Determined Lancers breeze to win in finale
Neshannock (49) vs. Union (7)
Written: Oct 26, 2013
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
The Neshannock High football team came close to playing for a WPIAL Class A championship last year.
The Lancers are intent on making that a reality this fall.
The squad closed out the regular season last night in impressive fashion with a 49-7 win at Union in a Big Seven Conference meeting at Socs Roussos Stadium.
“We wanted to come out here and get after it. It’s a Lawrence County team and a local rival,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “We wanted to come in here and do our job and get a victory. We did that. The guys executed on both sides of the ball.”
Neshannock (7-1 conference, 7-2 overall) had hopes of clinching a share of the Big Seven Conference championship for the second-straight year. However, Sto-Rox (8-0, 9-0) rolled past Rochester, 54-7, to secure the sole championship.
Nevertheless, the Lancers earned the conference’s No. 2 postseason seed and will open the playoffs at home on Friday. They will learn their opponent when the playoff pairings are unveiled Monday night. Last fall, Neshannock advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals, but dropped a 37-7 decision to eventual state champion Clairton.
“We’re ready to go. We’re going to host a playoff game for the first time in school history. The kids are very excited about that; the whole community is excited about that,” Mozzocio said. “We’re excited to do it for the community, the school district, Mr. (Bob) Bleggi (the Lancers’ coaching legend for whom their field is now named) and all the other coaches in the past. It’s a great, great feeling for us right now.”
The Lancers were focused last night. They warmed up on their home field and made the short trek to Union. After the game, Neshannock quickly marched to its buses and departed for home.
“They are a good football team,” Union coach Stacy Robinson said. “They’ve been putting in work and it shows. They dominated up front on both sides of the ball. They put it to us.”
Neshannock scored on its first four possessions. Ernie Burkes found Rocco Fazio for a 7-yard TD pass on the opening drive. He hit Seth Dueitt for a 22-yard scoring strike and a 14-0 lead on the team’s second series.
Eli Owens scored on a 5-yard run and added an 11-yard scamper to give the guests a 28-0 halftime advantage.
Neshannock’s defense suffocated the Scotties (3-5, 4-5), who managed just 51 yards of total offense in the first half.
“Our guys came off the ball. We wanted to stop their run right away and force them to pass,” Mozzocio said. “They have some great athletes and we were able to contain them and hold them to seven points. So I am very happy with that.”
Union got on the scoreboard in the third quarter. Quarterback Anthony Rush found Benjamin Young for a 10-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 28-7.
However, the Scotties did not get closer. Neshannock added two more touchdowns in the third quarter: Robert Lindsey’s 6-yard run and Gianni Oliva’s 1-yard burst. Burkes capped the scoring with a 5-yard TD jaunt.
“You have to be able to suck it up when it’s time to suck it up and that’s been our problem all year. Our guys haven’t been able to execute under duress. Some games we do it and some games we don’t,” Robinson said. “We didn’t get it done. They are a good football team and it shows with the work they’ve been doing. They won that game over us January through August.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
NESHANNOCK UNION
17 First downs 12
244 Yards Rushing 137
0 Yards Lost 68
244 Net Rushing 69
16 Passes Attempted 15
8 Passes Completed 11
0 Passes Intercepted 1
121 Yards Passing 135
365 Total Yards 204
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
0-0 Punts-Average 3-27.3
4-21 Penalties-Yards 4-40
NESHANNOCK 14 14 14 7 — 49
UNION 0 0 7 0 — 7
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Rocco Fazio, 7-yard pass from Ernie Burkes (Jason Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Seth Dueitt, 22-yard pass from Burkes (Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Eli Owens, 5-yard run (Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK —Owens, 11-yard run (Owrey kick).
UNION —Benjamin Young, 10-yard pass from Anthony Rush (Kody Smith kick).
NESHANNOCK — Robert Lindsey, 6-yard run (Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Gianni Oliva, 1-yard run (Owrey kick).
NESHANNOCK — Burkes, 5-yard run (Owrey kick).
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