Mohawk beats Summit Academy
Mohawk (42) vs. Summit Academy (14)
Written: Oct 20, 2014
By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
HERMAN — They were all cold and wet. Most were covered in mud from head to toe.
And for the first time since Week 2 they were all something else: Winners.
The Mohawk High football snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday afternoon with a 42-14 victory over home-standing Summit Academy in a Midwestern Athletic Conference matchup.
“It feels good to play together as a team today and really get a team win,” Mohawk senior quarterback Ricky Malutic said. “Everybody did their part on offense and defense. We just want to finish the year with pride. We had a couple tough losses against Ellwood City and Laurel, games we thought we should have won. We’ll get ready for New Brighton next week and hopefully carry this momentum into it.”
The Warriors (2-5 MAC, 2-6 overall) raced out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and survived a hiccup in the second quarter before pulling away from the Knights, who have now lost 12-straight games.
Mohawk drove 46 yards in eight plays to get on the scoreboard following a short Summit Academy punt. Malutic capped the march by fielding a low snap and trotting 5 yards into the end zone. The kick failed, but the Warriors held a 6-0 lead at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter.
Mohawk’s special teams got into the act for its second score, as Tom Romano blocked Javon Thomas’ punt and recovered the ball in the end zone. Malutic then hit Tyler Powers on the conversion pass, and the Warriors held a 14-0 lead with 4:31 remaining in the opening stanza.
“That was a big play,” Mohawk coach Joe Lamenza said. “Tommy has a knack for getting to the football. I was happy to see him score his first varsity touchdown.”
The Warriors’ special teams again snuffed out the Knights’ next drive, stopping Thomas on a fake punt attempt at the Summit Academy 35-yard line.
On Mohawk’s first play from scrimmage at the 35, Cayne Yakubik broke free for a touchdown run. Yakubik led all rushers with 90 yards on 15 carries. John Zagotti booted the extra point to hike the Warriors’ lead to 21-0 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
“You’ve got to give credit to the guys up front, the offensive line,” Lamenza said. “Those guys don’t get enough credit. The backs made the right reads and right cuts, and we just stayed committed to it.”
The Knights, whose last victory came Sept. 28, 2013 against Ford City, finally had something positive go their way midway through the second quarter as Tayyib Thorne recovered a fumble at the Mohawk 26.
Summit Academy’s first three plays yielded negative-4 yards and facing a fourth-and-14 from the 30, Thomas hooked up with Sharief Clayton for a 29-yard gain. On first-and-goal from the 1, Thomas scampered into the end zone. Robert Gaines ran in the conversion, and Mohawk’s lead had been trimmed to 21-8 with 4:46 remaining before the half.
Disaster again struck the Warriors on their next possession, when Malutic was picked off by Hameen Cowan.
Setting up shop at their own 43, the Knights drove down the field as Gaines picked up 43 yards on the ground and Kevin Argro gained three yards. Once again facing a fourth down, Summit Academy cashed in, as Thomas connected with Clayton for an 11-yard TD pass. Gaines was stopped on the conversion run, but the Knights had cut the deficit to 21-14 with 46 seconds remaining before the half.
“We gave Summit a little bit of breathing room in the first half by turning the ball over,” Lamenza said. “They got a couple quick scores off those.”
The second half saw the rain stop, the sun come out and the Warriors dominate.
Spencer McConahy scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter, and Yakubik and Malutic each added 5-yard TD runs in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for Mohawk.
“We really just stuck with the game plan where we wanted to pound the football,” Malutic said of the second half. “We kind of got away from that in the second quarter, and I threw an interception. We just really planned to pound the ball, and our line took care of that for us. We took care of the football and got the job done.”
Mohawk’s defense pitched a shutout in the final 24 minutes, holding the Knights to 83 yards on 18 plays. The Warriors stopped Summit Academy four times for no gain and added a pair of turnovers. Jon Kent had an interception and Romano continued his strong game with a fumble recovery.
Mohawk will wrap up its season Friday at MAC foe New Brighton.
“It was a good team win,” Lamenza said. “We needed that, and they deserved it. We’re getting better every week at the fundamentals. Our kids showed a lot of composure.”
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