'They had us on our heels'
Union (27) vs. South Side Beaver (41)
Written: Sep 26, 2015
  By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Instead of focusing on playing football, Union turned its attention to playing catch-up.
Big plays burned the Scotties in a 41-27 setback to South Side Beaver in a WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference confrontation at Socs Roussos Stadium.
The Rams (2-1 conference, 3-1 overall) scored on their first possession of the game.
“They had us on our heels from the beginning of the game,” Union coach Stacy Robinson said. “We just couldn’t catch up. We were making some plays, but we weren’t disciplined in our assignments and what we were supposed to do and it proved costly for us.”
Union (2-1, 2-2) answered with a 56-yard touchdown drive of its own. Joe Gunn hit Jordan Best for a 23-yard pass to keep the drive alive. Best capped it with a four-yard TD dash for a 7-all tie with 3:58 to go.
However, South Side Beaver produced a touchdown on its second possession. Robbie Heberle found Matt Roach for a second TD pass, this time from 43 yards, to give the guests a 14-7 edge with 1:28 left in the second quarter.
The Rams came through with a key play early in the second quarter. Quae’Shawn Thompson returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown. That gave the guests a 21-7 edge.
“I thought the punt return was a big momentum turn for them,” Robinson said. “We just didn’t get it done. We can’t afford to let up special teams touchdowns. They hurt us. It’s hard enough to stay out there on the field and make them drive, let alone give up a quick score like that. It hurts you.”
The touchdown not only boosted South Side’s advantage, but it elevated the team’s spirits as well.
“That punt return gave us a lot of momentum and confidence,” South Side coach Glenn McDougal said. “The team played really hard and well after that.”
The Scotties answered with a touchdown of their own. They went 63 yards and got to the 1. After two failed rushing attempts, Gary Brewton crashed in from the 1 to trim the deficit to 21-14 with 7:29 left in the half.
However, South Side came right back with another touchdown. Thompson broke away for a 28-yard score and the guests carried a 28-14 edge into halftime.
Thompson gave the guests another spark when he intercepted a pass at the Union 44. On the next play, he raced 40 yards to set up another Rams score for a 35-14 lead.
The Rams stopped the Scotties again. Thompson made it hurt as he escaped for a 26-yard TD run.
Garrison Bell gave Union some hope as he returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the house to cut the deficit 41-20 at the end of the third.
The Scotties capped the scoring when Brewton hauled in a 30-yard TD pass from Gunn to trim the deficit to 41-27 with 5:03 left in the fourth.
“We’re going to battle, but we shouldn’t have been in a position to fight that hard,” Robinson said. “We put ourselves in a hole with miscues and assignments and just didn’t get it done when we were supposed to.”
Union visits Shenango for a key Big Seven clash on Friday.
“They are all big games. We’ll keep our heads up; there’s no need to be crying about this one,” Robinson said. “We’ll raise up our low places and try to keep going.”
Gunn finished with 199 yards passing in the loss.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
SOUTH SIDE UNION
17 First downs 15
229 Yards Rushing 115
2 Yards Lost 43
227 Net Rushing 72
12 Passes Attempted 18
5 Passes Completed 13
0 Passes Intercepted 1
109 Yards Passing 193
236 Total Yards 245
3-2 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
2-27.5 Punts-Average 2-31
9-75 Penalties-Yards 6-45
SOUTH SIDE 14 14 13 0 — 41
UNION 7 7 6 7 — 27
Scoring plays
SOUTH SIDE BEAVER — Matt Roach, 13-yard pass from Robbie Heberle (Brett Hubbard kick).
UNION — Jordan Best, 4-yard run (Garrison Bell kick).
SOUTH SIDE BEAVER — Roach, 43-yard pass from Heberle (Hubbard kick).
SOUTH SIDE BEAVER — Quae’Shawn Thompson, 45-yard punt return (Hubbard kick).
UNION — Gary Brewton, 1-yard run (Bell kick).
SOUTH SIDE — Thompson, 28-yard run (Hubbard kick).
SOUTH SIDE BEAVER — A.J. Crider, 1-yard run (Hubbard kick).
SOUTH SIDE BEAVER — Thompson, 26-yard run (kick failed).
UNION — Garrison Bell, 70-yard kickoff return (kick failed).
UNION — Brewton, 30-yard pass from Gunn (Bell kick).
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