Canes quipped
New Castle (28) vs. Aliquippa (44)
Written: Aug 31, 2016
  By Joe Sager
New Castle News
New Castle got the start it wanted Saturday night.
The Red Hurricane built a 21-6 lead over Aliquippa after the first quarter in the Kickoff Classic at Taggart Stadium. However, the team was unable to sustain that momentum and dropped a 44-28 decision.
New Castle (0-1), which received the opening kickoff, struck for a touchdown on the first offensive play of the game. Head coach Joe Cowart dug into his bag of tricks and ordered up a double-reverse pass. The team executed it perfectly as Marshane McElroy took the second handoff and lofted a perfect spiral to a streaking Garrett Farah over the middle. He caught the ball in stride and raced to the end zone.
The Quips (1-0) cut the deficit to 7-6 when Avante McKenzie broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run on their first possession.
The ‘Canes answered that on their next series. Marcus Hooker hauled in a Geno Stone pass over the middle, slipped through a throng of defenders and broke away for an 87-yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead.
Hooker came through with another long jaunt on Aliquippa’s next possession. The Quips drove deep into New Castle territory, but a fumble popped into Hooker’s hands at the 4 and he took off with it down the near sideline. He had just enough separation to get into the end zone before pursuing tacklers could catch up to him. That gave the hosts a 21-6 lead after the first quarter.
Undaunted, Aliquippa relied on its big, experienced offensive line to open holes for its ground attack. The Quips chipped away at the deficit and scored three times in the second quarter for a 24-21 halftime advantage.
Aliquippa’s defense kept New Castle’s offense in check after the first quarter and limited the hosts to 44 yards on the ground and 275 overall — or just 123 when you subtract the two big pass plays.
“We got off to a good start and we think we can be a fast-starting team. Obviously, that wasn’t enough, offensively, as far as sustaining drives and keeping our defense off the field. That just never showed up throughout the game,” Cowart said. “We’re encouraged by the fact that we were able to move the ball in chunk style throughout the game. But, we have to find a more consistent effort on the offensive side.
“We watched their scrimmage and we’ve seen them in years past. That is an excellent and incredibly well-coached football team with a bunch of good football players. So, we knew we had our hands full with the defensive unit they were going to put across from us. With that said, you have to meet the challenge. I think, in moments in the game, we didn’t do that.”
The ‘Canes came within 38-28 late in the fourth quarter on Hooker’s short TD run. However, they failed to capitalize on a late scoring chance and the Quips posted the 44-28 win.
“We just need a four-quarter effort and we didn’t get it; sometimes you run into that in the beginning of the year,” Cowart said. “We have to do a good job as a coaching staff to continue to get our guys into shape and get our guys in the right place and put them in position to make those splash plays.”
New Castle returns to action Friday with another formidable assignment. The ‘Canes trek to Montour to open WPIAL Class 4A Northwest Nine Conference action.
“We have a ways to go to get better and that’s our focus,” Cowart said. “We have a monumental task at hand, not with another good team, but a really, really good football team in Montour. Those guys will be equally as big and physical. We have to meet that challenge in a conference game.”
ALIQUIPPA NEW CASTLE
19 First downs 9
423 Yards Rushing 75
10 Yards Lost 31
413 Net Rushing 44
6 Passes Attempted 27
3 Passes Completed 8
0 Passes Intercepted 2
27 Yards Passing 231
440 Total Yards 275
6-2 Fumbles-Lost 3-0
2-29 Punts-Average 4-23.5
5-34 Penalties-Yards 6-65
ALIQUIPPA 6 18 14 6 — 44
NEW CASTLE 21 0 7 0 — 28
Scoring plays
NEW CASTLE — Garrett Farah, 65-yard pass from Marshane McElroy (Brayden Cartwright kick) 11:48.
ALIQUIPPA — Avante McKenzie, 71-yard run (run failed) 11:27.
NEW CASTLE — Marcus Hooker, 87-yard pass from Geno Stone (Cartwright kick) 9:53.
NEW CASTLE — Hooker, 96-yard fumble return (Cartwright kick) 4:41.
ALIQUIPPA — Kwantell Raines, 8-yard run (pass failed) 11:04.
ALIQUIPPA — McKenzie, 1-yard run (pass failed) 7:32.
ALIQUIPPA — Bobby Cashaw, 4-yard run (pass failed) 3:03.
ALIQUIPPA — McKenzie, 31-yard run (Davion Jones run) 9:10.
ALIQUIPPA — Raines, 1-yard run (kick failed) 4:18.
NEW CASTLE — Marcus Hooker, 4-yard run (Cartwright kick) 2:40.
ALIQUIPPA — Tyriq Jones, 5-yard run (kick failed) 11:54.
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