Neshannock rolls over Kennedy Catholic
Neshannock (34) vs. Kennedy Catholic (0)
Written: Aug 31, 2008
By ED FARRELL
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
HERMITAGE — Neshannock High coach Pat Cuba and Kennedy Catholic’s Joe Kenneally both are starting their second seasons at the helm.
However it appears the Lancers’ learning curve is considerably further along, based on the teams’ Saturday afternoon football season-opener.
Quarterback Josh Brown bolted for 150 yards rushing, and he and backfield mate Chris Kirkwood scored two touchdowns apiece as Neshannock notched a 34-0 win at Butala Stadium.
Brown led the Lancers’ 318-yard offensive output as he also connected on four of his eight pass attempts for an additional 69 yards. He orchestrated an 8-play, 77-yard, 3-minute, 54-second scoring drive in the second stanza, as well as a 10-play, 65-yard march that consumed almost six full minutes to open the second half.
Kirkwood and Brown alternated scoring sprints of 32 and 33 yards, respectively, in the first and second stanzas, then each added 18-yard third-period TD runs. Spelling Kirkwood, Erik Welker waltzed in from nine yards out in the fourth frame, and Evan Richards tacked on four extra points.
“(Brown) did a great job. He did a good job of reading. He’s got a lot more poise this year; he’s showing ... well, he’s got some guts, anyway, you can see that,” Cuba praised. “He and the fullback (Kirkwood), those guys both worked really hard this past year.”
Conversely, Kennedy Catholic was not competitive after a game-opening offensive series stagnated at its own 40-yard line. The Golden Eagles ended with 138 total yards on 41 snaps, led by Marlon Davis’ 21-carry 109-yard rushing performance. Davis dashed 53 yards on a third-and-15 play from his own 1-yard line with approximately four minutes remaining before being pushed out of bounds.
Following a winless 2007 season and the return of Davis from injury, Kenneally was counting on improvement in ’08; however, Saturday’s setback was crushing for Kenneally. When asked if he saw any encouraging signs, Kenneally curtly replied, “No,” then added, “They didn’t come to play, and it showed. They’re a ‘Pop Warner’ football team right now. If they play (Linesville) like they played today, they’ll lose by 75 points next week.
“You know, I thought I knew their character; I didn’t think they would’ve done what they did today. So you know what? It’s just back to the drawing board Monday morning, eight o’clock,” Kenneally concluded.
Conversely, Cuba is encouraged, though his club is coming off a two-win campaign and has joined the powerful WPIAL Big Seven Conference in Class A.
“We were ‘A’ playing ‘AA’ (last year) anyway, so the numbers are pretty good. We’ve got 38 kids and for us, that’s like a huge number, I guess, compared to what they’ve had in the past,” Cuba commented, adding in regard to the Big Seven Conference. “It’s 10 times better than the alternative — double-A. Some of those schools were just huge, numbers-wise. It was just too hard to compete. ... We’re better off being where we’re at.
“I’m proud of the way they played,” Cuba continued. “We bent quite a bit on defense at first, but we’ll be able to make the adjustments and get things straightened out, I think.”
NESHANNOCK KENNEDY
12 First downs 9
249 Net Rushing 135
8 Passes Attempted 7
4 Passes Completed 2
0 Passes Intercepted 2
69 Yards Passing 3
318 Total Yards 138
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 4-3
6-58 Penalties-Yards 8-64
NESHANNOCK 7 7 13 7 — 34
KENNEDY CATH. 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Kirkwood, 32 run (Richards kick)
NESHANNOCK — Brown, 33 run (Richards kick)
NESHANNOCK — Brown, 18 run (kick failed)
NESHANNOCK — Kirkwood, 18 run (Richards kick)
NESHANNOCK — Walker, 9 run (Richards kick)
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