Shenango gives boot to Western Beaver
Shenango (23) vs. Western Beaver (22)
Written: Sep 02, 2014
The Shenango High football team pulled out a win Saturday.
Dylan Kleckner booted a game-winning 20-yard field goal as time expired to lift the visiting Wildcats to a 23-22 Big Seven Conference decision over Western Beaver. It was the season opener for both schools.
“It was really exciting; it was a great team win,” said second-year Shenango coach Mike Commesso. “We had a lot of people contribute.
“It’s just nice to have that momentum so early in the season. Our kids are so sky high right now.”
Hunter Roknich scored all three of Western Beaver’s touchdowns, the final one coming with 2:30 to play on a 28-yard run. His two-point conversion run lifted the Golden Beavers to a 22-20 advantage.
Shenango took over on its 39 following a squibbed kickoff. The Wildcats reached the Golden Beavers’ 7 in nine plays.
Quarterback Evan Kendall was 3 for 3 on the game-winning drive for 40 yards in those first nine plays. Kendall spiked the ball to stop the clock with 18 seconds remaining. Western Beaver jumped offside on second-and-goal, putting the ball at the 2.
Shenango’s Tyler Root took a handoff from Kendall and centered the ball between the uprights. The Wildcats called timeout with 3.8 seconds to go, setting up Kleckner’s kick.
“It was just nice to see our kids fight through the adversity,” Commesso said. “To give up a touchdown with two-and-a-half minutes left, your spirits could sink a little bit.
“But they responded with a nice drive that led to the winning field goal. It was nice to see us respond like that.”
Western Beaver went up 8-0 on a Roknich 15-yard run and a Zach Adams two-point conversion reception from Roknich.
Hunter Waskin’s 93-yard scoring run got Shenango on the board later in the first quarter. Kleckner’s conversion kick cut the deficit to 8-7. Waskin put the Wildcats up 13-8 on a 7-yard scoring run, but the extra point failed.
Roknich scored on a six-yard run with 13 seconds remaining in the half to lift Western Beaver to a 14-13 buffer. The two-point conversion pass failed.
“I thought we contained Roknich pretty well,” Commesso said. “He’s the type of kid that is capable of doing a lot of damage.
“He’s the heart and soul of their team. He did his damage against us. But I was happy with how we slowed him down.”
Jason Wallace dashed 38 yards for a score and Kleckner’s extra point gave the Wildcats a 20-14 lead in the third quarter.
Kendall couldn’t handle the snap in the fourth quarter and Western Beaver recovered at its 26. Nine plays later, Roknich ran in from 26 yards out and added the two-point conversion to put the Golden Beavers up, 22-20, with 2:30 to go.
“It looked like we had a great opportunity to go up two scores there,” Commesso said. “It was a pretty clean game on our part. We didn’t have any penalties.
“I thought we executed well on offense and defense. That fumble was one of two miscues. Lucky for us, it didn’t cost us. Any time you have turnovers, multiple turnovers, it’s not a good way to win ballgames. We were fortunate to still come out ahead.”
Kendall was 8 of 10 for 89 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Waskin tallied 109 rushing yards on five carries with a pair of touchdowns, while Wallace contributed 100 hashmarks on 14 scampers and a score.
Root delivered 89 toting yards on 17 dashes.
Roknich paced Western Beaver with 107 rushing yards on just three carries. He also completed 7 of 14 passes for 90 yards with an interception.
Shenango returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday in a conference matchup at rival Neshannock. The Lancers opened the season with a 52-13 conference road win over South Side Beaver.
“It’s kind of rough going into the season with two conference road games right off the bat like that,” Commesso said. “We won on the road at Western Beaver.
“We’ll prepare as well as we can. Neshannock is a rival of ours. We’ll be focused for the challenge and we look for a good game.”
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SHENANGO WESTERN BEAVER
17 First downs 13
311 Yards Rushing 191
5 Yards Lost 10
306 Net Rushing 181
10 Passes Attempted 14
8 Passes Completed 7
0 Passes Intercepted 1
89 Yards Passing 90
395 Total Yards 271
2-2 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
0-0 Punts-Average 3-43.3
0-0 Penalties-Yards 3-15
SHENANGO 7 6 7 3 — 23
WESTERN BEAVER 8 6 0 8 — 22
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