Run to glory
Neshannock (34) vs. Laurel (12)
Written: Sep 07, 2013
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Neshannock added some thunder to its lightning last night.
The Lancers proved their power running game could be just as effective as their quick spread attack in a 34-12 WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference win over Laurel at Bob Bleggi Stadium.
Eli Owens rushed for 247 yards and a pair of scores on 29 carries for Neshannock (2-0 conference, 2-0 overall). The Lancers racked up 508 yards on the ground against the Spartans (1-1, 1-1).
“Eli was a workhorse. He ran the ball extremely hard all night,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “Our offensive line gave him some good seams. Not only Eli, but that entire offensive line did a great job. I am proud of them all.”
Owens, a junior, gained a lot of yards around the ends, but had no trouble going up the middle behind his experienced offensive line as well.
“It’s not just me. It’s the linemen,” he said. “The linemen opened the holes up and I just did what I did and got as many yards as I could.”
While Owens and the Lancers were churning out yards on the ground, Neshannock’s defense limited Laurel. The Lancers allowed 127 yards rushing, but 71 of them came on Spencer Pullium’s touchdown run off a bad snap on a punt attempt. In addition, Neshannock forced six Spartans fumbles and recovered four of them.
“Our defense is the heart and soul of our team. We have a front seven that is back almost intact from last year. They’ve been playing great football. They swarmed to the ball and they are very cerebral; they listen to what their coaches tell them and they carry out their assignments. Other than giving up a few long passes, we were very pleased,” Mozzocio said. “Both teams played hard. When we had to, we stepped up. We’re happy to get the win and go onto the next one.”
Laurel found some success passing the ball in the second half, but saw two crucial drives end when the team fumbled away the ball.
“Turnovers killed us. We stopped ourselves, but, defensively, they got after us. They did a very good job stopping us. I probably waited too long to throw the ball, but I thought we could run on them. I learned a lesson, too,” said Laurel coach Pat Cuba, who served as Neshannock head coach from 2007-11. “They are very good. They’re good kids, too. They play hard and it showed. I am proud of our kids. They could have folded, but they didn’t.”
Pullium’s 71-yard scamper after a botched snap on a punt attempt gave the Spartans a 6-0 lead after the first quarter.
However, Owens helped get the Lancers going. His 49-yard run set up the team’s first touchdown. Ernie Burkes found Rocco Fazio for a 12-yard scoring strike. Later, Owens broke free for a 23-yard TD jaunt with 1:14 left in the second quarter to give the hosts a 14-6 edge at halftime.
“That gave us a lot of momentum. That set us apart,” Owens said. “We knew, once we got going, they weren’t going to be able to stop us. We just needed to get going first.”
Burkes had a 16-yard TD run and broke free for a 76-yard scoring sprint in the third quarter to give the Lancers a 28-6 advantage.
Owens had a 1-yard TD run early in the fourth. Laurel’s Clayton Sharek hauled in a 23-yard TD pass from Josh Dando, but the Spartans did not get closer.
“It’s a great win. Anytime you can beat one of your rivals like Laurel, a tough and hard-nosed football team, it’s gratifying,” Mozzocio said. “Our young men played hard, but, at the same time, we made a lot of mistakes, especially with the penalties (11 for 90 yards). We have to clean that up. If we don’t, we’re not going to get to where we want to be. That’s definitely a concern right now. The effort was there and they played hard all night and I am pleased.”
Neshannock has another short week of preparation as it visits Sto-Rox on Thursday night. It will mark the team’s third game in a 13-day span,
“It’s a little different, but we have a game plan in place and we’ll be ready for Sto-Rox,” Mozzocio said. “We’re excited to go down there. A lot of people think we got lucky here last year when we won that game, so we want to go down and prove that we can play with the big boys once again.”
Laurel looks to rebound Friday when it takes on Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Robert Morris University.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
LAUREL NESHANNOCK
12 First downs 26
149 Yards Rushing 513
22 Yards Lost 5
127 Net Rushing 508
17 Passes Attempted 16
10 Passes Completed 8
0 Passes Intercepted 2
199 Yards Passing 43
326 Total Yards 552
6-4 Fumbles-Lost 5-2
2-30 Punts-Average 0-0
5-37 Penalties-Yards 11-90
LAUREL 6 0 0 6 — 12
NESHANNOCK 0 14 14 6 — 34
Scoring plays
LAUREL — Spencer Pullium, 71-yard run (Kick blocked).
NESHANNOCK — Rocco Fazio, 12-yard pass from Ernie Burkes (Jason Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Eli Owens, 23-yard run (Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Burkes, 16-yard run (Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Burkes, 76-yard run (Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Owens, 1-yard run (Kick failed).
LAUREL — Clayton Sharek, 23-yard pass from Josh Dando (Run failed).
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