Back in the saddle
Neshannock (48) vs. Riverside (14)
Written: Sep 13, 2014
By Andrew Koob
New Castle News
NORTH SEWICKLEY TOWNSHIP — If there were any doubters, Eli Owens silenced them last night.
In his first appearance since undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the senior tailback rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries as visiting Neshannock easily handled Riverside 48-14 in Big Seven Conference action.
“It’s very nice to see him come back and get on the field,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “Right off the bat, it didn’t look like he missed a beat. He got after it right away. Credit the offensive line because they blew open gaping holes for us all night. We took control of the line of scrimmage and never looked back.”
“It was actually really good,” Owens added. “I didn’t get too sore until the end of the game. I didn’t even play defense, but overall I thought it went well.”
Between Owens, fellow tailback Robert Lindsey and the backups that saw the field for most of the final quarter, the Lancers (3-0 conference, 3-0 overall) dashed through the Panthers defense to the tune of 353 rushing yards and 437 yards total.
A long 10 months since the injury, Owens showed no signs of wavering in his running style as he was able to run through and around Panthers defenders all night.
“If I would have hesitated and been scared to cut off of it, that’s more of a chance of me injuring it,” Owens said. “I just went all-out every time I touched the ball and it ended up working out.”
Owens opened the scoring with a three-yard sweep to the right on the Lancers’ first drive of the game.
Riverside (1-1, 2-1) responded with a 12-yard connection between quarterback Jason Dambach and halfback Marcel Cleckley. Owens’ second touchdown, on a drive where he rushed for all 53 yards, put Neshannock up for good.
Lindsey and quarterback Frank Antuono got into the action, as each contributed a rushing touchdown to give the Lancers a 21-point advantage heading into the second half.
Riverside had its opportunities to score with four plays that went for 20 or more yards, including a 39-yard touchdown pass to Logan Sheridan. But the Panthers continually struggled to turn those big plays into points due to six turnovers, four of which came in the second half.
“I know what kind of offense and what type of quarterback and skill guys that Riverside has,” Mozzocio said. “They’re a very fine football team, you’re not going to go through a whole game without them getting their share of plays. Overall, we contained them and I’m very pleased with the performance on both sides of the football.”
The Lancers’ defense also held the Riverside running game to a minimum. A week after Cleckley rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Western Beaver, the 5-foot-7 back was held to 28 yards on 10 carries. Dambach fininshed the game with 253 passing yards, 167 in the second half.
After three weeks, the Neshannock defense has allowed its opponents a combined 27 points.
“We’re very pleased. They continue to attack,” Mozzocio said of his defense. Whatever happens, whether its adversity or hits, they continue to get after it, get off the football. We try to get 11 men to the ball every play, but we just take it one play at a time.”
(Email: a_koob@ncnewsonline.com)
NESHANNOCK RIVERSIDE
17 First downs 7
383 Yards Rushing 45
30 Yards Lost 10
353 Net Rushing 35
14 Passes Attempted 25
6 Passes Completed 15
1 Passes Intercepted 3
104 Yards Passing 253
437 Total Yards 288
5-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-3
2-37.5 Punts-Average 6-37.3
9-90 Penalties-Yards 4-55
NESHANNOCK 14 14 12 8— 48
RIVERSIDE 7 0 7 0 — 14
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Eli Owens, 3-yard run (Seth Dueitt kick).
RIVERSIDE — Marcel Cleckley, 12-yard pass from Jason Dambach (Cortney Harden kick).
NESHANNOCK — Owens, 1-yard run (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Robert Lindsey, 4-yard run (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Frank Antuono, 7-yard run (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Owens, 1-yard run (kick failed).
NESHANNOCK — Lindsey, 17-yard run (kick failed).
RIVERSIDE — Logan Sheridan, 39-yard pass from Dambach (Harden kick).
NESHANNOCK — Antuono, 21-yard run (Jonah Vitale run).
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