as Blanchard crashed in from the 2. Stone’s boot trimmed the deficit to 26-14 with 8:21 to play.
Once again, the defense could not stop the Talbots on the ground. Nick Worobij put the game out of reach as he emerged from a mass of players for a 50-yard TD run and a 33-14 lead with 3:33 to go.
Rech and Worobij both rushed for more than 100 yards. Rech had 148 yards on 22 carries, while Worobij picked up 130 on 10 attempts.
Glenel finished with 123 yards on 10 carries, while Pat Minenok passed for 140 yards for New Castle, which graduates 12 seniors.
“They are a fantastic group of young men. I am sad to see them go. The mark they left with the younger guys and coaching staff was great,” Cowart said. “They all have bright futures ahead of them. Losing a first-round playoff game will not be their legacy. What they do from this point forward will be.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
NEW CASTLE HAMPTON
13 First downs 23
147 Yards Rushing 353
7 Yards Lost 22
140 Net Rushing 331
21 Passes Attempted 11
13 Passes Completed 7
0 Passes Intercepted 0
173 Yards Passing 92
313 Total Yards 423
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-0
2-31 Punts-Average 2-51.5
8-40 Penalties-Yards 6-40
NEW CASTLE 0 7 0 7 — 14
HAMPTON 6 6 7 14 — 33
Scoring plays
HAMPTON — Jack Werling, 24-yard pass from Nick Grabowski (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Daylyn Glenel, 78-yard run (Geno Stone kick).
HAMPTON — Matt Rech, 17-yard run (run failed).
HAMPTON — Grabowski, 3-yard run (Sam Werling kick).
HAMPTON — Nate Hyre, 22-yard pass from Grabowski (Werling kick).
NEW CASTLE — D’Marcus Blanchard, 2-yard run (Stone kick).
HAMPTON — Nick Worobij, 50-yard run (Werling kick).
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