Union falls on road to Bishop Canevin
Union (6) vs. Bishop Canevin (31)
Written: Sep 13, 2015
By John D'Abruzzo
New Castle News
DORMONT BOROUGH — What could wrong for Union High’s football team Saturday night, continued to go wrong.
“And it all did go wrong,” longtime Union coach Stacy Robinson said. “From every aspect of the game; offense, defense and special teams. We didn’t come to play, so I have no excuses.”
Just like the weather, the Scotties were dreary, soggy and cold during their nonconference bout against Bishop Canevin, which waltzed away with a 31-6 victory at Dormont Memorial Stadium.
“We would take two steps forward and ended taking another two steps back,” Robinson said. “We didn’t get anywhere.”
The Crusaders (1-1) took advantage of three Union (1-1) turnovers and turned those misfortunes into scores.
Bishop Canevin jumped on the board late in the first quarter with a 35-yard touchdown run by Amaan Bridgett. Three plays into Union’s following drive, Bishop Canevin’s Austin Liebro picked off quarterback Joe Gunn and returned the interception for a 51-yard touchdown.
With a 12-0 lead after the first quarter, the Crusaders opened the start of the second quarter with a 30-yard touchdown run by Maliek Hemingway. Three plays into the next series, Union coughed up a fumble that led to Bishop Canevin’s Austin Scott scoring on a 55-yard pass from quarterback Dom Palmosina during the very next play.
“Any time a team puts the ball on the ground, you have to take advantage of that and I believe we did that tonight,” third-year Bishop Canevin coach Darren Schoppe said. “We said during the summer that we needed to get some positive things happen early in the season because the kids need to learn how to win. This win was a big step in the right direction.”
With a 24-0 advantage at the half, the Crusaders continued to pressure Gunn, who was sacked five times.
“They’re big,” Robinson said. “There’s no beating around the bush. When you have that distinct advantage up front, chances are you can win a football game.
“We thought there were still some things that we could take advantage of but obviously we didn’t.”
Another Union fumble late in the third quarter helped Bishop Canevin convert the turnover into a seven-play, 52-yard drive that ended with Bridgett scoring on a 36-yard run during the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Bridgett finished with a game-high 168 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
“I’m just excited that our kids put a full game together,” Schoppe said. “That was the goal coming into the game, and I told them that I wanted to see a full, 48-minute game. They did that tonight.”
Down 31-0 late in the game, the Scotties finally found the end zone when Anthony Bertolino scored on a three-yard run with 1:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Bishop Canevin collected a total of 287 yards on the ground and held the Scotties to just 79 rushing yards. Running back Jordan Best led Union with 53 yards on the ground.
“You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse in this game,” Robinson said. “Next week, we’ll find out if we’re getting any better.”
The Scotties return to Big Seven Conference action Friday night at home against Vincentian Academy (0-0 conference, 0-2 overall).
“The true test of a man is where you stand in the times of controversy,” Robinson said. “That’s what I tell the kids all the time.
“We didn’t get too high off of last week’s win [against Rochester], so we won’t get too low after this week’s loss. We’ll try to get better next week. It’s my job as a coach to make sure we’re the best we can be.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
UNION BISHOP CANEVIN
7 First downs 15
114 Yards Rushing 297
35 Yards Lost 10
79 Net Rushing 287
10 Passes Attempted 5
3 Passes Completed 4
1 Passes Intercepted 0
34 Yards Passing 69
113 Total Yards 356
2-2 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
6-34.2 Punts-Average 3-30.3
4-28 Penalties-Yards 8-75
UNION 0 0 0 6 — 6
BISHOP CANEVIN 12 12 0 7 — 31
Scoring plays
BISHOP CANEVIN — Amaan Bridgett, 38-yard run (kick failed).
BISHOP CANEVIN — Austin Liebro, 51-yard interception return (run failed).
BISHOP CANEVIN — Maleik Hemingway, 30-yard run (kick failed).
BISHOP CANEVIN — Austin Scott, 55-yard pass from Dom Palmosina (pass failed).
BISHOP CANEVIN — Bridgett, 36-yard run (Jake Brooks kick).
UNION — Anthony Bertolino, 3-yard run (kick blocked).
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