It’s Neshannock vs. Monessen for Round 2

Neshannock. Monessen

The teams need no introduction. They took care of that last year.

At 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Chartiers-Houston High, the squads will renew acquaintances in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals.

Last year, the Lancers claimed a thrilling 24-21 win over the Greyhounds in the district quarterfinals on that very same field. Neshannock is gunning for a repeat and a second straight berth in the WPIAL semifinals.

“Last year’s game was to me one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of,” said second-year Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio. “It came down to the last play of the game.

“It could be the same exact type of game (tomorrow). I don’t think last year’s game will have anything to do with how this year’s will be played out on the field.”

THE COMEBACK

Trailing 21-17 with under two minutes to go, Lancers quarterback Ernie Burkes drove his team down the field. Burkes connected with John Conglose, who has since graduated, on a 19-yard pass on fourth-and-10 from the Greyhounds’ 20 with 16 seconds left.

The Lancers were out of timeouts and Burkes hurried his team to the line. He took the snap and was able to squeeze into the end zone for the winning score with nine seconds left. Burkes then sealed the victory by intercepting a Chavas Rawlins pass on a Hail Mary attempt.

“That will probably be fresh in my mind until the day I die,” Mozzocio said of the final 16 seconds. “It’s one of those things that you’ll never forget.

“The thing that made it most special, everyone contributed and touched the ball and did their little part on that drive.”

Monessen coach Andy Pacak isn’t as fond of the memories.

“I didn’t give it much thought,” Pacak said of the upcoming rematch. “We’ve been working so hard preparing for the game, we’re not thinking of a revenge factor or what happened in last year’s game. It’s hard enough to get ready for a game.”

GETTING HERE

Neshannock (8-2), seeded sixth, finished second in the Big Seven Conference behind champion and No. 1 seed Sto-Rox. Last week, the Lancers rolled to a 40-9 victory over Brentwood. It marked the first home playoff game at Bob Bleggi Stadium for Neshannock in the program’s history.

The Lancers are ranked No. 8 in the state poll by the Patriot-News of Harrisburg.

“They’re an impressive football team; I wish more of their players graduated last year,” Pacak said with a laugh. “They look the same as last year and we’re really happy to be playing them.”

The third-seeded Greyhounds (10-1) pulled away for a 37-14 win over West Shamokin in the first round of the playoffs. Monessen earned a forfeit win over Imani Christian and picked up another contest in its place for a 10-game regular-season schedule. The Greyhounds are ranked No. 4 in the WPIAL by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and No. 7 in the state poll.

“Monessen is very strong, as we expected,” Mozzocio said. “They have nice size up front and great speed on the outside with their receivers.”

The Greyhounds shared the Black Hills Conference crown with Fort Cherry and Clairton. In fact, Monessen beat Clairton, 42-24, stopping the Bears’ 66-game winning streak. It was the longest active winning streak in American high school football. The streak also ended tied for the 10th-longest in high school football history.

“It just broke our way a little bit this year,” Pacak said of the matchup with Clairton. “They’re a really good football team, it wouldn’t surprise me if they end up at Heinz Field.”

The Bears (9-1) are still alive and competing on the other side of the bracket. They will square off against Fort Cherry tomorrow.

LEADING THE GREYHOUNDS

Noah Rullo, a 5-foot-8, 158-pound junior quarterback, paces Monessen’s attack. Rullo is 63 of 111 for 1,276 yards with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.

“Rullo throws it well and he’s a nice field general,” Mozzocio said. “I noticed more on the passing side for him, but he does a nice job of conducting the offense.”

Rullo is in his first season as the Greyhounds’ full-time quarterback. Last year, he was the backup to Chavas Rawlins, who was a West Virginia University recruit, but he eventually backed out of his WVU commitment and is playing wide receiver at Duquesne.

“Anytime you have a quarterback that was almost a 1,000-yard passer and rusher, and a three-year starter, you will miss that leadership,” said Pacak, who is in his 10th season at the helm. “Rullo has done a great job stepping in for us.”

