Shenango runs past South Side
Shenango (30) vs. South Side Beaver (12)
Written: Sep 20, 2010
By DAN IRWIN
New Castle News
For Scott McBride and Joe Seaburn, it was a simple matter of stop and go.
The Shenango High twosome each made a key defensive play, then scored on offensive breakaways immediately afterward, to lift the Wildcats to a 30-12 homecoming win over South Side Beaver in their Big Seven Conference opener.
Shenango (1-0 conference, 2-1 overall) rolled up 381 yards total offense, all on the ground. McBride contributed 190 on 15 carries, while Seaburn added 135 on nine.
The Wildcats started the night by marching 82 yards in 17 plays, only to turn the ball over on downs at the South Side Beaver 13. The Rams (0-1, 0-3) responded with a long drive of their own, but when they faced a fourth-and-1 at the Shenango 19, McBride dropped running back Luke Shaffer for a three-yard loss.
And on the next play, he bolted 78 yards for a touchdown.
“You stop someone in the backfield or stop them on fourth down, it gets your momentum going,” McBride said. “And you just want to run to the end zone as quick as you can.”
Similarly, Seaburn ensured that South Side Beaver went three-and-out on its next possession when he tackled Shaffer for a 5-yard loss on a third-and-four near midfield. That forced what turned out to be a 13-yard Rams punt and, on first down, Seaburn raced 59 yards to paydirt.
South Side Beaver closed to within 14-6 on a 2-yard run by quarterback Josh Martz just before halftime, but Seaburn reclaimed the Wildcats’ breathing room on a 42-yard scoring romp in the third quarter.
“Our offensive line is amazing, they’re outstanding,” Seaburn said. “They make every single block.”
Still, it was defensive gems such as McBride’s and Seaburn’s drive-ending tackles and interceptions in the final two minutes by Alex Klein and Tynen Greer that stood in stark contrast to Shenango’s loss one week earlier. In that game, Chartiers-Houston put together a fourth-quarter march that resulted in a walk-off field goal and a 21-20 setback for the ’Cats.
“Last week, on that last drive of the game, we all felt sick after that,” Seaburn said. “We were so disappointed. This week, we knew we had to come out and get a section win and stop them on defense.”
Shenango’s “D” was burned just once in the second half. Shaffer lobbed a halfback pass to an uncovered Justin Gentile two plays into the fourth quarter to get the Rams within 22-12. But another fourth-down stop on the Rams’ next series gave Shenango the ball at its own 48 and set the stage for a game-clinching, five-play drive capped by Aaron Grymes’ 2-yard run.
“Quite frankly, the defense let us down last week,” Wildcats coach Ryan Mayo said. “So we needed a little bit of redemption, we needed to focus on some of the things we did wrong. I think our kids did that, they took those coaching points to heart.”
Still, so dominating was Shenango’s ground game that not only did the Wildcats not attempt a single pass, they also lined up in run formation on fourth-and-6 at their own 45, and fourth-and-3 at the South Side Beaver 42. A delay of game call forced a punt on the former occasion, but Seaburn’s second touchdown was the result of the latter.
“We’re just feeling like if we do our job, we’ll get it,” Mayo said. “That doesn’t change on third down or fourth down.
“They (the offensive line) are doing a great job. They’ve gotten big and strong in the off season and I think it’s been showing.”
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SOUTH SIDE SHENANGO
15 First downs 13
131 Yards Rushing 399
20 Yards Lost 18
111 Net Rushing 381
24 Passes Attempted 0
13 Passes Completed 0
2 Passes Intercepted 0
132 Yards Passing 0
243 Total Yards 381
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 4-3
3-21.3 Punts-Average 1-33
1-5 Penalties-Yards 4-29
Scoring plays
SHENANGO — Scott McBride 78-yard run (Kick failed).
SHENANGO — Joe Seaburn 59-yard run (Eric Moscipan pass from Aaron Grymes).
SOUTH SIDE — Josh Martz 2-yard run (Kick failed).
SHENANGO — Seaburn 42-yard run (McBride pass from Grymes).
SOUTH SIDE — Justin Gentile 25-yard pass from Luke Shaffer (Pass failed).
SHENANGO — Grymes 2-yard run (McBride run).
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