Scotties register first win in playoffs since 1979
Union (21) vs. Beth-Center (7)
Written: Nov 05, 2012
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
COAL CENTER — It was all about the bloodlines for the Union High football team last night.
Specifically, when it came to seniors Drew Robinson and John Hilke.
Those two came up big as the Scotties snapped a 33-year postseason victory drought with a 21-7 win over Beth-Center in WPIAL Class A first-round game at California High School.
Robinson, the son of head coach Stacy Robinson, who was on Union’s last playoff winning squad in 1979, returned a fumble for a touchdown and added 156 rushing yards to help Union prevail.
“This one is something special. It feels special to be able to do what my dad did (win a playoff game at Union). It’s been a legacy. It feels so special to get this win with him as a coach,” he said. “The community is behind us like crazy. It’s a great time right now at Union.”
Meanwhile, Hilke, who goes by the nickname ‘Bloodline’ in reference to Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews III, helped lead the Scotties’ defensive charge in the second half. Union stopped the Bulldogs on three separate fourth-down attempts and Hilke had two critical sacks in the red zone to help keep Beth-Center out of the end zone in the second half.
“We just had to come out and ball in the second half. That’s our thing. All season, we’ve been playing well in the second half,” he said. “I give credit to my team for those sacks because, if Wayne Seamans and John Clark wouldn’t have had a rush on them, I wouldn’t have got those. It gave us a big boost. That’s what got us over the hump.”
Union (7-3) moves on to play Sto-Rox, a 40-7 winner over Carmichaels, on Friday at a site and time to be determined. The Vikings beat the Scotties, 48-21, on Oct. 5.
“It’s been (33) years since we won a playoff game. I am happy for the kids. We didn’t play our best football, but we were still able to come out with a win; that’s the most important thing,” Stacy Robinson said. “Sto-Rox is good, but we’ll take the challenge on. They are a quality football team, one of the best in the state in Class A, but we’ll be ready for the challenge.”
Union struggled early against Beth-Center (8-2) and the Bulldogs grabbed a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Scotties managed just 76 yards of total offense in the first half — including 46 on one Drew Robinson run — but their defense came up with a big play. The ball popped out of a Beth-Center runner’s hands and Robinson scooped it up and raced 24 yards to the end zone to knot the score at 7-all with 8:05 left in the second quarter.
“My dad always tells me, if there is a fumble, to pick it up and score because you never know when you’ll get that chance,” Drew said. “In the first half, we came out a little timid. We weren’t used to a big playoff game. In the second half, we got under control, made adjustments and played our game.”
Union went ahead, 14-7, when quarterback Joe Salmen rolled to his right and fired a long strike to Benjamin Young in stride. He cruised into the end zone for a 50-yard TD with 6:24 remaining in the third.
However, a long kickoff return and personal foul put the Bulldogs in prime position to knot the game. They drove to the Scotties’ 7 before Hilke sacked quarterback Gino Faieta on third and fourth downs to end the threat. Overall, Union’s defense limited Beth-Center to 157 total yards.
“They were gashing us early with some big runs,” Stacy Robinson said. “But, it’s a credit to my staff and everybody — we made adjustments to what they were doing and the kids did a good job. Linebackers ‘Bloodline’ Hilke and ‘Young Money’ (John) Clark did a great job tonight.”
Five plays (including long Robinson and Salmen runs) after that defensive stop, Union was in the end zone on Salmen’s 6-yard scamper for the 21-7 edge just six seconds into the fourth quarter.
“We’re a big-play team. We’ve been living by it and dying by it, so to speak. If we don’t get it, we’re in trouble,” Stacy Robinson said. “Give them credit because they took us out of our offense and had us on our heels. But, we have some players who came through — our splash guys — and they made big plays to put the ball in the end zone.”
(E-mail: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
UNION BETH-CENTER
10 First downs 11
256 Yards Rushing 133
13 Yards Lost 19
243 Net Rushing 114
6 Passes Attempted 15
3 Passes Completed 5
0 Passes Intercepted 0
62 Yards Passing 43
305 Total Yards 157
3-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
6-33 Punts-Average 6-39.2
7-62 Penalties-Yards 6-47
UNION 0 7 7 7 — 21
BETH-CENTER 7 0 0 0 — 7
Scoring plays
BETH-CENTER – Cody Durant, 1-yard run (John Berdar kick).
UNION – Drew Robinson, 24-yard fumble return (Joe Salmen kick).
UNION – Benjamin Young, 50-yard pass from Salmen (Salmen kick).
UNION – Salmen, 6-yard run (Salmen kick).
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