Union hangs tough, but falls to North Catholic
Union (7) vs. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (35)
Written: Nov 07, 2015
By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
ALLISON PARK — The first 12 minutes Friday night couldn’t have gone much better for the Union High football team.
The second quarter was another story.
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic scored four touchdowns in a span of 10 minutes to break a scoreless tie on its way to 35-7 victory over the Scotties in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs at J.C. Stone Field.
“We did what we could,” Union coach Stacy Robinson said. “We knew it was an uphill climb, yet we came here and tried to climb to the top of the mountain. I’ve got to give my kids credit for that. That’s a testament to our kids. We haven’t played well the last two weeks, and the kids came out, they wanted to win and they wanted to fight.”
Union, the 15th seed in the tournament, got the better of the second-seeded Trojans in the first quarter. The Scotties forced North Catholic to punt on its two possessions while controlling the clock on offense.
“I think we came out a little sluggish there to start the game,” North Catholic coach and former Pittsburgh Steelers star Jason Gildon said. “Union came to play tonight, and we were still in the locker room at kickoff. You can’t afford to have that kind of start. You’ll never be too unhappy with a win, but we’ve still got some work to do.”
Union drove to the North Catholic 7-yard line late in the quarter, but a run for a loss, a bad snap and an incomplete pass stalled the drive. On fourth down, the Scotties nearly took the lead as quarterback Joe Gunn scrambled out of trouble and threw a pass into the back corner of the end zone that was just off the fingertips of Garrison Bell.
“We’ve got to score with any opportunity we get,” Robinson said. “We’ve got to make the most of it. We didn’t capitalize early, when it might have put them on their heels a little bit. North Catholic is a quality football team. They’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast, but our kids, to a man, came out and played hard.”
In the second quarter, the Trojans got their offense into gear in a big way.
North Catholic got a pair of touchdown runs from Erick Taylor (14 and 2 yards) and Khalil Weathers (1, 2) to grab a 28-point lead at the half.
“We got them refocused there at the start of the second quarter,” said Gildon, who was a three-time Pro Bowl linebacker with the Steelers. “We started to get a little rhythm on offense. Once we settled down, I was very pleased from then on.”
Taylor, the Trojans’ quarterback, led all rushers with 126 yards on 12 carries. He also completed 6 of 15 passes for 96 yards.
“He’s very mobile, strong, hard to get to the ground,” Robinson said of Taylor.
North Catholic took the second-half kickoff and drove 58 yards in just four plays. Keith Wells capped the drive by scoring on a 28-yard run. The Trojans finished the game with 230 yards rushing.
“We have some guys who can run the ball,” Gildon said. “They’ve proved to be effective all year long.”
The Scotties got on the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter when Jordan Best capped a four-play, 38-yard drive by scoring from a yard out. The drive was set up when Trevon Charles picked off Taylor.
“Jordan Best has played for me for four years, and he’s our leader,” Robinson said. “We went to him a lot tonight.”
Union wrapped up its season at 5-5.
“I’ll remember our seniors,” Robinson said. “Each one of them stepped up at times this year, and that’s what you ask for. It’s a pleasure to coach them. This is my 19th year, but I’m still blessed and honored to be somebody’s high school football coach.”
North Catholic (10-0) will face No. 7 Bishop Canevin, a 35-28 winner over No. 10 Greensburg Central Catholic, in the second round next Friday.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
UNION N.CATH.
9 First downs 16
90 Yards Rushing 256
73 Yards Lost 26
17 Net Rushing 230
10 Passes Attempted 17
20 Passes Completed 8
1 Passes Intercepted 1
100 Yards Passing 112
117 Total Yards 342
6-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-1
7-32.1 Punts-Average 4-30.8
4-45 Penalties-Yards 9-74
UNION 0 0 0 7 — 7
N. CATHOLIC 0 28 7 0 — 35
Scoring plays
NORTH CATHOLIC — Erick Taylor, 14-yard run (Noah Kosobucki kick).
NORTH CATHOLIC — Taylor, 2-yard run (Kosobucki kick).
NORTH CATHOLIC — Khalil Weathers, 1-yard run (Kosobucki kick).
NORTH CATHOLIC — Weathers, 2-yard run (Kosobucki kick).
NORTH CATHOLIC — Keith Wells, 28-yard run (Kosobucki kick).
UNION — Jordan Best, 1-yard run (Garrison Bell kick).
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