’Canes hold on for wild win over Ambridge
New Castle (45) vs. Ambridge (40)
Written: Oct 13, 2014
 By Joe Sager
New Castle News
AMBRIDGE — New Castle’s biggest obstacle to reaching the postseason was nearly itself on Saturday.
The Red Hurricane overcame a nightmare third quarter and held on for a crazy 45-40 win at Ambridge in a Parkway Conference encounter at Moe Rubenstein Stadium.
The victory kept New Castle (2-4 conference, 2-5 overall) in the hunt for the Parkway Conference’s fifth playoff spot. The ’Canes just need to close out the regular season with triumphs over Chartiers Valley and Hopewell to reach the postseason for a second-straight year.
However, they nearly short circuited their playoff quest against the Bridgers (1-5, 1-6).
“I thought we took advantage of their mistakes and they took advantage of ours,” New Castle coach Joe Cowart said. “That’s what made it kind of a wild game.”
New Castle rolled in the first half. Three Ambridge fumbles helped fuel the ’Canes, who pounced on loose balls on their first two kickoffs.
“It was a real crazy game,” said New Castle’s Daylyn Glenel, who rushed for 126 yards and had four touchdowns. “We knew we had to come out here and get it. It was all on the line, so we just had to get it.”
New Castle enjoyed favorable field position throughout the first half. After a 19-yard punt, the ’Canes went to work on the Ambridge 49. Two plays later, Pat Minenok found Joe Gunn for a 41-yard touchdown pass. The Bridgers fumbled away the ensuing kick and New Castle needed five plays to go up, 14-0, on Glenel’s 3-yard run.
After the Bridgers turned the ball over on downs at the 50, the ’Canes drove once again and Pat Minenok scored on a 1-yard run for a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Ambridge got on the scoreboard on a 52-yard TD pass, but New Castle marched back for Glenel’s second touchdown and a 26-6 edge.
The Bridgers fumbled the ball away on their next possession at their own 45. The ’Canes turned it into points on Marcus Hooker’s acrobatic 29-yard TD reception to close the half with a 32-6 lead.
Disaster struck for New Castle in the third quarter. The ’Canes fumbled the opening kickoff and Ambridge converted it into a touchdown drive. On New Castle’s second possession, Jamay Wellington intercepted a pass and ran it 90 yards for a score. A bad snap on a punt on the ’Canes’ third possession set the Bridgers up for another short TD. That scoring spree trimmed the deficit to 32-27.
“I thought we came out of the lockerroom very poorly. You put the ball on the ground on the kickoff to start the half and they take advantage and score. They punched and we weren’t able to counterpunch,” Cowart said. “That drive after the fumble, I thought we had a good drive. Their kid made a nice play and took it to the house. All of a sudden, they were able to show some resolve and make some plays. Good football teams are able to answer that and I thought, eventually in the fourth quarter, we did.”
Glenel provided a spark as he returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the end zone to boost New Castle’s lead to 39-27 with 59 seconds left in the third.
“I saw the hole and I just followed my feet and went,” Glenel said.
That return helped improve New Castle’s spirits.
“That was the play of the game, there’s no doubt,” Cowart said. “We always tell our kids that you never know when the big play is going to happen. The guys up front gave Daylyn a lane and he took advantage of it. That was a momentum buster for us.”
The Bridgers responded with a touchdown drive, but the ’Canes came right back with a long TD march as well. Glenel’s 18-yard run capped the drive to give New Castle a 45-33 lead with 3:12 to go.
“We were able to control the controllables there. We stayed out of our own way and didn’t turn it over,” Cowart said. “I thought the offensive line took charge on that drive and Daylyn took advantage of some holes and we were able to get one in there.”
Ambridge wasn’t done, though. The team took to the air and scored another touchdown with 1:53 to play that brought it within a score, 45-40. However, New Castle was able to run out the clock and secure the win.
“We’re 1-0 this week and we have a big challenge on our hands next week with Chartiers Valley,” Cowart said. “We need to stay focused. We’re just trying to get better. That’s a young group. We continue to believe we are a playoff-caliber team and we’re inching closer.”
*****
BOX SCORE
NEW CASTLE AMBRIDGE
25 First downs 15
254 Yards Rushing 146
46 Yards Lost 13
208 Net Rushing 133
19 Passes Attempted 15
11 Passes Completed 8
2 Passes Intercepted 0
202 Yards Passing 149
410 Total Yards 282
5-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-3
1-23 Punts-Average 2-34
10-75 Penalties-Yards 7-45
NEW CASTLE 14 18 7 6 — 45
AMBRIDGE 0 6 21 13 — 40
Scoring plays
NEW CASTLE — Joe Gunn, 41-yard pass from Pat Minenok (D’Marcus Blanchard kick).
NEW CASTLE — Daylyn Glenel, 3-yard run (Blanchard kick).
NEW CASTLE — Minenok, 1-yard run (kick failed).
AMBRIDGE — Tre Parker, 52-yard pass from Austin French (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Glenel, 1-yard run (kick blocked).
NEW CASTLE — Marcus Hooker, 29-yard pass from Minenok (kick failed).
AMBRIDGE — Tariq Jones, 4-yard run (Keenan Baker pass from French).
AMBRIDGE — Jamay Wellington, 90-yard interception return (run failed).
AMBRIDGE — Jones, 5-yard run (Greg Miller kick).
NEW CASTLE — Glenel, 90-yard kickoff return (Blanchard kick).
AMBRIDGE — Baker, 7-yard pass from French (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Glenel, 18-yard run (pass failed).
AMBRIDGE — Baker, 5-yard pass from French (Miller kick).
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