Pivotal
Neshannock (12) vs. Shenango (20)
Written: Sep 13, 2015
  By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Big plays are magnified when field conditions are poor.
The Shenango High football team came through with one big play to propel the squad and another to close out a 20-12 win Saturday night over Neshannock in a rainy Big Seven Conference battle at Glenn “Pop” Johnston Stadium.
“I can’t imagine anything better, coming out here in the second game and beating Neshannock,” Shenango’s Jason Wallace said. “I am just so happy.”
Fumbles and punts dominated the first half for both teams. The Wildcats’ Hunter Waskin came through with the first big play of the night as he returned the second half kickoff 67 yards to the house to get the hosts on the scoreboard, 7-0.
“That just set everything in motion,” Wallace said. “We came ready to play the whole time, but that just kick started everything.”
Waskin disappeared in the middle of the field in a mass of players, but emerged near the left sideline and broke it all the way for the score.
“It gave us something to cling to. The first half was a little sloppy and we didn’t have a whole lot of momentum,” Shenango coach Mike Commesso said. “That sparked us and gave us confidence and enthusiasm. I think it was the play of the game.”
Shenango (2-0 conference, 2-0 overall) caught a break at the end of the third quarter. After a tackle for a loss and an unsportsmanlike penalty backed up the Lancers deep in their own territory, Neshannock (1-1, 1-1) attempted to punt the ball away. However, a low snap on fourth down caused punter Robert Lindsey to bend down to catch the ball. In the process, his knee touched the ground, which whistled the play dead at the squad’s 25 with 30.8 seconds left in the frame.
The Wildcats turned that quality field position into points. Three plays later, Brett Hoover crashed in from the 1. The PAT kick was blocked, which left the hosts with a 13-0 lead with 11:05 left in the game.
“That was huge. Everything that happened was huge,” Wallace said. “This was a big game and I was just so happy that we could pull together as a team and pull it out.”
Neshannock got on the scoreboard when it answered with a drive. Frank Antuono hit Robert Lindsey with a 38-yard pass to put the Lancers deep in Shenango territory. Eventually, Antuono ran in from the 1. The two-point conversion pass failed, though, to leave the Lancers down, 13-6, with 9:39 to go.
On the ensuing Wildcats drive, the Lancers forced a punt. Once again, they promptly drove for another score. Antuono lofted a 34-yard TD pass to Danny Welker over the middle. Neshannock attempted to go for two again, but the run was stopped, which gave Shenango a 13-12 lead with 6:46 left.
“You knew they were going to find the end zone sooner or later,” Shenango coach Mike Commesso said. “I was just proud that our kids fought the way they did the entire game and the offense finally came to life when it needed to.”
The hosts answered with a scoring drive of their own. The key play came when Evan Kendall found Brandon Ryder for an 18-yard completion on fourth-and-six from the Neshannock 32 with nearly three minutes to play. The Wildcats translated that momentum into Wallace’s 1-yard run to gain a 20-12 edge with 1:43 to go.
The Lancers started their next drive at their own 48. However, it lasted exactly one play as the snap was fumbled and Shenango pounced on it with 1:32 left to seal the victory.
“It was a gritty win. There was nothing too pretty about it,” Commesso said. “We played great defense and the special teams sparked us. We struggled a little bit on offense, so this was a gritty win. It came from everywhere and it was a great team effort. It’s only the second week of the season, so we have to make sure we’re focused on all our goals and not just one game.”
The Lancers, the defending Big Seven champs, look to rebound next week at home against Riverside in another key test.
“We’re going to bounce back and respond,” Antuono said. “We’ll come together as a family and come back next week stronger than ever.”
The win was Shenango’s first over Neshannock since 2010. It snapped the Lancers’ 11-game regular season and 12-game conference winning streaks as well.
“It’s the second game of the season and we’ll bounce back,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “It was a hard-fought football game. We lost and we make no excuses. Congratulations to Shenango and hopefully we can earn the right to possibly play them in the playoffs at some point and get another shot at them. We’ll move forward and get ready for Riverside.
“The Big Seven is pretty evenly matched and people are knocking each other off every week. So, we’ll pick it up and get ourselves back in the race.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
NESHANNOCK SHENANGO
10 First downs 7
181 Yards Rushing 132
39 Yards Lost 18
142 Net Rushing 114
9 Passes Attempted 8
4 Passes Completed 6
0 Passes Intercepted 0
99 Yards Passing 45
241 Total Yards 159
5-4 Fumbles-Lost 5-4
5-33.4 Punts-Average 5-39.6
5-69 Penalties-Yards 3-44
NESHANNOCK 0 0 0 12 - 12
SHENANGO 0 0 7 13 - 20
Scoring plays
SHENANGO — Hunter Waskin, 67-yard kickoff return (Dylan Kleckner kick).
SHENANGO — Brett Hoover, 1-yard run (kick blocked).
NESHANNOCK — Frank Antuono, 1-yard run (pass failed).
NESHNANOCK — Danny Welker, 34-yard pass from Antuono (run failed).
SHENANGO — Jason Wallace, 1-yard run (Kleckner kick).
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