Spartans can't keep up with Beaver Falls
Laurel (7) vs. Beaver Falls (42)
Written: Oct 03, 2015
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Laurel’s defense had a hard time trying to contain Beaver Falls Friday night.
The Spartans aren’t alone, though. The Tigers, who averaged 40.8 points per game entering the contest, roared to a 42-7 win in a WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference battle.
“I thought we played pretty good defense, but you have one breakdown and — boom — they’re turning a third-and-25 into a 95-yard touchdown. They are athletic and make big plays, there’s no doubt about that. They are a good football team,” Laurel coach Brian Cooper said. “They definitely have a lot of talent; they’re big up front and they’re physical. I thought we played hard, but, unfortunately, they made some big plays early on that took us out of the game.”
Thanks to several big gainers, Beaver Falls (4-0 MAC, 5-0 overall) racked up 430 yards in the first half as the guests posted a 42-0 lead at the intermission.
Torian Leak got things going as his 55-yard run on the Tigers’ first play set up their first touchdown.
They got their second score 10 seconds later when Derrell Carter stepped in front of a Jake McDougal pass and returned it 50 yards to the house for a 12-0 lead.
Malik Shepherd escaped on a quarterback keeper 95 yards for the team’s third score.
Then the Beaver Falls passing game got going. Adam Brady fired a 39-yard TD strike to Nate Stratton early in the second.
Shepherd launched a 53-yard TD pass to Stratton near the end of the quarter. Shepherd floated a three-yard TD pass to Carter right before halftime.
“We’ve been really trying to spread it around and use all our formations and get ourselves, formationally, in what we want to be in,” Beaver Falls coach Ryan Matsook said.
“I was really proud of our kids because they stepped up. It was a cold-weather game a little earlier than normal in the season. We came out and did what we had to do.”
The Tigers’ defense was tough as well. The Spartans (1-3, 2-3) managed only 54 yards of offense in the first half.
“They have a ton of speed and they have a bunch of different weapons. Obviously, they can throw the ball and they’re going to pressure you. It’s hard to get anything going offensively,” Cooper said.
“You might get a couple of plays, but if you make one big mistake and they are going to capitalize on it and make you pay.”
Laurel broke the shutout late in the fourth quarter after both teams substituted freely. Lance Hill found Jordan Dantico for a 39-yard TD strike.
“We have to turn the page and move on. We have to focus on next week. It’s a big conference matchup. We’re not out of it yet,” Cooper said.
“We have to focus on Mohawk. If we dwell on this, we have other issues. You have to focus on what’s in front of you and not what’s behind you. This one is behind us and we’re going to move on and get better.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
BEAVER FALLS LAUREL
13 First downs 9
342 Yards Rushing 83
24 Yards Lost 10
318 Net Rushing 73
12 Passes Attempted 21
5 Passes Completed 4
0 Passes Intercepted 3
125 Yards Passing 71
443 Total Yards 144
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
2-31 Punts-Average 5-29
12-95 Penalties-Yards 1-15
B. FALLS 20 22 0 0 — 42
LAUREL 0 0 0 7 — 7
Scoring plays
BEAVER FALLS — Torian Leak, 5-yard run (pass failed).
BEAVER FALLS — Derrell Carter, 50-yard interception return (pass failed).
BEAVER FALLS — Malik Shepherd, 95-yard run (Nate Stratton pass from Shepherd).
BEAVER FALLS — Stratton, 39-yard pass from Adam Brady (Shepherd pass from Brady).
BEAVER FALLS — Stratton, 53-yard pass from Shepherd (Mason Carothers kick).
BEAVER FALLS — Carter, 3-yard pass from Shepherd (Carothers kick).
LAUREL — Jordan Dantico, 39-yard pass from Lance Hill (Zach Morrison kick).
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