Neshannock, Serra ready to grind it out on ground
Written: Sep 08, 2011
  By JOE SAGER
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
Don’t be late to the Neshannock High football stadium at 7 p.m. Friday.
You might miss a lot — possibly a half or maybe even the entire game.
That’s because the Lancers and Serra Catholic both like to run the ball. And, with not many pigskins flying through the air, it could be a quick evening contest.
“It probably won’t be a long one since we’re two triple-option teams,” Serra Catholic coach Jamie Eckels said with a laugh. “This could be over early.”
The Lancers (1-0) would be fine with that, especially if they come out with the victory. They were impressive in a 29-6 road win at West Shamokin last week, which pushed the Wolves’ losing streak to 35 games. That tied Springdale for the third-longest skid in WPIAL history.
“We had to overcome a lot. We had some injuries and the trip was two hours on the bus,” Neshannock coach Pat Cuba said. “I was worried how they’d be from sitting on a bus in 95-degree weather for that long. They got off the bus and were ready to play. I was impressed with their attitude. When they got on the field, they did a good job.”
Neshannock’s defense picked up from last season. It established the tone as an interception helped set up the Lancers’ first touchdown.
“We basically have eight new kids on defense, too, which I didn’t realize,” Cuba said. “A lot of them played last year. But, we had eight new kids on the field last week as opposed to last year. We had to move some people around because of injuries and they did a nice job.”
With quarterback Michael Sanfilippo sidelined with an ankle injury, Ernie Burkes took over and ran for 141 yards on 11 carries. He completed 6 of 13 passes for 68 yards, too. Sanfilippo is expected to return tomorrow, but both quarterbacks will see time.
“They’ll split time. We work them both evenly,” Cuba said. “Ernie can play tailback and flanker; he does a lot of different things. Wherever we put him, he picks it up pretty well. He showed he deserves playing time. He had a great game. He did a great job being a leader and making plays for us.”
John Conglose, Alex Welker and Kienan Owens also had success running the ball.
“Offensively, I thought we did a good job. I was very satisfied with both sides of the ball,” Cuba said. “The distribution of carries was good. I think everyone had around 10-12 carries.”
The Eagles (0-1) weren’t as fortunate last week in a 41-7 setback to perennial power Rochester. The Rams, under the direction of Shenango High product Gene Matsook, forced four turnovers and did not allow Serra to complete a pass.
“They are a good football team and a great program. They are good every year,” Eckels said. “Gene does a great job down there. You find out what you have right away when you play a team like that. It’ll be interesting this week, too. Neshannock was impressive. They will be tough to defend.”
Cuba stressed patience this week in dealing with the Serra Catholic triple-option attack.
“Patience and discipline — you need both when faced with that,” he said. “They run it pretty well. Basically, every kid has a responsibility and they need to take care of that. What happens, happens. You can’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong or we’re in trouble. If you make one mistake, they can bust a big play.”
The Eagles had some success running the ball against the Rams. They will likely keep it on the ground as their quarterback, Trevor Jaworski, is a converted receiver. He rushed for 33 yards on 10 carries last week.
“It’s going to be a tough game. If everyone takes care of their job and responsibility, we should be in good shape,” Cuba said. “They are a good group of guys to work with, I have to say. We’ve done a lot of teaching this week. They made their mistakes, but they adjusted and corrected them.”
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