Mohawk unable to keep pace with Beaver
Mohawk (0) vs. Beaver (31)
Written: Oct 03, 2015
 By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
BESSEMER — It has become an all-too familiar story for the Mohawk High football team.
The Warriors’ defense once again kept the team in the game last night against Beaver, only to have the offense come up short.
Mohawk managed just 85 yards of total offense and fumbled away the football twice in a 31-0 loss to the Bobcats in a WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference game on “Pink Out Night” at a frigid Mohawk field.
“Unfortunately I’ve said this before, but if you don’t score, you can’t win,” Mohawk coach Tim McCutcheon said.
The Warriors (0-4 conference, 0-5 overall) have been outscored 183-33 this season, and have been shut out twice.
Beaver (3-1, 4-1) scored the only points it would need with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter as quarterback Darius Wise scored from a yard out to cap a short 4-play, 34-yard drive following a 16-yard Mohawk punt.
Wise, a 5-11, 170-pound junior, had a hand in all five Bobcats touchdowns — throwing for three and rushing for two. He completed 10-of-18 passes for 176 yards, and carried the ball nine times for 60 yards.
“Darius is a unique athlete,” Beaver coach Jeff Beltz said. “It’s his intangibles. He’s a great team player. Even thought he might be the star athlete, you saw him at the end cheering all the young guys on. That’s what makes him special. We have a good group, and Darius leads them well.”
Wise hooked up with Landon Pontolil for a 49-yard scoring strike midway through the second quarter to hike the Bobcats’ lead to 12-0.
Mohawk’s offense showed some signs of life on its next possession. Damien Nowicki’s 55-yard kickoff return gave the Warriors the ball at the Beaver 40-yard line. The hosts drove the football to the Beaver 13, but Jaydon Johnson’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Beaver took over with 1:39 remaining before the half, and drove 87 yards to add to its lead before the break. Wise, who connected with Christian Hyrb on gains of 18 and 37 yards during the drive, scored the back-breaking touchdown on a scramble from 8 yards out with 2.2 seconds showing on the clock.
“That score before the half was absolutely devastating,” McCutcheon said. “We had to get a stop at that point. It was a pivotal moment. That’s the struggles we’re going through at the moment. We tend to shoot ourselves in the foot once we get something going. I guess that’s a characteristic of a team with a record like we have.”
The Bobcats continued their momentum swing by taking the second-half kickoff for another score to increase their lead to 25-0. A 17-yard Wise-to-Pantolil scoring strike capped the six-play, 55-yard drive.
“Anytime you can jump out and score some points, it builds confidence, especially since we were getting the ball to start the second half,” Beltz said. “It gives you confidence, and most of this game is confidence.”
An 8-yard TD pass from Wise to Dante Anzevino with 1:11 to go in the third quarter set the final.
While Mohawk’s offense struggled as a whole, it did get respectable performances on the ground from Cayne Yakubik and Jesse Wolfe. Yakubik carried the football 18 times for 58 yards, while Wolfe finished with 48 yards on 10 totes.
Mohawk will host Laurel on Friday.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
BEAVER MOHAWK
12 First downs 10
152 Yards Rushing 156
26 Yards Lost 101
126 Net Rushing 55
23 Passes Attempted 11
13 Passes Completed 4
0 Passes Intercepted 0
189 Yards Passing 30
315 Total Yards 85
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 3-2
3-38 Punts-Average 5-34
9-90 Penalties-Yards 6-61
BEAVER 6 13 12 0 — 31
MOHAWK 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring plays
BEAVER – Darius Wise, 1-yard run (kick failed).
BEAVER – Landon Pontolil, 49-yard pass from Wise (kick failed).
BEAVER – Wise, 8-yard run (Will Connelly kick).
BEAVER – Pontolil, 17-yard pass from Wise (kick failed).
BEAVER – Dante Anzevino, 8-yard pass from Wise (kick failed).
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