Weathering the storm
Neshannock (46) vs. Jeannette (32)
Written: Nov 08, 2014
By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
CHESWICK — The dream season remains alive for the Neshannock High football team.
Three Lancers reached the end zone twice, the defense delivered in the second half and Neshannock proved it can play with the best.
Neshannock took care of Jeannette in the fourth quarter, scoring the final 14 points to claim a 46-32 WPIAL Class A playoff matchup in a back-and-forth game at Deer Lakes High School.
“We knew coming down here we were going to be in for a dogfight,” said third-year Lancers coach Fred Mozzocio. “Jeannette’s storied program, there’s a lot of pride and tradition there. They’re a top football team. We knew exactly what it was going to come down to.”
The win propels third-seeded Neshannock (11-0) into the WPIAL semifinals for the third year in a row.
“It’s a great accomplishment for these young men,” Mozzocio said of the semifinal appearance. “They’ve put the time in and now they’re reaping the benefits.
“We’re very determined. They’ve been waiting to get to this point all season long, for this opportunity. We know the task at hand that lies ahead. We relish the opportunity and we’re looking forward to it. We’re elated to have that opportunity again. We’ll give it our best shot and let the chips fall where they may.”
Second-seeded Clairton (11-0) is up next for the Lancers at a time, date and site to be announced. The Bears knocked off Shenango in a quarterfinal contest last night, 68-7.
Eli Owens, Frank Antuono and Rocco Fazio reached paydirt twice each for Neshannock. Fazio’s 48-yard touchdown reception from Antuono with 11:49 to go in the game proved to be the winning margin.
Robert Lindsey sealed the verdict when he plowed in from 6 yards out with 3 minutes to play.
“It was a heavyweight battle. A heavyweight title fight,” Mozzocio said. “It was 15 rounds all the way down to the end. It was just a great game.
“Both teams played their hearts out tonight. Thank goodness we came out on top.”
Owens amassed 168 yards on 27 carries. He scored on runs of 7 and 10 yards. His 10-yard scoring tote put Neshannock up 32-25 with 1:53 remaining in the third quarter.
“Our line opened those holes up and they created big holes for us,” Owens said. “That’s how I got all of my yards. They work so hard every week.”
Added Mozzocio, “Owens played great. He was cutting on a dime. He’s back to 100 percent. Our line is giving him some seams and he’s running hard and doing what he’s supposed to do. I’m proud of him and our line. It was an entire team effort.”
The sixth-seeded Jayhawks (9-2) rolled up 281 yards of offense on the tough Neshannock defense in the first. But Jeannette managed just 124 yards of offense and three first downs in the second half.
Zack Altieri’s 73-yard touchdown run in the third quarter accounted for most of the Jayhawks’ second-half offense. His score knotted the count at 32 with 1:31 to go in the third.
Jeannette hurt the Lancers’ defense with long scoring runs of 73 by quarterback Julian Batts and 66 by Terell Canady in the opening half.
“We tried to keep our three defensive linemen in front of the quarterback instead of rushing him on a normal rush,” Mozzocio said of his team’s second-half strategy. “We just tried to mirror him and let our athletes come off the edges and contain him.
“It worked in the second half. Our conditioning worked to our advantage, too. We wore them out.”
Antuono scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter and a 2-yard run in the second stanza. He hooked up with Fazio on two scoring passes as well.
Antuono was 9-of-15 passing for 169 yards with two scores and no interceptions.
“There were no jitters at all from Frank,” Mozzocio said. “We talked all week, we’re a loose bunch. We come out here and lay it on the line.”
Said Owens, “Frank is amazing. He stepped up.”
Batts’ 73-yard scoring run put Jeannette up 7-0 in the first quarter. The Jayhawks were threatening to go up two scores on a Lancers group outscoring the opposition by 37.3 points a game coming in.
But Batts fumbled around the Neshannock 5 and Jimmy Medure scooped up the loose ball and returned it 34 yards.
“I don’t even think of that,” Mozzocio said of the swing in momentum. “I just think of the plays that our defense made.
“We take the mentality that the next play is the most important play. We don’t dwell on what happened in the past. We ended up making a big play and getting the ball back.”
“That was real key for us,” Owens said. “That was very important. Maybe if we didn’t stop them, it could have went a different way. That was a big play. It was a great momentum change.”
Neshannock’s offense started to get in gear after Medure’s fumble return. The Lancers marched 52 yards in five plays, capped off by Owens’ 7-yard scoring scamper.
The Lancers clicked throughout the contest offensively, amassing 18 first downs and 459 total yards.
“I did feel we could move the ball all the time,” Owens said. “The line was dominating. They went 110 percent and it worked out.”
Neshannock’s closest game prior to last night was a 41-14 road win over Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
“Hopefully we get some respect out of this,” Owens said of the battle with Jeannette. “We definitely deserve it. We work so hard to be able to win and compete with these teams we play.”
The Lancers will be looking for some redemption against Clairton. The Bears eliminated Neshannock in the WPIAL Class A semifinals in 2012, 37-7 at Chartiers-Houston.
“It’s definitely awesome,” Owens said of reaching the semifinals. “We can’t wait to go head-to-head with Clairton.”
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)
JEANNETTE NESHANNOCK
14 First downs 18
366 Yards Rushing 294
21 Yards Lost 4
345 Net Rushing 290
17 Passes Attempted 16
6 Passes Completed 9
0 Passes Intercepted 0
60 Yards Passing 169
405 Total Yards 459
4-3 Fumbles-Lost 3-3
3-44.3 Punts-Average 1-33
11-101 Penalties-Yards 9-70
JEANNETTE 7 15 10 0 — 32
NESHANNOCK 13 12 7 14 — 46
Scoring plays
JEANNETTE — Julian Batts, 73-yard run (Swade Redman kick).
NESHANNOCK — Eli Owens, 7-yard run (Seth Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Frank Antuono, 4-yard run (kick blocked).
JEANNETTE — Terell Canady, 66-yard run (Redman kick).
NESHANNOCK — Antuono, 2-yard run (kick blocked).
JEANNETTE — Kareem Hall, 1-yard run (Zack Altieri pass from Batts).
NESHANNOCK — Rocco Fazio, 7-yard pass from Antuono (run failed).
JEANNETTE — Redman, 23-yard field goal.
NESHANNOCK — Owens, 10-yard run (Dueitt kick).
JEANNETTE — Altieri, 73-yard run (Redman kick).
NESHANNOCK — Fazio, 48-yard pass from Antuono (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Robert Lindsey, 6-yard run (Dueitt kick).
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