Neshannock High’s Frank Antuono believes his team is on the verge of doing something great on the gridiron this season.

The Lancers got off to a strong start Saturday with a 42-14 win over Farrell.

The senior quarterback did his part to get the squad a victory. He rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 162 more and an additional score.

The performance earned him Lawrence County Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.

“I am very happy with how we played on Saturday. Our coaches gave us a plan early in the week and we worked hard and we all executed well,” Antuono said. “We just want to carry it on to the next game and the games after that.”

Anutuno, who added a 2-point conversion run, had a hand in every Lancers scoring play. But, he wasn’t alone. Sean Doran rushed for 79 yards, a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. Danny Welker hauled in three passes for 114 yards and a score.

“I can’t do anything I do without my teammates,” Antuono said. “Sean Doran, for his first game playing running back, he was an animal. He ran the ball so hard. Having Danny Welker out there to stretch the field is great, but those aren’t the only guys. All the linemen played great, too.”

Antuono is one of the WPIAL’s top dual-threat quarterbacks. He led the county with 940 yards rushing and 1,815 yards passing last season. It’s possible he could surpass 1,000 rushing yards and 2,000 passing yards this fall. However, his future is at linebacker as he committed to play the position at Robert Morris University.

“Wherever the team needs me, I will play. The part of football I like the best is having fun with my teammates and winning games with them. I’ll do whatever it takes for my team to win the game,” he said. “It’s really nice having my college decision done. Robert Morris was there talking to me since the beginning. I really knew that was the place for me. It’s nice to just focus on my senior year and have fun.”

Winning is a blast for Antuono and he hopes his Lancers can make a run for the WPIAL 2A championship after some deep postseason marches the past few years.

“We started a lot of young guys last year. We all got a little bit more physically and mentally mature,” he said. “Everyone on our team is very locked in. We think we can do special things this year. We’re hungry.”

Neshannock head coach Fred Mozzocio remains impressed with what he’s seen from Antuono.

“Frank sort of picked up where he left off last year. He came right out of the gate with another solid performance. He led our football team on both sides of the ball Saturday,” he said. “The thing about Frankie is he has been around the game his whole life. His dad has been a high school coach his whole life. He just knows how to go about the week and how the team is supposed to conduct itself. He leads by example and the kids follow. They know he brings his lunchbox every day and goes right to work. He doesn’t have to say much. He leads by action.

“He is a leader off the football field, too. You won’t find a better young man in your community. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that can say a bad thing about him. He is just a tremendous person to have in our program. It’s a privilege to coach him.”