Game of the Week: Bongivengo returning to Shenango — as opponent
Written: Sep 20, 2012
 
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Emotions will run high Saturday night at Shenango High’s Glenn “Pop” Johnston Stadium.
The Wildcats welcome rival Neshannock in a WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference game at 7 p.m.
While the local matchup is enough to fire up both teams, Lancers assistant coach Frank Bongivengo Sr. — who racked up a 207-106-12 record as Shenango’s head coach from 1965-98 — will set foot on the field that bears his name for the first time as an opponent.
“I am sure it’ll be a little tough for him at first. There are people there who have treated him tremendously for many years. He has a great deal of respect for that community and that program,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “I know it’ll be a tough thing for him to go on the field. But, I can tell you this, I am glad he’s on our side.
“He’s one of my best friends. We don’t want to go there and lay an egg on his field. The kids are going to come out and fight for him. We want to come out and play Neshannock Lancer football for him.”
The Lancers, in their first year under Mozzocio, are off to an impressive 3-0 start overall and in conference action. Their explosive spread offense has produced 125 points through the first three games, including last week’s 35-34 upset win over Sto-Rox.
“They’ve been awesome. They have done really well,” Shenango coach Ryan Mayo said. “I think it’s a combination of a couple things: they had a good amount of players coming back and they have a lot of young guys playing well. The coaches have done a good job putting them in a position to win.”
Meanwhile, the ’Cats (1-2 conference and overall) are coming off their first win of the season — a 20-14 triumph at South Side Beaver. That was after a losses to conference powers Sto-Rox (38-20) and Rochester (35-0) to open the campaign.
“Shenango had a tough draw right out of the gate,” Mozzocio said. “They had two top-notch opponents right off the bat. We got to see them play against Sto-Rox and they were right with them. They are very physical up front on both the offensive and defensive lines. They come off the ball and get after you.”
Mayo explains going against those two powers provided quality lessons for his young squad.
“I didn’t mind starting that way because we are so young. We only have two seniors back on offense and one on defense. If we make early mistakes, we want to make them then and learn and try to get better each week. So far, so good. I think we’re continuing to do that. Our young guys are starting to figure it out. I think as season goes on they will become even bigger contributors.”
Tyler Welsh and Tyler Root helped fuel the ’Cats last week. Welsh, a junior, rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, while Root, a freshman, had 70 yards and a TD on nine carries.
“Those guys are quick and shifty backs and they cause some people some problems,” Mozzocio said. “We’re well aware of what Shenango can do and how they can move the football. We have to be ready to play, there’s no doubt.”
The Lancers continued their offensive barrage last week. They had 387 total yards and four different players (Kienan Owens, Eli Owens, Ernie Burkes and Alex Welker) reached the end zone.
“I think tackling is going to be a big factor. You can’t really load up on person or one aspect. They are so balanced,” Mayo said. “Our players are going to have to make tackles in space. At times, it’ll be one-on-one and they’ll have to make tackles. I think that’s one of the big things they’ve been exploiting so far.”
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