Rochester puts Shenango away early
Shenango (7) vs. Rochester (48)
Written: Oct 04, 2008
 By JOE SAGER
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
ROCHESTER — Start fast and finish strong.
That’s the motto for the Rochester High football team.
Last night, Shenango found out what that was all about, as the homestanding Rams blitzed the Wildcats for a 48-7 win in WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference action.
Rochester (4-0 conference, 6-0 overall), which is first in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s WPIAL rankings and third in the PIAA list, pounced on Shenango (0-4, 2-4) with 30 points in the first quarter.
“We wanted to come out and jump on them early and settle everything with our young kids. Our kids did that,” said Rochester coach Gene Matsook, a 1981 Shenango High graduate and former Wildcats football star. “It wasn’t pretty at times; there are some things we have to work on a bit. Shenango did some things that we didn’t pick up very well, but that’s a credit to Shenango.”
The Rams needed seven plays to reach the end zone on the game’s first drive. Less than a minute later, the hosts went up 15-0 when Trey Johnson stepped in front of a Joe Colavecchia pass and raced 24 yards untouched into the end zone.
Disaster struck again for Shenango on its next possession. Jonathan Harvey dove on a fumbled punt in the end zone to give the Rams another quick score. Suddenly, the ’Cats faced a 22-0 deficit before some of their players had even broken a sweat on the chilly evening.
“I think everyone would agree that’s the best football team in our conference,” Shenango coach Ryan Mayo said. “We shot ourselves in the foot in that first quarter. That’s why it got ugly quick. They are better than us right now, but I don’t know that they are 41 points better.”
Still, Rochester seems to make a habit out of rolling past its competition. The Rams have outscored their foes, 213-17, on the year.
“The films I watched of them, they did the same things. They are a very good football team,” Mayo said. “They are going to represent our conference well in the playoffs. They are a proud and rich program for a reason. It’s because they do things right and expect to win. You have to tip your cap to them.”
Rochester put the game out of reach in the first quarter with another touchdown for a 30-0 advantage as time expired. The Rams added two more scores in the second quarter for a 42-0 halftime edge.
“We just tell the kids not to look at the scoreboard and play each play,” Matsook said. “The score means nothing. If it’s 55-0 or 0-0, we’re playing the same way, no matter what. You have to instill that in your kids and our kids understand that, when the ball is snapped, we have to do what we have to do each play.”
Shenango showed signs of life in the second half. The ’Cats took the kickoff and marched 53 yards on five plays for a touchdown. Colavecchia ran the ball up the middle on a quarterback keeper, yet somehow emerged from a large scrum to scamper 24 yards into the end zone.
“At the start of the second half, they still had their first-team defense out there and they had only given up 10 points all year,” Mayo said. “I am proud of our kids. It would have been real easy to lie down, tuck our tails between our legs and go home. But, we didn’t do that and it’s very important that we didn’t because we are a young football team and that just shows you that the potential is there, we just have to keep at it.”
Nevertheless, the Rams weren’t very giving otherwise. They limited Shenango to 161 yards of total offense and intercepted Colavecchia twice.
“We’re doing a good job on defense and I’ve always said that defense wins championships. We have to continue to get better. We’re a work in progress continuously,” Matsook said. “We’re focusing one week at a time. That’s what I like about this football team — we had to be ready for Shenango. Next week, we have to be ready for Neshannock. All phases of the game, we need to get better at.”
SHENANGO ROCHESTER
5 First downs 17
168 Yards Rushing 177
7 Yards Lost 0
161 Net Rushing 177
4 Passes Attempted 6
0 Passes Completed 5
2 Passes Intercepted 0
0 Yards Passing 148
161 Total Yards 325
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
4-19.2 Punts-Average 1-33
6-60 Penalties-Yards 4-20
SHENANGO 0 0 7 0 — 7
ROCHESTER 30 12 0 6 — 48
Scoring plays
ROCHESTER – Paul Everson, 11-yard run (Everson kick).
ROCHESTER – Trey Johnson, 24-yard interception return (Brandon Gray run).
ROCHESTER – Jonathan Harvey, fumble recovery in end zone (Everson kick).
ROCHESTER – Chad Pennington, 63-yard pass from Gray (Brian Beightley pass from Emerson).
ROCHESTER – Pennington, 1-yard run (kick blocked).
ROCHESTER – Johnson, 2-yard run (kick failed).
SHENANGO – Joe Colavecchia, 24-yard run (Mark Alberti kick).
ROCHESTER – Nick Tapia, 6-yard run (kick blocked).
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