Western Beaver erupts to rout Shenango
Shenango (6) vs. Western Beaver (33)
Written: Sep 29, 2008
  By DAN IRWIN
d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com
Shenango High’s defense made a few big stops in the Wildcats’ homecoming game Saturday night against Western Beaver.
Unfortunately for the ’Cats, their offense couldn’t come up with any equally big “go’s.”
Shenango foiled the Golden Beavers three times on fourth-down attempts — including once at the goal line on the final play of the first half — and trailed by only a touchdown after two quarters. But a long halfback pass by Western Beaver opened the floodgates in the third period, and the visitors went on to post a 33-6 WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference victory.
The Golden Beavers (2-1 conference, 3-2 overall) went up 7-0 on the Wildcats (0-3, 2-3) when quarterback Morgan Rice ran it in from 14 yards out with 3:31 to go in the half. Prior to that, Shenango thwarted two Western Beaver drives by stopping the Golden Beavers on fourth-and-8 at the Wildcats’ 38, and on fourth-and-7 at the 11.
Shenango then ended the half on a high note when it prevented Western Beaver from scoring on three plays from inside the 3 yard line in the final minute.
“I think we had a good defensive game plan coming in,” said Shenango head coach Ryan Mayo, whose offense eked out only 52 total yards on the night. “They executed it well. We were on the field for long periods of time, but we didn’t give up points.
“The defense did an outstanding job, but I think they wore us down as the game went on. We were on the field in the first half for 39 defensive plays (by contrast, Shenango’s offense had just 10 snaps). That’s a lot of plays to be on the field.”
Shenango’s stop inside the 1 as time expired may have lifted the ’Cats spirits, but it also fired up Western Beaver head coach Matt Gray. He watched as second after second ticked off the clock as the officials tried to unstack a pile-up at the 1 after a third-down keeper by Rice. Ultimately, the Golden Beavers had to hustle to get a fourth-down play off with only about five-seconds remaining on a still-running clock.
When that, too, failed, Gray was not happy.
“He (the referee) said he couldn’t see,” Gray said, “because everybody’s piled up on it. I said, ‘Well why did you let 15 seconds run off the clock?’ He said, ‘I couldn’t see.’ I said, ‘Then why did you let it run?’ And he throws a flag (for unsportsmanlike conduct) on me.
“Hey, that’s life, and that’s how it goes. We made some mistakes the first half, we missed some assignments on the lines, and they made some good plays. But we made some adjustments at halftime, and put up some good scores.”
Those touchdowns started coming shortly after Zach Cavalier found wideout Hunter Creel on an 80-yard halfback pass in the third quarter. Rice scored on an 11-yard run three plays later, and on his team’s next two drives as well, on runs of 1 and 24 yards.
Shenango averted a shutout on Ricky Mathews’ 79-yard kickoff return, but Western Beaver’s Brett Ward answered with a 90-yarder of his own.
“We were down about the 5 yard line, and I didn’t think they’d be expecting it,” Gray said of the halfback pass. “They bit up on it, and it was definitely a momentum changer for the whole game.”
After the game, Mayo — who once played for and coached at Western Beaver — said the Golden Beavers got where they are by hard work and commitment. That’s what the second-year head coach is preaching to his new squad as well.
“We have some really good young players,” he said. “I tell them all the time, we’re on the right track. I just don’t know how far along the right track we are, but we are on it, and we’ll get there. It’s just a matter of can we keep them together, and will they continue to work hard?
“If they do, I think we’ve got the chance to be very good.”
WESTERN BEAVER SHENANGO
18 First downs 6
296 Yards Rushing 62
12 Yards Lost 36
288 Net Rushing 26
10 Passes Attempted 13
7 Passes Completed 5
0 Passes Intercepted 0
149 Yards Passing 26
437 Total Yards 52
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
1-30 Punts-Average 6-38.3
8-65Penalties-Yards 2-10
WESTERN BEAVER 0 7 14 12 — 33
SHENANGO 0 0 0 6 — 6
Scoring plays
WESTERN BEAVER — Morgan Rice 14-yard run (Rice kick).
WESTERN BEAVER — Rice 11-yard run (Kick failed).
WESTERN BEAVER — Rice 1-yard run (Hunter Creel run).
WESTERN BEAVER — Rice 24-yard r un (Kick failed).
SHENANGO — Ricky Mathews 79-yard kickoff return (Kick failed).
WESTERN BEAVER — Brett Ward 90-yard kickoff return (Kick failed).
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