Scotties’ offense falters against Fort Cherry
Union (18) vs. Fort Cherry (42)
Written: Oct 11, 2014
 By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
McDONALD — Union High had to like its chances heading into the second half against Fort Cherry.
The Scotties found themselves trailing by just three points at the intermission last night, and would receive the second-half kickoff.
But, coach Stacy Robinson’s squad couldn’t get its offense going and gave up 21 unanswered points in the final 24 minutes as the Rangers handed the Scotties their sixth straight loss, 42-18, in a non-conference game at Jim Garry Stadium.
“Considering the way we played in the first half, I was happy to be in that position,” Robinson said. “We blew probably two or three bona fide scoring opportunities in the first half. I was happy just to be where we were at.”
After Fort Cherry (3-4) opened the scoring with a 50-yard pass play from Devon Brown to Brelan Skinner, Union took just two plays to answer.
Following a run by Jordan Best that netted four yards, quarterback Anthony Rush hit Best in stride for a 57-yard scoring strike. Garrison Bell’s PAT kick was low, but the Scotties (1-6) drew to within one, 7-6, with 2:17 remaining in the opening stanza.
Union’s special teams helped the Scotties take their only lead of the contest, as Anthony Bertolino recovered a fumble by Scott Miller on a punt to set up his team at the Fort Cherry 27-yard line.
Rush broke off a 19-yard gain on first down to move the Scotties to the 8. Jullian Johnson bulled his way to the 3, but a 2-yard loss on a run and an incomplete pass left Union facing a fourth-and-goal at the 5.
Rush connected with Johnson in the front corner of the end zone to give the Scotties a 12-7 lead with 7:22 remaining before the half. Rush’s pass to Best on the two-point conversion failed.
Fort Cherry quickly took the lead back, scoring 14 points in a little over a minute.
Garrett Whalen capped an eight-play, 61-yard drive by scoring on a 2-yard run on the Rangers’ next possession following the Union TD.
On the Scotties’ third play of the ensuing drive, Miller stepped in front of a Rush pass for an interception that he returned 20 yards for a touchdown to give the hosts a 21-12 lead with 2:22 remaining in the first half.
“It gave us a huge boost,” Fort Cherry coach Jim Shiel said of the two quick scores. “That definitely gave us the momentum.”
Union again responded, as Best threw his third scoring strike of the first half, this one a 40-yard connection to Johnson. The PAT kick was again low, but the Scotties trimmed the deficit to 21-18 heading into the half.
The Scotties got the second-half kickoff, but were stopped on downs. The Union defense then forced Fort Cherry to punt.
Setting up shop at its own following the punt, Union quickly made its way into Rangers territory as Rush and Best hooked up on a 74-yard pass and run that moved the ball to the Fort Cherry 11.
But disaster struck on third down when Nick Cook picked off Rush at the 1 to stymie the Scotties’ scoring chance.
“That pick kind of hurt us, but we’ve got to be resilient,” Robinson said. “That’s the lesson we’ve got to learn from that. You’ve got to be able to deal with adversity, and we didn’t deal with it well. So consequently, the snowball started rolling down the hill after that.”
From there, it was all Fort Cherry.
The Rangers got a 32-yard TD pass on a reverse when wide receiver Alex Babriad connected with Nick Rogers. Fort Cherry then got its third touchdown pass by a third different player, as quarterback Anthony Panizza tossed a 50-yard scoring strike to Cook to give the hosts a 35-18 at the end of three.
Whalen, who finished with a game-high 87 yards rushing, closed out the scoring with a 2-yard plunge late in the fourth quarter.
“That pick was a big momentum changer,” Shiel said. “The game of football is so emotional. (Union) was battling, only down three and moving the football, then boom. Now, it’s an uphill battle for them. We went down and scored, and then instead of a one-score game it was a two-score game.”
Union will return to Big Seven Conference play Friday when it hosts Western Beaver.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
UNION FORT CHERRY
6 First downs 15
95 Yards Rushing 213
18 Yards Lost 35
77 Net Rushing 178
21 Passes Attempted 17
7 Passes Completed 7
2 Passes Intercepted 0
204 Yards Passing 172
281 Total Yards 350
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 5-2
6-27.8 Punts-Average 3-35.7
6-35 Penalties-Yards 9-58
UNION 6 12 0 0 — 18
FORT CHERRY 7 14 14 7 — 42
Scoring plays
FORT CHERRY — Brelan Skinner, 43-yard pass from Devon Brown (Anthony Kampion kick)
UNION — Jordan Best, 57-yard pass from Anthony Rush (kick failed)
UNION — Garrison Bell, 5-yard pass from Rush (pass failed)
FORT CHERRY — Garrett Whalen, 2-yard run (Kampion kick)
FORT CHERRY — Scott Miller, 20-yard interception return (Kampion kick)
UNION — Jullian Johnson, 40-yard pass from Rush (kick failed)
FORT CHERRY — Nick Rogers, 32-yard pass from Alex Babriad (Kampion kick)
FORT CHERRY — Nick Cook, 50-yard pass from Anthony Panizza (Kampion kick)
FORT CHERRY — Whalen, 2-yard run (Kampion kick)
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