Owens cleared to play for Neshannock
Written: Sep 05, 2014
 By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
The Neshannock High football team got some good news yesterday.
Eli Owens, the leading rusher in Lawrence County last year, was cleared to return to competition for the Lancers after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the WPIAL Class A playoffs last year.
“He’s a full go,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “There’s a good possibility he will play this week, too.”
The Lancers return to action at 7 p.m. tomorrow when they host county rival Shenango in a Big Seven Conference matchup. Both teams are 1-0 in conference and overall after season-opening victories last week.
Owens, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior running back/defensive back, was knocked out of the WPIAL Class A semifinal playoff game against Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic in the first quarter when he suffered a helmet-to-knee hit.
Owens has been limited in the preseason while awaiting clearance to play.
“It’s been a lot of chalk work for him,” Mozzocio said. “We’re making sure the mental side is there, but he’s right there taking mental reps as well in practice.
“We’re working on agility drills, sprints; we’ve been working hard on everything. It’s been a pretty gruesome recovery. He’s excited. We’re all excited.”
Owens has rolled up 2,689 career rushing yards. He can become just the third Lawrence County running back to reach 4,000 career yards. Wilmington’s Blair Sweet and Chris Burns are believed to be the only other county players to reach that career standard. Sweet, a 1989 graduate, paces the county annals with 4,451 yards. Burns, a 2008 product, dashed for 4,043 yards.
“Eli adds just another dynamic to the offense,” Mozzocio said. “It will allow us to do a few other looks that we haven’t been able to do yet.
“This will allow us to open up with his experience. He’s pretty much ready and prepared to step in.”
Robert Lindsey filled in last week for Owens and amassed 92 yards rushing on 10 carries, while catching one pass for 32 yards. He scored five touchdowns in a 52-13 road win over South Side Beaver.
“I thought Robert played very well. He ran hard and he took care of the ball,” Mozzocio said. “He got us the tough yards when we got down on the goal line.
“I was pleased with what he did; he took over the load for us.”
Mozzocio said Lindsey will still have a role in the team’s offense.
“We’ll do a lot of two-back sets with different packages,” he said. “Eli is a slasher with a lot of power. Robert is more of a John Riggins-like (power) back.”
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