Rochester blanks Laurel
Laurel (0) vs. Rochester (34)
Written: Sep 27, 2008
By JOHN D’ABRUZZO
jd’abruzzo@ncnewsonline.com
There’s a reason why Rochester High is regarded as one of the best Class A football teams in the state this season.
And his name is Chad Pennington.
The Rams have plenty of offensive weapons, but the senior running back did it all in a 34-0 WPIAL Big Seven Conference win at Laurel last night.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has Rochester ranked atop its Class A poll, while the Harrisburg Patriot-News has the Rams rated third in the PIAA rankings.
Pennington collected 227 all-purpose yards as he caught, ran and threw for touchdowns all in the third quarter for the Rams.
He caught a 54-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Gray, ran for a 7-yard score and then threw a 58-yard pass to Trey Johnson.
“He’s an outstanding back, there’s no question with that,” Spartans coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “You might stop him and stop him, but then he’s going to break away and he did. He’s an excellent football player.”
Pennington ran for 65 yards and on 12 carries and caught two passes for 104 yards.
“Chad’s having a great year,” Rochester coach and Shenango High graduate Gene Matsook said. “Chad did a heck of a job and he’s been doing that week-in and week-out. “His work ethic’s great and he’s a great kid. Last year he was slowed up with a broken foot and he was never the same. He’s really stepped it up this year.”
Rochester (3-0 conference, 5-0 overall) scored 22 points in the third quarter after taking a 6-0 lead at the half.
“We were a little sluggish early,” Matsook said. “Laurel’s a good football team. I know Laurel and I know how they play; they’re going to come at you and they’re well coached. They were ready to play.
“They stopped us a little in the first half, but we made a couple of adjustments in the second half and finally got our heads where we needed to get them. And the result is where it is.”
Laurel (1-2, 1-4) for the most part contained the Rams’ offense in the first half. Rochester, which is outscoring opponents 165-10 this season, didn’t get on the board until Gray scored on a 3-yard run with 8:47 remaining in the second quarter.
Gray completed 3 of 6 passes with one interception for 111 yards.
“We knew what they were going to do,” said Matsook, who is in his ninth season at Rochester. “They were stopping us up front and doing some things that we weren’t quite used to seeing. Give credit to their defense.”
Laurel’s best opportunity came in the third quarter when it was facing second-and-8 on the Rams’ 15. The Spartans, though, turned the ball over when Gray came up with an interception.
“In the first half, we were in the ballgame,” Holzhauser said. “The second half just changed to whole complexion of the game. We didn’t execute offensively and to have your defense out there against a team like that, you’re going to be in trouble.”
Laurel quarterback Tyler Forbes completed 6 of 14 attempts with two interceptions for 30 yards. Bobby Jones led the Spartans in rushing with 44 yards on 10 carries.
“We just have to put everything together,” Holzhauser said. “To beat a good team like Rochester, you can’t make any mistakes offensively or defensively. You can’t afford to do that.”
Rochester closed out its scoring for the night when Johnson scored his second consecutive touchdown on a 43-yard punt return with 6:45 left in the game.
“We played physical the whole game,” Holzhauser said. “We had breakdowns. The touchdown at the beginning of the second half and the punt return really hurt us.”
The victory for the Rams also came on the 1,000th football game in the history of the program.
“It’s a special thing,” Matsook said. “There’s a lot of tradition, commitment and hard work. You always play for the people who played before you. In Rochester, there’s been 999 games before us and this being the 1,000th game and being able to win it, makes it even more special.”
ROCHESTER LAUREL
13 First downs 6
164 Yards Rushing 75
14 Yards Lost 15
150 Net Rushing 60
4 Passes Attempted 14
8 Passes Completed 6
1 Passes Intercepted 2
169 Yards Passing 30
319 Total Yards 90
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
1-51 Punts-Average 5-35
9-60 Penalties-Yards 7-48
ROCHESTER 0 6 22 6 — 34
LAUREL 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring plays
ROCHESTER — Brandon Gray, 3-yard run (kick failed).
ROCHESTER — Chad Pennington, 54-yard pass from Gray (Gray run).
ROCHESTER — Pennington, 7-yard run (Paul Everson run).
ROCHESTER — Trey Johnson, 58-yard pass from Pennington (kick failed).
ROCHESTER — Johnson, 43-yard punt return (kick failed).
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