’Canes their own worst enemy in loss
New Castle (21) vs. Montour (40)
Written: Sep 06, 2014
 By John D’Abruzzo
New Castle News
McKEES ROCKS — Almost every time New Castle High’s football team had an opportunity, it was quickly squandered.
Yellow penalty flags showered the playing surface at Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium last night as the Red Hurricane continued to impair itself with both penalties and turnovers during a 40-21 Parkway Conference loss on the road against Montour.
“Montour answered the bell and we didn’t,” New Castle coach Joe Cowart said.
The ’Canes (0-2 conference, 0-2 overall), who haven’t begun a season with consecutive losses since 2008, had plenty of chances throughout the entire game.
“We knew this was a big game for both teams because in the Parkway (Conference) you don’t want to start out 0-2,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said. “We controlled the tempo the whole game. Credit to New Castle for trying to come back.
“We made some big plays, so we were lucky to come away with the win.”
Despite trailing the Spartans (1-1, 1-1) 12-0 early in the second quarter, New Castle scored back-to-back touchdowns and actually owned a two-point lead during the game for one minute and 47 seconds.
Devin Murphy, who had two fumble recoveries for New Castle, helped set up the team’s first score following his second recovery with eight minutes remaining in the half. Geno Smith put the ’Canes on the board with a 25-yard run.
After Montour’s next series, Smith put New Castle in perfect field position with a 42-yard punt return that set up a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Daylen Glenel to give the ’Canes a 14-12 lead.
The Spartans, however, quickly responded and took advantage of a face mask penalty that set up a 5-yard rushing score by quarterback Randall Labrie.
New Castle was penalized twice during its next possession and then again after punting. Those errors helped Montour take a 27-14 lead at the half following a 10-yard rushing touchdown by running back David Haseleu.
“I attribute those mistakes to a lack of mental toughness,” Cowart said. “As a group of young men and as a coaching staff, we have to do a better job. That reflects on us as coaches as much as it does with the kids.”
New Castle put up the only points scored in the third quarter when quarterback Pat Minenok ran the ball in on a 2-yard touchdown and kept hopes alive for the ’Canes.
“It was anyone’s ballgame,” Cowart said. “We had opportunities. We’re a young football team. We have to figure out how to take advantage when opportunities present themselves.
“Still, we didn’t answer the bell. There were opportunities to make plays and take advantage of opportunities we had, but unfortunately we didn’t do it tonight.”
Penalties, however, continued to hamper any New Castle chances the rest of the game. The ’Canes were penalized a total of 14 times for 116 yards against the Spartans.
“Those penalties are a byproduct of your mental toughness,” Cowart said. “You can blame it on the heat or whatever, but it’s all about being mentally tough and we weren’t that tonight.
“As a coaching staff, we have to do a better job preparing our players and getting them ready for whatever may happen during the course of the football game.”
Montour scored twice in the final nine minutes of the game. Zach Herskovitz caught a 7-yard pass from Labrie before Haseleu capped the victory following a 24-yard scamper.
Haseleu led the Spartans with 190 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.
“Dave Haseleu is a nice little running back,” Cerro said. “We knew he would be a special kind of player for us some day. He runs hard and is quick. It helps that our line blocked as well as it did.”
New Castle was held to just 145 yards of total offense. Glenel led the ’Canes with 55 yards rushing on nine carries.
“There were a lot of bright spots tonight, but we have to take advantage of when good things happen and continue to build on them,” Cowart said. “As a group, when we had an opportunity, we exhaled and gave them slack when the opportunity was there for us to jump on it and build from it.
“Instead of building on the positives, we followed with negatives.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
NEW CASTLE MONTOUR
7 First downs 18
151 Yards Rushing 284
25 Yards Lost 20
126 Net Rushing 264
14 Passes Attempted 22
4 Passes Completed 12
3 Passes Intercepted 0
19 Yards Passing 99
145 Total Yards 363
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 3-2
5-25.4 Punts-Average 2-30.5
14-116 Penalties-Yards 3-30
NEW CASTLE 0 14 7 0 — 21
MONTOUR 5 22 0 13 — 40
Scoring plays
MONTOUR —Safety (ball snapped out of end zone).
MONTOUR —Adam Check, 28-yard field goal.
MONTOUR —David Haseleu, 16-yard run (Check kick).
NEW CASTLE —Geno Smith, 25-yard run (D’Marqius Blanchard kick).
NEW CASTLE —Daylen Glenel, 6-yard run (Blanchard kick).
MONTOUR —Randall Labrie, 5-yard run (Check kick).
MONTOUR —Haseleu, 10-yard run (Brandon Hopay pass to Labrie).
NEW CASTLE —Pat Minenok, 2-yard run (Blanchard kick).
MONTOUR —Zach Herkovitz, 7-yard pass from Labrie (pass failed).
MONTOUR —Haseleu, 24-yard run (Check kick).
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