By Joe Sager

New Castle News

Laurel High’s football team has been successful running the ball this year.

The Spartans realize, though, they need to establish their passing game, too.

Josh Dando did both well for the team in its 38-19 win at Western Beaver on Saturday. The junior completed 10 of 17 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown and rushed 13 times for 116 yards and a 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.

Developing a passing game is like listening to an orchestra. When everything runs smoothly, it produces a beautiful harmony. But, miss some notes here and there and the whole routine is thrown off. If that happens in football, though, it can lead to more than just some odd sounds.

“As they say, when you throw the ball, three things can happen and two of them are bad. That’s been happening. But, when we put it all together, he’s been a real good quarterback. It takes other people, too,” Laurel coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “It’s getting better. Putting it all together hasn’t been easy. Josh has a strong arm. He knows the coverages. When he’s called on to do it, he can put the ball in there.

“He is a good leader. The kids really respect him. They listen to him. The players want to play hard for him. He’s a real good leader as far as in the huddle and on the field,” he continued. “They work on it every day. It’s just a matter of making sure they get it done whenever the pass is called. At times, it hasn’t happened, so we’ve had to resort to the run a lot more.”

The Spartans (3-2 conference, 4-2 overall) have attempted more passes in their last two games (34 times combined) than they had all season up to that point (24).

“We really have become more comfortable with it,” Dando said. “We knew we had to adjust. Against OLSH, we only threw two times, so we knew we had to work on the passing game more than we had been. I am looking forward to throwing more.”

If Laurel’s aerial attack isn’t clicking, the squad can just keep the ball on the ground. Dando leads the team with 418 yards on 82 carries, while Dalton Rosta is next with 356 yards on 70 totes and Matty Conway has 352 yards on 69 carries.

“I like to run, too,” Dando said. “My brothers actually tell me I lower my head too much. They tell me I should get to the sideline more.”

The Spartans continue to battle for a WPIAL Class A playoff spot.

“Every game is a must-win game for us now,” Dando said.

Laurel welcomes Big Seven Conference power Rochester on Friday.

“It was a real important win Saturday, but the kids are real serious already. I can see they’ve put that behind them and they know what’s ahead of them,” Holzhauser said. “That’s good.”

*****

THE JOSH DANDO FILE

POSITION: Quarterback/Defensive Back

TEAM: Laurel

GRADE: 11

KNOWN FOR: Dando rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown and passed for 153 more and another TD in a 38-19 win at Western Beaver.

PARENTS: Roberta and Louis Dando

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers. “He has great instincts for the game. He’s really fun to watch.”

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: Pittsburgh Steelers. “They’re the hometown team and I’ve always liked them.”

FUTURE PLANS: Dando hopes to help Laurel qualify for the WPIAL Class A playoffs. After next season, he hopes to continue his academic and athletic careers. “I’d like to go to college, I am not sure which one yet, and play football.”