New Castle rallies for nonconference victory
New Castle (32) vs. Belle Vernon (20)
Written: Sep 25, 2010
By RON PONIEWASZ JR.
rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com
Playmakers came through once again for the New Castle High football team last night.
Darrian Rice made his presence felt. Marcus Carter did his share. And Jalen Holmes was prominent as well.
Holmes scored four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter, to lift New Castle to a 32-20 nonconference victory over Belle Vernon.
“Jalen did a great job in the second half,” New Castle coach Frank Bongivengo Jr. said. “He ran really, really well; that’s a great job from a sophomore.”
Holmes, a sophomore, notched 82 yards rushing on 12 attempts for the Red Hurricane (3-1). He was filling in for an injured Justin Fleo, who missed the final quarter with a left shoulder injury. Fleo, who was already nursing a broken left hand and an ankle injury, did play for about two quarters.
Rice notched a key 64-yard punt return in the fourth quarter to set up New Castle’s game-winning touchdown. Rice took the punt with New Castle down 20-19 and raced to the right sideline and nearly scored before he was pushed out of bounds.
The ’Canes had third-and-10 from the 11 and quarterback Johnny Matarazzo found Marcus Carter over the middle on a quick crossing pattern. Carter made a move, cut up field and headed for the end zone. However, a Leopards defender made the stop at the 1 for a critical New Castle first down.
Holmes took the handoff on the next play and dove in for a 25-20 buffer with 4:02 left, the ’Canes’ first lead of the game. Matarazzo’s two-point conversion pass failed.
“Darrian made a nice catch and we got a a couple of nice blocks on the punt return. He found that little seam and he can make things happen,” Bongivengo said. “The pass reception was a great effort on Marcus’ part. We needed that first down.
“When you need a play like that, that’s the effort you have to get.”
Belle Vernon (2-2) made one first down on its next possession before turning it over on downs with 2:43 remaining and no timeouts left. The ’Canes’ defense forced a fourth-and-32 play from the Leopards’ own 31 after an intentional grounding penalty. Matt Naylor overthrew his receiver and New Castle took over.
“We went backwards and that’s unacceptable,” Belle Vernon coach Aaron Krepps said. “Issues like that we have to address.”
Holmes put the game out reach when he plowed in from 12 yards out with 1:07 left for a 32-20 advantage.
“Conditioning played a factor,” Krepps said. “Our guys were worn out and that’s on me.
“I have to do a better job of getting them ready in that regard. We were drained at the end of the game and they were juiced.”
New Castle returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday when it travels to Montour (2-0 conference, 4-0 overall) for a Parkway Conference clash. The ’Canes are 1-1 in the conference.
“We knew Montour was going to have a great football team and they do,” Bongivengo said. “We have to line it up and play a good game.
“We’re going to go down there and fully expect to win the game. We believe we’re as good as anybody.”
BELLE VERNON NEW CASTLE
13 First downs 19
132 Yards Rushing 194
7 Yards Lost 3
125 Net Rushing 191
15 Passes Attempted 22
5 Passes Completed 13
1 Passes Intercepted 1
121 Yards Passing 136
246 Total Yards 327
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
4-36.8 Punts-Average 2-33.5
9-88 Penalties-Yards 6-35
BELLE VERNON 7 7 0 6 — 20
NEW CASTLE 0 7 6 19 — 32
Scoring plays
BELLE VERNON — Jake Buritt, 72-yard pass from Matt Naylor (Zach Weight kick).
BELLE VERNON — Naylor, 1-yard run (Weight kick).
NEW CASTLE — Darrian Rice, 13-yard run (Brandon Beck kick).
NEW CASTLE — Jalen Holmes, 6-yard run (kick failed).
BELLE VERNON — Nick Sewchek, 3-yard run (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Holmes, 17-yard run (pass failed).
NEW CASTLE — Holmes, 1-yard run (pass failed).
NEW CASTLE — Holmes, 12-yard run (Beck kick).
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