Clintell Gillaspie, a 6-0, 224-pound senior running back, leads the Greyhounds’ two-back look. Gillaspie has 1,169 yards rushing on 108 attempts with 30 touchdowns. He leads the team in receiving as well with 22 receptions for 514 yards.

Javon Brown, a 5-8, 158-pound senior running back, is next at 746 yards rushing on 88 carries with 12 scores.

“Gillaspie is a big, strong back; he has some good speed as well,” Mozzocio said. “The nicest thing about him as a player is he has nice hands and he catches it out of the backfield.

“Brown is more of a slasher. He’ll hit it inside the tackles. But once he’s in the secondary, he’s more of a waterbug, quick and shifty. We will have to gang tackle both of them. They complement each other real well.”

Monessen’s line makes it tough on the opposition.

“They have a nice-sized line,” Mozzocio said. “They get off the ball very well and they stay attached to the blocks. Justice Rawlins (tight end/linebacker) is a force on both sides of the ball, too.”

The Greyhounds’ defense is allowing just 13.7 points a contest.

“Their base defense is an even front, a 4-3,” Mozzocio said. “Like last year, everything starts up front and they build off that.”

THE LANCERS’ TALENT

Ernie Burkes helps move the ball down the field for Neshannock through the air and on the ground. Burkes, a 5-10, 165-pound senior quarterback/defensive back, ranks second in the county in passing behind New Castle’s Julian Cox. He’s 84 of 153 through the air for 941 yards with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Burkes is third in the county in rushing with 931 yards on 93 attempts with a county-best 16 touchdowns.

“I really appreciate him as a student of the game,” Pacak said of Burkes. “He takes advantage of what’s given to him. He sells the run and he’s a multi-tool guy. He beats you a bunch of ways.”

The Lancers’ Eli Owens, a 5-11, 170-pound junior running back/defensive back, is second in the county in rushing behind Ellwood City Lincoln’s Jared Meyers. Owens has 1,281 yards rushing on 139 carries with 12 scores.

“It’s not like Owens is a big bruising hulk of a back,” Pacak said. “He runs north-south and squares his shoulders. He gets a seam and he’s incredibly fast. I like how he runs.”

Pacak is impressed with the Lancers’ spread offense, which averages 41.4 points a game.

“You see different variations of it every week,” Pacak said. “But we haven’t seen anyone that runs it that well. They run it very well.”

Neshannock is surrendering just 14.3 points a game.

“They’re consistent up front,” Pacak said. “I’d bet they’re playing a 3-5 or a 52. It’s an odd front either way, with a nose, two tackles and from there, you have to shift around depending on the formations.

“(Linebacker) Gianni Oliva and (defensive end) Jimmy Medure are both good ballplayers. They’re very aggressive and they come up the field.”

Mozzocio noted the keys to victory for his team remain the same.

“What we always want to do defensively is stop the run,” he said. “We need to hold those backs in check. If we can do that, we feel we can get after the quarterback a little bit.

“Offensively, we want to protect the quarterback and eliminate any type of mistakes or unforced penalties. We have to do what we do, stay disciplined and spread it around.”

While the venue is the same, Mozzocio said he isn’t quite a fan of the long trek to Chartiers-Houston again.

“We feel a little disrespected,” he said. “Last year, the excuse was you guys are the new kids on the block. You have to pay your dues.

“This year, we get sent there again. There are a lot of other venues in the middle for both schools. But the WPIAL sent us there instead. We feel disrespected by it. But, they could send us halfway across the country. When we get there, we’ll be ready for the game. We just feel it’s a slap in the face to all of Lawrence County. We had a great year. Hopefully we’ll pull through for everybody.”

The winner moves on to meet the survivor of the Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic-Avonworth contest Nov. 15 in the semifinals at a time and site to be determined. The Lancers lost to North Catholic in Week 8 on the road, 21-14.