'Canes squander momentum in loss to Montour
New Castle (25) vs. Montour (41)
Written: Sep 12, 2015
By Andrew Koob
New Castle News
The New Castle High football team had all the momentum for the first seven minutes.
Two scores to take a 13-0 lead over visiting Montour could have set the tone early on Friday en route to the Red Hurricane’s first win of the season.
As the game wore on, however, the Spartans wore down New Castle and walked away from Taggart Stadium with a 41-25 Parkway Conference victory.
New Castle running back Daylyn Glenel started things off, hitting the defensive line, bouncing back and scoring from 32 yards out four plays after the ‘Canes’ defense recovered a fumble.
Cameron Stone followed that after a deflection off Spartans receiver Dominic Sleva fell right into his hands, as he returned it 67 yards to give New Castle a 13-0 lead.
Montour went on to score 27 unanswered points, 20 in the second quarter, and control the pace of the game with a powerful run game that amassed 306 yards.
“We wanted to get off on the right foot in front of the home crowd,” New Castle coach Joe Cowart said. “We did that, but we have to move on. Good things happen, you can’t hang your hat on the good ones and you can’t be down on the bad ones. It’s our reaction, how do we react in the moments to the game that will determine the outcome of it.”
The ‘Canes (0-2 Parkway, 0-2 overall) couldn’t find an answer to stop the tandem of Dave Haseleu and Zach McGowan. The duo combined for 239 rushing yards and four scores.
Haseleu carried the load throughout the first half with 18 carries before sitting out with an injury and giving way to McGowan, who finished with 15 carries.
“We’re very confident in the stable of backs we have,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said. “Dave is a great football player, he got banged up a little tonight so we were confident in Zach and our fullback Brayden Jones. They all had a nice game tonight, we’re not afraid to rotate between backs.
“New Castle took advantage of our turnovers and that’s what good teams do. New Castle is a very good football team and we just happened to be a little better tonight. After they got the two touchdowns, no one panicked. We stuck to our game plan and worked until the end.”
Glenel was the only New Castle player able to strike back against the Spartans. The senior back finished with 103 yards and three scores for a New Castle team that ran for 94 yards overall.
“He’s been nursing a bit of a hamstring (injury), but he’s as dynamic a back in our league,” Cowart said. “I think he proved that tonight and he does so every Friday. I’ve been proud of Daylyn, the way he’s made himself a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday football player. He wasn’t always that, but he’s certainly been that the last couple of weeks and he’s seeing the results on Friday nights.”
New Castle couldn’t keep players on the field, as cramping and injuries became a major issue. Quarterback/linebacker Pat Minenok had to deal with a shoulder injury suffered midway through the first quarter, but he continued to play. He completed 11 of his 21 pass attempts for 68 yards on the night.
The only player who missed extended time was sophomore Geno Stone, who was injured in the first quarter and did not return.
The ‘Canes now find themselves in a similar situation, staring at an 0-2 start going into a matchup against Blackhawk.
New Castle started out 0-4 last year, but ended on a 4-1 run to reach the playoffs. Cowart is hoping his team remembers last year’s second-half surge.
“When you’re in an adverse situation, you don’t love it but that’s what we’re in,” Cowart said. “Our backs are against the wall and we have to respond. If we’re a good football team, we’ll respond from this, we’ll change and fix it and move forward.
“We’re forward-focused, we’re ready to get better and put this one behind us.”
(Email: AKoob@ncnewsonline.com)
MONTOUR NEW CASTLE
18 First downs 6
328 Yards Rushing 120
22 Yards Lost 26
306 Net Rushing 94
11 Passes Attempted 21
6 Passes Completed 11
1 Passes Intercepted 1
133 Yards Passing 68
439 Total Yards 162
3-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
2-41 Punts-Average 4-31.5
7-74 Penalties-Yards 8-80
MONTOUR 0 20 7 14 — 41
N. CASTLE 13 0 6 6 — 25
Scoring plays
NEW CASTLE — Daylyn Glenel, 32-yard run (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Cameron Stone, 67-yard interception return (Joe Nerti kick).
MONTOUR — Zach McGowan, 1-yard run (Nolan Hutter kick).
MONTOUR — David Haseleu, 15-yard run (Hutter kick).
MONTOUR — Kailen Grimm, 69-yard pass from Tyler Carswell (kick failed).
MONTOUR — McGowan, 1-yard run (Hutter kick).
NEW CASTLE — Glenel, 10-yard run (kick failed).
MONTOUR — McGowan, 1-yard run (Hutter kick).
NEW CASTLE — Glenel, 36-yard run (run failed).
MONTOUR — Brayden Jones, 1-yard run (Hutter kick).
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