Lancers clinch share of title with rout of Rochester
Neshannock (49) vs. Rochester (14)
Written: Oct 11, 2014
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
ROCHESTER — Big plays lead to big rewards.
The Neshannock High football team followed that formula last night at Rochester. The Lancers used a handful of big strikes to post a 49-14 win in a WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference game.
Neshannock (6-0 conference, 7-0 overall) clinched a share of the Big Seven championship. The Lancers can secure their first undefeated Big Seven crown with a win on Oct. 24 against Union following a non-conference game with Chartiers-Houston on Friday. They shared the conference title with Rochester and Sto-Rox two years ago and finished second to Sto-Rox last season.
“It’s a great feeling. We got together at the beginning of the year and came up with one goal and that was to win every game and become undisputed Big Seven champs because we haven’t done that yet with these guys,” Neshannock senior Jimmy Medure said. “We’ve come together as a team and we worked hard every day in practice and got at least a share of the title.”
Neshannock, which is outscoring foes 47.3 to 9.6 points per game, seemed destined to pull away early. The Lancers scored on their first two possessions and stopped the Rams on their first three.
A pair of Frank Antuono runs gave Neshannock a 14-0 edge early in the second quarter. However, Rochester’s Ishmael Tucker broke through several tackles and escaped for a 47-yard TD run to trim the deficit to 14-6 with 5:56 left in the half.
The hosts forced and recovered a fumble on Neshannock’s first play of the ensuing drive. Rochester put together an eight-play scoring drive. Tucker crashed in from the 1 and Montrail Strozier’s 2-point conversion run tied the game at 14-all with 1:13 remaining.
Undaunted, Rocco Fazio returned the kickoff 90 yards up the middle and to the house to give the Lancers a 21-14 edge just 14 seconds later.
“That was a huge momentum-breaker,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said. “We set up a nice wedge; everybody got to their spots; Rocco hit a seam and, once he hits a seam, I don’t know how many people can catch him. He can move. It was a great return and great blocking by our whole kick return unit.”
Fazio raced up the middle and had to elude one close tackler on his jaunt.
“That kickoff return helped a lot,” Fazio said. “No matter what, it’s still my front line blocking for me. If it wasn’t for them, I would have never scored. They opened a beautiful hole for me.”
Neshannock got another huge play early in the third quarter. Following a Lancers’ punt, Medure produced a turnover. On a second down run, Medure ripped the ball out of Tucker’s hands and raced 53 yards for a touchdown. It boosted Neshannock’s lead to 28-14.
“That play came to me and I had him wrapped up. I didn’t hear the whistle blow and we were fighting for the ball. I figured I’d yank it and run and see what happened,” he said. “Every game, we know we’re going to get into a battle and big plays are what separate us. We got guys who will get it done, no matter what. I have faith in our team, no matter what the circumstances, the big plays will be accomplished and that’s what happened tonight.”
After Eli Owens scored on a 1-yard run late in the third, Medure and Fazio were at it again. Medure hauled in a 74-yard TD pass from Antuono and Fazio capped the scoring with an 85-yard run.
“There were a couple big plays they broke that got us a little bit, but that’s a credit to them,” said Rochester coach and Shenango graduate Gene Matsook. “You can’t give teams like that big plays and then try to come back.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
NESHANNOCK ROCHESTER
12 First downs 11
233 Yards Rushing 199
14 Yards Lost 8
219 Net Rushing 191
6 Passes Attempted 7
4 Passes Completed 3
0 Passes Intercepted 0
111 Yards Passing 14
330 Total Yards 205
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
2-23 Punts-Average 4-30.5
6-70 Penalties-Yards 5-53
NESHANNOCK 7 14 14 14 — 49
ROCHESTER 0 14 0 0 — 14
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Frank Antuono, 8-yard run (Seth Dueitt kick.
NESHANNOCK — Antuono, 10-yard run (Dueitt kick).
ROCHESTER — Ishmael Tucker, 47-yard run (pass failed).
ROCHESTER — Tucker, 1-yard run (Montrail Strozier run).
NESHANNOCK — Rocco Fazio, 90-yard kickoff return (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK —Jimmy Medure, 53-yard fumble return (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Eli Owens, 1-yard run (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Medure, 74-yard pass from Antuono (Dueitt kick).
NESHANNOCK — Fazio, 85-yard run (Dueitt kick).
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