Offense propels Neshannock to easy victory
Neshannock (56) vs. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21)
Written: Sep 26, 2015
By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
The Neshannock High football team’s offense clicked again Friday night.
This time, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was the team the Lancers blitzed through.
Neshannock amassed 22 first downs and 582 yards of total offense in a 56-21 nonconference victory over the Chargers at Bob Bleggi Stadium.
Last week, the Lancers rolled up an identical 582 yards in a 71-48 Big Seven Conference decision over Riverside. Neshannock fumbled three times last week and lost two against the Panthers.
The Lancers coughed it up four more times against the Chargers and gave two away. One of which came inside the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 2 in the opening quarter.
“We moved the ball pretty much at will all night,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “But we’re still making illegal procedure penalties, putting the ball on the ground at times.
“We put the ball on the ground way too much. That’s something that’s been happening game in and game out. It’s something we keep preaching and something we need to correct to get better. Especially if we want to go where we want to go. You can not put the ball on the ground.”
The defense limited the Chargers to just 103 total yards and four first downs. Greg Fornataro also intercepted a Matt Schnarre pass and returned it 26 yards for a score to put Neshannock up 13-0 late in the first quarter.
“At times, we’re looking really stout on defense and playing good defense,” Mozzocio said. “I’m pretty happy with what the defense is doing lately.”
Neshannock put the game out of reach in the second quarter, building a 42-14 halftime advantage.
Jonah Vitale scored two rushing touchdowns in the period, while Robert Lindsey added another. Chris Scott hauled in a scoring aerial from Frank Antuono in the quarter as well.
“We started to pick up the tempo in the second quarter,” Antuono said. “Our line really executed in the second quarter. They all got on their man and we exploded through the holes. Once we start executing like that, it’s hard to stop us.”
Antuono rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more. He threw for 259 yards as well.
“My line gave me a bunch of time back there and my wide receivers work really hard to run their precise patterns,” Antuono said. “They work on getting open all week and that made it easy on me.”
Danny Welker’s 21-yard scoring pass from Antuono with 10:01 to go in the third quarter coupled with Meg McCarthy’s conversion boot pushed the buffer to 49-14 in the third to initiate the mercy rule.
Vitale also cashed in two rushing touchdowns for Neshannock, rushing for 166 yards on just six attempts. He had scoring runs of 14 and 63 yards.
The Lancers return to action at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 3 when they travel to Big Seven Conference foe Western Beaver.
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)
OLSH NESHANNOCK
4 First downs 22
132 Yards Rushing 335
40 Yards Lost 12
92 Net Rushing 323
13 Passes Attempted 20
4 Passes Completed 12
1 Passes Intercepted 0
11 Yards Passing 259
103 Total Yards 582
3-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-2
3-25.6 Punts-Average 0-0
4-18 Penalties-Yards 10-65
OLSH 0 14 7 0 — 21
NESHANNOCK 13 29 14 0 — 56
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Frank Antuono, 3-yard run (kick failed).
NESHANNOCK — Greg Fornataro, 26-yard interception return (Meg McCarthy kick).
NESHANNOCK — Robert Lindsey, 1-yard run (McCarthy kick).
NESHANNOCK — Jonah Vitale, 14-yard run (Ty Sear pass from Antuono).
NESHANNOCK — Chris Scott, 12-yard pass from Antuono (McCarthy kick).
OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART — Matt Schnarre, 25-yard run (Christian Murray kick).
NESHANNOCK — Vitale, 63-yard run (McCarthy kick).
OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART — Schnarre, 74-yard kickoff return (Murray kick).
NESHANNOCK — Danny Welker, 21-yard pass from Anuono (McCarthy kick).
OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART — Schnarre, 49-yard run (Murray kick).
NESHANNOCK — Antuono, 12-yard run (McCarthy kick).
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