Monaca blanks Shenango
Shenango (0) vs. Monaca (43)
Written: Sep 20, 2008
By JOE SAGER
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
MONACA — Monaca High searched for a quarterback last night.
The Indians may have found two.
Monaca overcame a season-ending injury to signal-caller Brandon Gaydosh to post a 43-0 home win over Shenango in a WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference game.
Gaydosh, a two-year starter, suffered a broken leg last week against Western Beaver. As a result, the Indians’ offense fizzled in that contest as Monaca dropped an 18-0 decision to begin conference play.
Heading into last night’s game against the Wildcats, Indians head coach Sam Cercone felt more comfortable knowing Gaydosh’s replacements — senior Tony Reda and freshman Matt Bradford — had a week to settle into their new roles.
“We have a couple of good guys who we thought would come in and do the job, but you never know when you lose your starting quarterback, especially one that started for two years,” he said. “It’s a severe blow to us, but the kids responded well.”
Monaca (1-1 conference, 3-1 overall) didn’t need to air out the ball to beat Shenango (0-2, 2-2). The Indians used a steady rushing attack and sprinkled in a few effective passes to earn the win.
Reda rushed for 111 yards and passed for another 87 to help lead the hosts to the win.
“Our offensive line did a tremendous job coming off the ball. They redeemed themselves from last week. We wanted to see that and they came through,” Cercone said. “If we play like that, we’ll gain that confidence.”
The Wildcats were not out of the game until the second half. Actually, they had a chance to change the complexion of the contest, potentially, late in the second quarter. Trailing 13-0, Shenango marched 60 yards to the Monaca 7 and appeared poised to score before halftime.
However, Reda stepped in front of a Joe Colavecchia pass in the end zone to end the threat with 1:07 left on the clock.
The ’Cats never recovered.
“That hurt, but a football game is four quarters and there were a lot of plays where the momentum swings back and forth,” Shenango coach Ryan Mayo said. “They just played better than us; it’s as simple as that. When they win by that score, they just played better than us.”
The hosts began to put the game out of reach in the third quarter as they needed just three touches to post a 21-0 lead. The Indians tacked on 22 more points in the fourth to earn the win.
“I think, in general, we know we are young and inexperienced and we’re going to make mistakes. The last couple weeks, we’ve paid for those mistakes,” Mayo said. “But, when you’re starting six sophomores on defense, you have to be prepared to make some mistakes. It’s hard and the kids get down, but you have to persevere and keep trying to get better each week. Hopefully, we are able to do that.”
Shenango returns to action Sept. 20 against Western Beaver.
SHENANGO MONACA
10 First downs 16
130 Yards Rushing 288
51 Yards Lost 11
79 Net Rushing 277
15 Passes Attempted 5
9 Passes Completed 3
1 Passes Intercepted 0
85 Yards Passing 87
164 Total Yards 364
4-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-1
7-33 Punts-Average 1-35
6-33 Penalties-Yards 3-35
SHENANGO 0 0 0 0 — 0
MONACA 0 13 8 22 — 43
Scoring plays
MONACA — Zach Garber, 2-yard run (John Lord kick).
MONACA — Garber, 28-yard run (kick failed).
MONACA — Skyler Schultz, 3-yard run (Schultz pass from Matt Bradford).
MONACA — Schultz, 24-yard run (Lord kick).
MONACA — Andy Ronczka, 50-yard pass from Tony Reda (Lord kick).
MONACA — Joe Colangelo, 57-yard run (Brad Waskaski run).
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