On the defensive
Neshannock (20) vs. Riverside (13)
Written: Oct 08, 2016
  By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Normally, the Neshannock High football team has no need to rely on its defense late in games.
The Lancers have become used to carrying big leads into the fourth quarter thanks to a productive offense.
Friday night, though, Neshannock's defense answered the call for help and the Lancers held on for a key 20-13 WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Conference triumph over Riverside in a battle of unbeatens at Bob Bleggi Stadium.
Neshannock (4-0 conference, 6-1 overall) had a 20-6 lead heading into the fourth. However, the Panthers (4-1, 4-2) scored with 1:41 to play. They recovered the onside kick, but the Lancers' pass defense held strong and Riverside failed to convert on a long fourth-down pass in Neshannock territory to seal the outcome, which gave the Lancers sole possession of first place in the Midwestern.
"It was definitely a playoff-type atmosphere and it lived up to its billing. It was a slugfest," Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. "It was a great game and, hopefully, we can continue to learn and get better."
Neshannock's offense struggled to sustain much of a push in the first half. The Lancers' defense provided a spark then, too, when Danny Welker stepped in front of a Ben Hughes pass at the Riverside 30 and returned it to the 10 late in the second quarter.
"That was a huge play. Danny had two picks again tonight and multiple catches. He's been playing great for us. I thought our kids played with hard and with great effort. Therefore, we got the win. But, we have to be a smarter football team and more disciplined at this point in the year," Mozzocio said. "Give credit to Riverside. They did a great job controlling the clock and keeping the ball away from us and keeping us from getting into a rhythm. When we did get into a rhythm, we hurt ourselves with penalties and missed assignments. We were very, very sloppy on offense."
After the pick, the Lancers got to the 1. On fourth down, Sean Doran crashed in for the touchdown with 46.5 seconds left in the first half. Frank Antuono found Welker for the conversion pass and an 8-0 lead.
"I knew we needed something like that (interception) to turn the game around and get us some momentum to score," Welker said. "It was nice we were able to get a touchdown off it."
Welker's long kickoff return to the Panthers' 40 gave Neshannock a spark to open the second half. They put together a touchdown march and Antuono capped it when he tucked the ball and scored on a 5-yard run. The conversion pass failed and Neshannock had a 14-0 lead with 8:46 left in the frame.
Riverside responded with a 73-yard scoring drive of its own. Hughes broke the shutout as he dove in from the 1 to trim the deficit to 14-7 with 1:45 on the clock.
It took the Lancers four plays to find the back of the end zone again. Antuono gunned a 17-yard scoring strike to Chris Scott with eight seconds remaining. The conversion pass failed, which left the hosts with a 20-7 advantage.
"It was important for us to come back," Welker said. "We got a little bit down after they scored, but we knew we had to come back and score and get the momentum back."
Neshannock struggled to chew time off the clock in the fourth quarter. Desperate, Riverside converted some long pass plays and got in the end zone when Hughes found Austin Dambach for a 20-yard scoring strike. The kick failed and the Panthers faced a 20-13 deficit with 1:41 to go.
Riverside's onside kick ricocheted off a Lancer and the Panthers dove on the ball at their own 47.
"We just knew we had to stop them at that point," Welker said.
With no timeouts, the guests drove to Neshannock's 39, but the Lancers defended four pass attempts successfully and held on for the win.
"We're happy right now," Welker said. "But we need to get back to work."
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
RIVERSIDE NESHANNOCK
15 First downs 10
94 Yards Rushing 132
13 Yards Lost 7
81 Net Rushing 125
34 Passes Attempted 17
20 Passes Completed 12
4 Passes Intercepted 0
174 Yards Passing 123
255 Total Yards 248
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
3-27.7 Punts-Average 3-28.7
4-30 Penalties-Yards 6-37
RIVERSIDE 0 0 7 6 — 13
NESHANNOCK 0 8 12 0 — 20
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Sean Doran, 1-yard run (Danny Welker pass from Frank Antuono).
NESHANNOCK — Antuono, 5-yard run (pass failed).
RIVERSIDE — Ben Hughes, 1-yard run (Adam Saunders kick).
NESHANNOCK — Chris Scott, 17-yard pass from Antuono (pass failed).
RIVERSIDE — Austin Dambach, 20-yard pass from Ben Hughes (kick failed).
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