Welsh does it all for Wildcats
Shenango (35) vs. Riverview (14)
Written: Oct 05, 2013
By Greg Huston
New Castle News
Shenango High football coach Mike Commesso calls senior running back Tyler Welsh his playmaker.
Making plays was pretty much all Welsh did, as he carved up the visiting Riverview defense en route to a 35-14 nonconference victory at Frank Bongivengo Field.
The Wildcats are 2-4 overall, while Riverview slipped to 1-5.
When Riverview punted to end the first possession of the night, it proved to be the first opportunity for Welsh to flash his moves. The punt landed at the Riverview 40-yard line near the home sideline, in the hands of senior Ryley Ferrari. Ferrari took two steps to his right and handed the ball off to Welsh as he made his way back toward the sideline. Although the Riverview punt coverage was not fooled on the play, Welsh took matters into his own hands, darting between defenders to the end zone for the first score of the night.
Welsh was just getting started.
After Riverview finally answered with a 9-yard touchdown reception by Raymar McCombs midway through the second quarter to cut the lead to 7-6, Welsh once again did his thing. After a nice 18-yard kickoff return by senior Anthony Prestopine, the Shenango offense got started at its own 47. The first play of the drive was also the last as Welsh zig-zagged his way through the Riverview defense on a 53-yard touchdown run as the Wildcats pushed the lead to 14-6.
“He (Welsh) is explosive. He's a guy that makes big plays for us,” Shenango coach Mike Commesso said.
After playing Neshannock, OLSH and Rochester tough over the past few weeks, but ultimately coming up short, Commesso was ready for his team to break through and get a much-needed win. However, with the score only 14-6 at halftime, more work was left to be done in the second half.
Fortunately for Commesso and the Wildcats, Welsh and his teammates were not finished with the offensive fireworks.
Shenango made a statement on its opening drive after receiving the second-half kickoff. With good field position following a poor Riverview kick, Welsh began the half with a 26-yard jaunt to the Riverview 31. Four plays later, Welsh finished the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run, his third of the game, pushing the score to 21-6.
Welsh finished the game with 123 yards on six carries, for an impressive 20.5 yards per carry.
While Welsh's heroics would prove to be enough for the win, a few of his teammates also got in on the act.
Sophomore running back Jason Wallace capped the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run, while Prestopine finished all scoring on a 46-yard touchdown weave through the defense with 1:02 left in the game. Prestopine ended the game 93 yards on 15 carries.
Shenango played the game without starting senior quarterback Brian Tanner, who broke his collarbone last week. With Tanner out, the Wildcats focused more on running the football and it showed in the final stats. Shenango racked up 314 yards on the ground, as sophomore Evan Kendall stepped in at quarterback and did a nice job in his debut. Kendall added 38 yards of his own on the ground.
“His (Kendall’s) strength is his legs, so we tried to use that a little bit. We built that package up for him, and overall, he did really well,” Commesso commented.
“It's good to win. We've been close a few times and it feels good to finally come away with a victory,” Commesso said.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
RIVERVIEW SHENANGO
10 First downs 8
194 Yards Rushing 329
37 Yards Lost 15
157 Net Rushing 314
15 Passes Attempted 8
8 Passes Completed 3
0 Passes Intercepted 0
93 Yards Passing 16
250 Total Yards 330
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
7-27 Punts-Average 4-35
8-70 Penalties-Yards 6-55
RIVERVIEW 0 6 0 8 — 14
SHENANGO 7 7 14 7 — 35
Scoring plays
SHENANGO — Tyler Welsh, 40-yard punt return (Curtis Schotsch kick).
RIVERVIEW — Raymar McCombs, 9-yard catch (2 point try failed).
SHENANGO — Welsh, 53-yard run (Schotsch kick).
SHENANGO — Welsh, 19-yard run (Schotsch kick).
SHENANGO — Tyler Wallace, 15-yard run (Schotsch kick).
RIVERVIEW — Keir Barber, 51-yard run (Tyler Nigro 2-point catch good).
SHENANGO — Anthony Prestopine, 46-yard run (Schotsch kick).
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