Spartans stymied by another tough opponent
Laurel (15) vs. Aliquippa (49)
Written: Sep 06, 2014
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
ALIQUIPPA — Laurel has faced the best. Now, the Spartans hope they’re ready for the rest.
Continuing its brutal schedule to open the season, Laurel dropped a 49-15 decision at Aliquippa last night in WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference action.
Last week, the Spartans fell at New Brighton, 27-20. Many believe the Quips and Lions – both 2-0 – are the MAC’s top two teams. So first-year Laurel coach Brian Cooper has had to face some adversity with the two formidable road tests to begin the campaign.
Despite the team’s 0-2 start, Cooper is encouraged.
“The score didn’t show, but we were in a football game there for three quarters. The kids played with a lot of heart. We have a lot of things we can build upon,” he said. “We had a tough schedule early on, but that’s no excuse, though. Obviously, you want to try to get the W, but at the same time, we have to work hard and keep improving on some things and I think we have a nice football team here.”
Laurel challenged Aliquippa (2-0 MAC, 2-0 overall) early, but the Quips’ explosive offense was the difference. The team produced several big plays and racked up 664 total yards to pull away for the decisive victory.
“Offensively, I thought we played real well. We made a couple mistakes, but we’re capable of doing that,” Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac said. “We have five dynamic offensive players.”
Aliquippa got big contributions from most of its top players. DiMantae Bronaugh, a Hopewell transfer, led the way as he rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. He added two receptions for 41 yards and another score.
Following Bronaugh’s first touchdown, Noah Wertz kicked a 26-yard field goal to trim the Spartans’ deficit to 8-3. Darrien Fields connected with Patrick Anderson for a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 15-3 advantage. However, Laurel responded when Matty Conway broke loose and outran the defense for a 59-yard scoring jaunt. That sliced Laurel’s deficit to 15-9 at the end of the first quarter.
“Aliquippa has great athletes and they make those big plays. At the same time, we proved that we have some good players, too,” Cooper said. “We came after them and kept playing hard. I love those guys; they keep working hard and we’re improving. It’s a long grind.”
The hosts started to pull away in the second quarter. Bronaugh turned a screen pass into an 18-yard score and Kaezon Pugh added a short running TD for a 29-9 lead late in the stanza.
Once again, though, the Spartans made a charge and gained some momentum going into halftime when Clayton Sharek punched in a 5-yard scoring run with 21 seconds left. That reduceded the deficit to 29-15 at the horn.
The Quips dominated the second half, though. Bronaugh broke the game open with a 49-yard touchdown sprint. He deked his way past several Laurel tacklers and maneuvered his way into the end zone for a 35-15 lead with 6:39 left in the frame.
Bronaugh wasn’t done as he found paydirt again four seconds into the fourth quarter to give the hosts a 41-15 advantage. Reserve James Kimbrough, who tallied 104 yards on six carries, capped the scoring with a 14-yard run and a 2-point conversion.
Cooper remains upbeat with how well his team is performing.
“We can’t focus on those past things; we have to look ahead to our future. We have to keep building upon the things we need to improve upon and get better every day. That’s what they do. They keep working hard every day,” Cooper said. “I am excited with what I am saying and that’s hard to say after a 49-15 loss. That score is not like what we played like. They are playing like a team and playing hard and that’s all I can ask for.”
With arguably their two toughest tests out of the way, Cooper and his troops are eager to get back home to play Freedom on Friday.
“I am tired of these bus trips down here,” he said. “It’ll be nice to play in front of the home crowd.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
LAUREL ALIQUIPPA
7 First downs 29
164 Yards Rushing 476
15 Yards Lost 10
149 Net Rushing 466
9 Passes Attempted 14
2 Passes Completed 10
1 Passes Intercepted 0
55 Yards Passing 188
204 Total Yards 664
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 4-2
5-41.6 Punts-Average 0-0
2-30 Penalties-Yards 9-75
LAUREL 9 6 0 0 — 15
ALIQUIPPA 15 14 6 14 — 49
Scoring plays
ALIQUIPPA --DiMantae Bronaugh, 13-yard run (Patrick Anderson pass from Sheldon Jeter).
LAUREL —Noah Wertz, 26-yard field goal.
ALIQUIPPA —Anderson, 33-yard pass from Darrien Fields (Fields kick).
LAUREL —Matty Conway, 59-yard run (run failed).
ALIQUIPPA —Bronaugh, 18-yard pass from Fields (Bobby Cashaw pass from Fields).
ALIQUIPPA —Kaezon Pugh, 2-yard run (kick failed).
LAUREL —Clayton Sharek, 5-yard run (pass failed).
ALIQUIPPA —Bronaugh, 49-yard run (kick failed).
ALIQUIPPA —Bronaugh, 9-yard run (run failed).
ALIQUIPPA —James Kimbrough, 14-yard run (Kimbrough run).
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