Mohawk falls short against Beaver
Mohawk (28) vs. Beaver (41)
Written: Oct 18, 2008
  By STEVE TREU
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
Once again, Mohawk had enough heart.
But once again, the Warriors did not have enough points.
For the second straight week, Mohawk put up an impressive second-half fight only to fall short in a 41-28 loss to visiting Beaver last night in Midwestern Athletic Conference action.
”Just a killer,” Mohawk coach Jason Long said. “We fought hard, but in the end it's another tough loss.”
The Bobcats (6-1, 7-1) jumped out to a 35-8 lead midway through the third quarter when the Warriors (4-4, 4-4) began another furious rally.
Justin Upham’s 37-yard dance through the Beaver secondary cut it to 35-16, then Tyler French had a big quarterback sack to force a three-and-out by Beaver. Mohawk’s next play from scrimmage was a direct snap to Colin Bredl, who took it to the left, broke a tackle and glided down the sideline for a 63-yard touchdown.
When the Bobcats fumbled on their very next play, it didn’t take long for the Warriors to capitalize. Seth Powell threw a quick out to the right sideline to Bredl, who made a nice move to escape the defender and took it 40 yards for another score. Powell tied the school record for touchdown passes in a career with that toss.
To the delight of the rockin' home crowd, the deficit was down to 35-28 with 9:45 remaining in the game.
”We knew Mohawk had the capability to come back,” Beaver coach Jeff Beltz said. “They've done that all year.”
But Beaver came back with another heavy dose of Jake Nardone to stave off the comeback threat.
His 13-yard touchdown run gave the Bobcats a little breathing room, and then he helped kill the clock down the stretch with more power running.
All told, Nardone piled up 251 yards on 33 carries and collected five touchdowns (7, 13, 19, 5, 13).
”Our run game is our strength, so we're going to play to it,” Beltz said. “Jake's been solid all year so we didn't expect anything different from him tonight.”
The Bobcats, who attempted just six passes in the game, finished with 338 yards rushing (350 total) compared to 208 yards on the ground for the Warriors. Mohawk kept it close with a better aerial attack, including nine completions for 111 yards.
A pair of Nardone touchdowns put Beaver ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter, but Mohawk countered with a 19-yard run by Travis Schubert, who finished with six carries for 69 yards. Nardone's next three scores then pushed the lead to 27, as the Warriors squandered a few chances to keep it close throughout the middle quarters, including a 41-yard touchdown run by Upham that was called back due to holding.
”We made too many mental mistakes,” Long said. “We had that holding penalty and also dropped a touchdown at the end of the half, so that adds up.”
Beaver's final, clinching score was set up by a 15-yard personal foul on Mohawk's Matt Vogel, who tackled Beaver’s return man about 8 yards out of bounds following an onside kick attempt. Vogel was ejected from the game and, according to WPIAL rules, will not be permitted to play in next week's non-conference matchup at New Castle.
”That's not Mohawk football,” Long said. “But he’s a high school boy just trying to make a play, and sometimes emotions get the best of us.”
BEAVER MOHAWK
15 First downs 8
369 Yards Rushing 233
31 Yards Lost 25
338 Net Rushing 208
6 Passes Attempted 21
2 Passes Completed 9
0 Passes Intercepted 2
12 Yards Passing 111
350 Total Yards 319
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-1
3-29 Punts-Average 6-23
14-110 Penalties-Yards 3-35
BEAVER 7 14 14 6 — 41
MOHAWK 0 8 8 12— 28
Scoring plays
BEAVER — Jake Nardone, 7-yard run (Nathan Mick kick).
BEAVER — Nardone, 13-yard run (Mick kick).
MOHAWK — Travis Schubert, 19-yard run (Schubert run).
BEAVER — Nardone, 19-yard run (Mick kick).
BEAVER — Nardone, 5-yard run (Mick kick).
BEAVER — Thom Anzio, 22-yard pass from Kris Roper (Mick kick).
MOHAWK — Justin Upham, 37-yard run (Michael Henry pass from Seth Powell).
MOHAWK — Colin Bredl, 63-yard run (run failed).
MOHAWK – Bredl, 40-yard pass from Powell (pass failed).
BEAVER — Nardone, 13-yard run (run failed).
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