’Canes impressive in dominating Butler in opener
New Castle (20) vs. Butler (14)
Written: Sep 05, 2009
 By STEVE TREU
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
BUTLER — The only hole New Castle put itself in to start this season was through the heart of the Butler defense.
Keith Keene rushed for 127 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns to power the Red Hurricane past host Butler 20-14 in a non-conference opener last night.
One year after seemingly burying themselves with a 0-3 start, Keene and the ’Canes bullied their way through the Golden Tornado for a relatively easy win that was not as close as the final score might indicate.
Keene’s 51-yard run right up the middle — including a few cuts and cutbacks — split the Butler secondary on the first possession of the third quarter and was the highlight of a night in which New Castle was in charge most of the way.
“Being 1-0 sure beats being 0-1,” ’Canes coach Frank Bongivengo Jr. said. “I felt we had a good handle on the game. We had our opportunities to really put the game away a few times, but unfortunately we didn’t do it. Our inexperience got us a few times.”
Fortunately for the ’Canes, their talent was more than enough to overcome their lack of experience.
Sophomore quarterback Johnny Matarazzo looked sharp in his starting debut, completing 8 of 13 attempts for 79 yards and one interception on a tipped ball. His best toss was a nice touch pass into the left flat for Keene, who skipped into the end zone for a 23-yard score and 6-0 lead in the second quarter.
Despite some heavy pressures at times — Butler had four sacks for 31 yards in losses — Matarazzo coolly operated New Castle’s no-huddle and kept the Tornado on its heels all evening. Of course, having Keene to hand it to helped tremendously.
The shifty senior was a steady influence throughout the game, carrying 11 times in the first half and a dozen more in the second. He combined with sophomore Justin Fleo (8 for 36) to lead a solid ground game that enabled the ’Canes to control the flow of the game.
A stingy defense a good special teams chipped in as well.
“We played real good on the defensive side of the ball,” senior linebacker John Fields said. “It was real hard-hitting out there. As they say, defense wins championships, so we’re just going to keep working hard.”
Fields turned in one of the most memorable plays of the game, stepping in a passing lane to intercept a pass and thwart a Butler drive into New Castle territory midway through the second quarter. Considering his quick jump of the route to his right and slick grab of the ball in the slot, it was a play reminiscent of James Harrison’s clutch pick for the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.
Fields laughed at the comparison, but admitted that that kind of interception was on his mind.
“We have been working on reading that play,” he said, “and there it was.”
It was one of two interceptions for the ’Canes, as senior Jordan Lyles made a nice leaping pick as Butler was threatening to score midway through the third quarter. Senior Jajuan Jay was another defensive standout with two fumble recoveries.
Punter Jesse Ambuster also turned in a winning performance with several good boots, including a 38-yarder down to the Butler 3 early in the fourth quarter.
“That was a big punt,” Bongivengo said. “That pinned Butler down there and forced them to go the length of the field, which is not an easy thing to do in high school football ... or on any level of football.”
When the Tornado couldn’t escape that hole, New Castle quickly converted a short field into Keene’s 4-yard touchdown run with 7:56 remaining that was the difference on the final scoreboard.
Butler scored its touchdowns on a pair runs by Jake Thompson, the first a 33-yard scamper late in the third quarter and the second and 1-yard plunge with 1:46 left in the contest. The Tornado got the ball back with 36 seconds remaining, but could advance only to its own 41 as time ran out.
“It’s nice to start strong,” Bongivengo said. “The kids have really done whatever we’ve asked them to do so far. They’ve bought into the program and they’ve bought into themselves, so hopefully it will continue.”
NEW CASTLE BUTLER
12 First downs 10
181 Yards Rushing 128
47 Yards Lost 8
134 Net Rushing 120
13 Passes Attempted 19
8 Passes Completed 8
1 Passes Intercepted 2
79 Yards Passing 75
213 Total Yards 195
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 4-2
5-37 Punts-Average 3-27
9-60 Penalties-Yards 2-10
NEW CASTLE 0 6 7 7 — 20
BUTLER 0 0 7 7 —14
Scoring plays
NEW CASTLE — Keith Keene, 23-yard pass from Johnny Matarazzo (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Keene, 51-yard run (Spenser Rapone kick).
BUTLER — Jake Thompson, 33-yard run (Ryan Soule kick).
NEW CASTLE — Keene, 4-yard run (Rapone kick).
BUTLER — Thompson, 1-yard run (Soule kick)
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