They're in! Wildcats headed to playoffs
Shenango (27) vs. South Side Beaver (7)
Written: Oct 10, 2015
By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
HOOKSTOWN — The showdown never materialized.
Shenango High saw to that.
The Wildcats solidified their hold on the top spot in the WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference and clinched their second straight playoff berth Friday night with a convincing 27-7 victory over South Side Beaver at the Richard J. Ashcroft Athletic Complex.
“It feels great to get this one,” Shenango senior running back Jason Wallace said. “We executed well tonight. We practiced all week, we game planned for them, we watched film, everyone knew their assignments, and everyone took care of them.”
With the victory, Shenango improved to 5-0 in the conference and 5-1 overall. The Wildcats hold a one-game lead over second place Neshannock (4-1, 5-1) by virtue of their Week 2, 20-12, victory over the Lancers.
The Wildcats can clinch at least a tie for the conference crown Friday with a victory at Vincentian. Shenango closes out its conference slate Oct. 23 when it hosts Riverside.
“It feels good,” Shenango senior quarterback Evan Kendall said. “It was a team victory. We just went out, did our thing and played hard. It was a good win, but we’ve got to move onto next week. We’re trying to take it week to week and get the job done. We’ve got to practice hard and get ready for Vincentian.”
South Side, which had won four straight, dipped to 3-2 in the conference and 4-2 overall.
“Anytime you’re playing on the road and playing against a team that’s 4-1, you never know what you’re going to get,” Shenango coach Mike Commesso said. “I thought the kids responded very well. It puts us in a nice position.”
Shenango, listed this week as an honorable mention selection in Class A by the Pennsylvania Football News, wasted little time in grabbing the lead.
After forcing the Rams to punt on the opening possession of the game, the Wildcats drove 57 yards in four plays. Tyler Root capped the drive by taking a screen pass from Evan Kendall 49 yard for the score. The point-after kick was short, but Shenango held a 6-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest.
“We ran a screen pass to the right,” Kendall said. “I just had to make sure I got the ball to Root, and he did the rest.”
The Wildcats added to their lead in the second quarter, as Anthony Keyser stepped in front of a Robbie Heberle pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown. Dylan Kleckner added the kick, to give Shenango a 13-0 lead with 5:04 remaining in the first half.
“That was huge,” Commesso said. “We had scored on our first drive, but we had kind of stalled out a little bit. Those were the points that we needed to have a little bit of a cushion.”
Shenango, which ran just 14 offensive plays in the first half as opposed to South Side’s 34, took the second-half kickoff and quickly added to its lead.
On the third play of the third quarter, Hunter Waskin broke through the right side and raced 66 yards for the score. Kleckner’s kick made it 20-0. Waskin, who had three carries for only 8 yards in the first half, finished with a game-high 102 yards on eight carries.
“That’s Hunter,” Commesso said. “He has the ability to break one. He did a great job of being patient with his blocks. Once he gets in the open field, he’s tough to catch.”
The Rams thought they had answered on their next possession, as Quae Thompson raced 45 yards into the end zone. However, the run was called back by a holding penalty. On the next play, Vinnie Turco recovered a fumble for Shenango to end the threat.
“Our defense has been our backbone this year,” Commesso said. “They don’t give up many points, and that keeps us confident and in ballgames. They did another great job of setting the tone tonight.”
The Wildcats increased their lead to 27-0 on their next possession, driving 55 yards in 11 plays. Brandon Ryder hauled in a 10-yard TD strike from Kendall to cap the drive.
“We’d been running waggle a couple of times, and Ryder was wide open across the middle,” Kendall said. “Ryder stopped, found and open spot, and I hit him.”
South Side got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, when Heberle connected with Cameron Smith for a 13-yard scoring strike to set the final.
“It’s a nice victory,” Commesso said. “We had another slow start, but another strong finish.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
SHENANGO SOUTH SIDE
10 First downs 13
182 Yards Rushing 180
26 Yards Lost 36
156 Net Rushing 144
7 Passes Attempted 15
4 Passes Completed 9
0 Passes Intercepted 1
76 Yards Passing 84
232 Total Yards 228
3-0 Fumbles-Lost 3-1
3-39.3 Punts-Average 2-31
5-45 Penalties-Yards 3-30
SHENANGO 6 7 14 0 — 27
SOUTH SIDE 0 0 0 7 — 7
Scoring plays
SHENANGO — Tyler Root, 49-yard pass from Evan Kendall (kick failed).
SHENANGO — Anthony Keyser, 14-yard interception return (Dylan Kleckner kick).
SHENANGO — Hunter Waskin, 66-yard run (Kleckner kick).
SHENANGO — Brandon Ryder, 10-yard pass from Kendall (Kleckner kick).
SOUTH SIDE — Cameron Smith, 13-yard pass from Robbie Heberle (Brett Hubbard kick).
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