’Canes encouraged despite loss to Central Valley
New Castle (12) vs. Central Valley (35)
Written: Oct 04, 2014
By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
MONACA — Not even a deluge that began midway through the fourth quarter could dampen Joe Cowart’s feelings about his team’s performance.
The New Castle High coach’s team gave Central Valley all it could handle last night, before dropping a 35-12 decision in a WPIAL Class AAA Parkway Conference Homecoming game at a soggy Sarge Alberts Stadium.
“I thought there was no quit in our team,” Cowart said. “We battled. We had some chances to take advantage of plays tonight, but we’re just a step away. We’ve progressed. We’ve talked about getting better from Week 1 until now, and I think it’s clearly evident that we’re a better football team.
“Central Valley is the bullies on the block, and we challenged our guys tonight. We told them we were going to get downhill and play New Castle football. And, we did that to a certain degree. We still have strides to take, but I think for the first time this year Central Valley walked off the field feeling a little bit challenged.”
Central Valley, ranked fifth in the state in Class AAA by the Pennsylvania Football News, entered the game having outscored its first five opponents, 254-68, but had its hands full against the Red Hurricane.
“Our guys battled,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said. “But, give New Castle credit. They knocked us off the ball a little bit, and that’s something we’ve got to get better at.”
The Warriors (5-0 Parkway, 6-0 overall) struck first, as a 15-yard touchdown pass from Chris Callaghan to B.J. Powell midway through the first quarter gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.
That lead grew to 14-0 with just 57 seconds remaining in the first quarter as Jordan Whitehead broke free on an 81-yard scoring jaunt.
“You’re not going to walk out of this stadium without him making a splash play,” Cowart said. “Other than that, we made them earn everything.”
Whitehead, who earlier in the day announced his intention to play at the University of Pittsburgh next year, rushed for 143 yards on just nine carries in the game. He had been considering Ohio State, West Virginia and Penn State before choosing the Panthers.
“Jordan handled it as well as any 17-year-old could,” Lyons said. “There was a lot on his mind and a lot on his plate all week. There was a lot going on today. For a 17-year-old to handle all of that and come out and perform like he did tonight, I take my hat off to him. Now that that’s behind him he can focus on continuing to lead this football team.”
New Castle (1-4, 1-5) got on the scoreboard following Whitehead’s long TD run. Quarterback Pat Minenok bulled his way into the end zone from 4 yards out to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive that chewed nearly seven minutes off the clock. D’Marcus Blanchard’s PAT kick was blocked by Rocco Martini, but the ‘Canes had cut the deficit to 14-6 with 7:19 remaining before the half.
Central Valley took a 21-6 lead into the locker room, as Callaghan hooked up with Kurt Reinstadtler on a 28-yard touchdown pass. Callaghan completed 14-of-22 passes for 191 yards and the two scores. He was intercepted by Joe Gunn in the third quarter.
Whitehead’s 22-yard scoring run and a 5-yard TD burst by Preston Jordan increased the Warriors’ lead to 35-6 at the end of three.
Daylyn Glenel’s 5-yard touchdown run with 8:42 remaining in the game set the final. The ‘Canes junior finished with 144 yards on 24 carries.
“He’s a younger guy who is just a fantastic player,” Cowart said. “He’s beginning to figure out how good he is. The more he touches the ball, the better he gets.”
New Castle will travel to Ambridge on Oct. 11.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
NEW CASTLE C. VALLEY
13 First downs 16
233 Yards Rushing 234
67 Yards Lost 3
166 Net Rushing 231
9 Passes Attempted 22
6 Passes Completed 14
0 Passes Intercepted 1
39 Yards Passing 196
205 Total Yards 427
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
2-36.5 Punts-Average 0-0
7-65 Penalties-Yards 6-50
NEW CASTLE 0 6 0 6 — 12
CENTRAL VALLEY 14 7 14 0 — 35
Scoring plays
CENTRAL VALLEY — B.J. Powell, 15-yard pass from Chris Callaghan (Kurt Reinstadtler kick).
CENTRAL VALLEY — Jordan Whitehead, 81-yard run (Reinstadtler kick).
NEW CASTLE — Pat Minenok, 4-yard run (kick blocked).
CENTRAL VALLEY — Reinstadtler, 28-yard pass from Callaghan (Reinstadtler kick).
CENTRAL VALLEY — Whitehead, 22-yard run (David Schmidt kick).
CENTRAL VALLEY — Preston Jordan, 5-yard run (Brendan Jugan kick).
NEW CASTLE — Daylyn Glenel, 5-yard run (pass failed).
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