By JOE SIMON

New Castle News

It wasn’t easy for Shenango’s Scott McBride and Joe Seaburn to give up their Friday night.

At the same time, it wasn’t that hard either. Regardless, they’re sure glad they did.

Friday was the night of the Homecoming dance for the Wildcats, but it also marked the eve of a crucial game against South Side Beaver, the team that ended Shenango’s hopes for a playoff berth last year.

That left Shenango coach Ryan Mayo with the tough decision of implementing a curfew for the team. He spiced the idea up a little bit by holding a lockout at the school in which every player had to be at Shenango High by 11:30 p.m. for the sleepover — whether they went to the dance or not.

“We watched ‘Friday Night Lights’ and ate pizza and wings,” said Mayo, who added that all 42 players showed up. “That, to me, said that everyone got the message that, ‘We all need to sacrifice a little bit for the greater good of the team.’ So I took that as a positive sign going into Saturday.”

McBride and Seaburn saw some signs as well — one said stop and one said go. The two played pivotal roles on both sides of the ball and contributed on a pair of first-half plays that set the tone for a victory over South Side Beaver. Their performances earned them Co-Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.

Seaburn said he was skeptical of spending his post-homecoming time at the school, but it ended up working out.

“I wasn’t too crazy about the idea at first, but after we got there, it was pretty cool, like a team bonding kind of thing,” said Seaburn of staying in the gym Friday night. “It wasn’t bad at all in the end. It was definitely worthwhile.”

Saturday was even better.

McBride made the first big defensive stop as South Side Beaver moved inside Shenango’s 20-yard line and faced a fourth-and-1 play. McBride, an outside linebacker, blitzed off the corner and stopped running back Luke Shaffer for a 3-yard loss. One play later came the “go” part. McBride took a handoff on the next play and raced 78 yards for a touchdown. McBride, who’s playing a key role in the backfield after an injury to running back Anthony Kosciuszko, deflected much of the praise to the offensive line.

“They lifted hard all summer to get stronger,” McBride said of the line. “They’ve just been coming out and overpowering people.”

Seaburn’s impact was felt just a few minutes later. The Rams again were driving and faced a key third-and-4 play near midfield. Seaburn came off the right side and nailed Shaffer in the backfield for a 5-yard loss. After a South Side Beaver punt, Seaburn broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown. Seaburn, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior, said he didn’t realize the coincidence of making a key defensive play and following it up with a big run, but he remembers the plays quite clearly.

“I went up the middle, and it was all congested, so I cut it back and it was wide open,” he said of the TD run. “I juked one guy and beat the safety to the end zone.”

McBride and Seaburn are making the most of an opportunity that arose after their friend Kosciuszko tore ligaments in his hand during a preseason scrimmage. Both said it’s been nice to earn some recognition after being in the shadow of Kosciuszko and former running back Ricky Mathews, who graduated last year. They’re doing their best to create a similar tandem after the Wildcats tweaked their offense after the injury.

Mayo wanted to utilize both their skills, so the Wildcats switched to a formation known as a Double Wing, which allows McBride and Seaburn to line up in the backfield at the same time. It has worked wonders so far as the Wildcats have averaged 358.6 yards rushing per game. McBride finished with 190 yards on 15 carries on Saturday, while Seaburn racked up 135 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

“Both of them have been productive players in the past, however, the carries weren’t always there for them,” Mayo said. “With Ricky graduated and Anthony obviously hurt, things have changed. ... And the great thing about (the Double Wing) formation is it’s a balanced formation, so you don’t know which way the ball’s going or which one of those two is going to touch it. They’ve just done a great job with it. They’ve always been capable, it’s just that the opportunity wasn’t there. Now it’s there for them.”

With Kosciuszko eyeing a possible return within the next two weeks — Mayo said the hope is for him to play Oct. 2 against Rochester — it’s unknown if the opportunity will remain. Regardless of how much longer their time in the spotlight lasts, they’re just happy they were able to help the Wildcats secure a little redemption against South Side Beaver.

“Emotions were everywhere (Saturday night),” McBride said. “We talked all week about how this team single-handedly kept us out of the playoffs last year. We wanted this game.”

They got it.

*****

Scott McBride File

POSITION: Running back/linebacker.

TEAM: Shenango.

GRADE: 12.

PARENTS: Scott and Lorrie.

KNOWN FOR: McBride ran for 190 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and also made a tackle of a South Side Beaver player behind the line of scrimmage on a fourth-and-1 play. The senior, who made a 78-yard TD run right after the tackle, leads the area in rushing with 465 yards on 36 carries.

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison. “I just like the way he just doesn’t care about anything — he’s not scared of anyone and he’ll take anybody on, it doesn’t matter.”

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: Pittsburgh Steelers. “I’ve liked them since I was, like, 6. My family’s always liked them, so I’ve always liked them.”

FUTURE PLANS: McBride said he isn’t sure where he wants to attend college, but he hopes to play baseball collegiately.

*****

Joe Seaburn File

POSITION: Running back/linebacker.

TEAM: Shenango.

GRADE: 11.

PARENTS: Chris and Cindy

KNOWN FOR: Seaburn ran for 135 yards and had touchdown runs of 59 and 42 yards. He also made a key defensive stop for the Wildcats when South Side Beaver was trying to make a comeback early in the first half. Seaburn is fourth in the county with 329 yards rushing and also has four touchdowns on 35 carries.

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: Pittsburgh Steelers. “My family, growing up, was Steelers fans. It’s just in our blood.”

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. “He’s one of the toughest wide receivers. Coming into this season, I was a receiver. And he’s just one of the toughest players I’ve ever seen. He’ll take a shot and just get up smiling.”

FUTURE PLANS: Seaburn is still undecided on where he wants to go to college, but he does want to play football.