Lancers fall to Western Beaver
Neshannock (6) vs. Western Beaver (28)
Written: Oct 02, 2010
By JOE SIMON
j_simon@ncnewsonline.com
Not once this year has Neshannock coach Pat Cuba left the football field upset.
Sure, his team lost a few games this season, but as long as the Lancers executed and didn’t quit, Cuba could deal with the defeat.
He was not a happy man last night.
Neshannock lost a key Big Seven Conference clash with Western Beaver, 28-6.
Cuba said he wasn’t necessarily bothered by the loss — he was disappointed in the effort of his team, especially the defense.
“I told them they need to look in the mirror and re-evaluate what we need to do,” said Cuba of what he told his team after the game. “Tonight’s really the first time I’ve been upset. I haven’t been upset at all — I’ve been very proud of how they’ve played up to this point.”
The root of Cuba’s frustrations centered around tackling, or, better put, a lack thereof. The Lancers (0-3 conference, 2-3 overall) allowed Western Beaver to rush for 264 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Eric Blinn led the Golden Beavers (2-1, 3-2) with 152 yards rushing and a touchdown. He also set up Western Beaver’s first score, which came in the first two minutes of the game, by taking the opening kickoff 65 yards to the Neshannock 25. His shifty moves and elusiveness gave the Lancers trouble all night.
Cuba gave Blinn and the Golden Beavers credit, but he couldn’t look past the poor tackling his team displayed.
“You can’t miss tackles,” he said. “It was a good running game. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good. They’re a good, physical football team, but we’re missing tackles left and right.
“You can’t miss tackles. That’s just a fundamental thing, and it’s something you gotta want to do,” Cuba added. “It’s my fault. I’m not teaching them to tackle well enough, evidently.”
Western Beaver’s R.J. Rock started the scoring after Blinn’s long return. He powered his way in from seven yards out. Blinn, who played quarterback and running back, then flashed his speed by faking a handoff, going around the right end and racing down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown with 1:09 left in the first quarter.
Neshannock struggled all night to establish a running game, finishing with 53 yards on 28 carries. Part of the reason may have been because the Lancers were without four key starters: lineman Greg Brzoza, running backs/linebackers and brothers tandem Asa Davies and Matt Davies along with running back Leo Pasquarello. The lack of a running game forced the usually run-oriented Lancers to throw more. The Golden Beavers countered by bringing blitzes from all over, which resulted in five sacks.
Cuba refused to blame the injuries, but he admitted the loss of Brzoza, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound Division I prospect, may have taken away from the some of the communication up front.
“I know we have injuries, but you can’t use that as an excuse,” Cuba said. “Some of these guys still stepped up and tried to play.”
The Lancers kept the game close with two goal-line stands when it could have gotten out of hand in the first half. The Golden Beavers, who led 12-0 at the half, didn’t put the game out of reach until late in the third quarter. Zach Perry capped an 11-play, 90-yard drive by bullying his way in from a yard out. After a three-and-out by Neshannock, Dustin Creel sent most of the homecoming crowd packing with a 20-yard TD run that put Western Beaver up 28-0.
Seven different players carried the ball for Western Beaver, which used a lot of misdirection to confuse the Lancers’ defense.
“It’s like the Wildcat,” said Western Beaver coach Matt Gray, referring to an offensive set used in professional football when a running back lines up under center. “We do a lot of faking and keeping and running, and they don’t know whether we’re going inside or outside. It’s worked well for us.”
Neshannock’s score came late in the fourth quarter on a great catch by Nick Graziani. Freshman quarterback David Burkes, who split time with regular starter Michael Sanfilippo, lobbed a deep pass and Graziani jumped up over two defenders, tipped the ball to himself and walked into the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown.
Neshannock returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday at conference rival Union.
W.BEAVER NESHANNOCK
12 First downs 8
267 Yards Rushing 91
3 Yards Lost 34
264 Net Rushing 57
10 Passes Attempted 13
6 Passes Completed 5
1 Passes Intercepted 2
80 Yards Passing 75
344 Total Yards 132
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
3-21 Punts-Average 6-33.1
8-55 Penalties-Yards 4-15
W.BEAVER 12 0 16 0 — 28
NESHANNOCK 0 0 0 6 — 6
Scoring plays
WESTERN BEAVER — R.J. Rock, 7-yard run (run failed).
WESTERN BEAVER — Eric Blinn, 75-yard run (run failed).
WESTERN BEAVER — Zach Perry, 1-yard run (Blinn run).
WESTERN BEAVER — Dustin Creel, 20-yard run (Creel, pass from Joe Dawida).
NESHANNOCK — Nick Graziani, 29-yard pass from David Burkes (pass failed).
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