Game on: Neshannock read to move forward with Riverside clash looming Friday
Written: Sep 17, 2015
 By Andrew Koob
New Castle News
It's back to business for the Neshannock High football team.
Neshannock will try to steady itself after one of the more uncharacteristic games during Fred Mozzocio's era. The Lancers fumbled five times, losing the ball four, and being held scoreless in the first half of a 20-12 loss to Shenango in on a rain-soaked Saturday night.
“Any time you lose a game, when you’re putting in a lot of hard work and dedication, it stings," Mozzocio said. "It definitely stung, but we’re resilient. They came in ready to work (Monday) and we’re trying to earn our way back and we’ll go from there.
“It’s another conference game, another week. We had a good week of practice, we’re just moving forward. It’s business as usual.”
And business is picking up as the Lancers welcome Big Seven foe Riverside to Bob Bleggi field at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Neshannock defense will have its hands full with a powerful Riverside offensive attack.
Senior quarterback Jason Dambach leads the Rams offense that has scored 42 and 49 points in the first two contests against Bishop Canevin and Western Beaver, respectively.
Dambach has thrown for 469 yards and eight touchdowns in Riverside's two victories. And while Dambach's arm is cause for concern, Mozzocio is just as worried about the Riverside quarterback using his feet.
“He’s a very good quarterback. He picks his targets well and makes good decision in the pocket," Mozzocio said. "But his speed is really dangerous. If you think he’ll just sit back, he’ll scorch you. That’s what makes him dangerous.
"I don’t think you can stop a kid like that completely, but we'll try to slow him down and make him earn what they get.”
One of his favored targets, wide receiver and brother Austin Dambach, has 10 receptions for 171 yards and four touchdowns, three in the Western Beaver contest.
Neshannock counters with its own offensive fireworks, focused on quarterback Frank Antuono and running back Robert Lindsey.
Antuono is Lawrence County's second-leading rusher with 176 yards and six touchdowns. Lindsey isn't far behind with 154 yards, fourth-best in the county, and two scores.
Despite last week's loss, the Neshannock defense continues to disrupt its opponents' offensive game plan. Through two games, the Lancers are allowing just 217.5 yards. In turn, their offense is amassing almost 360 yards per contest.
With this contest, Neshannock finishes up a three-game stretch against Big Seven competition. South Side Beaver, Shenango and Riverside were the other playoff teams to represent the conference and all won their opening-round games.
“From the beginning, we hit the gambit of the Big Seven right off the bat," Mozzocio said. "This is the third week in a row where we’ve had a very strong opponent, teams that won playoff games last year. We have to be prepared to play football and that’s what I expect them to do on Friday.
“I can’t say they’ve ever let me down in that aspect.”
(Email: AKoob@ncnewsonline.com)
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