Big plays costly to Neshannock in WPIAL Class A quarterfinals
Neshannock (15) vs. Jeannette (25)
Written: Nov 14, 2015
  By Andrew Koob
New Castle News
CANONSBURG — The unfriendly confines of Canon-Mac Stadium reared their ugly head yet again toward the Neshannock High football team.
A year after watching their season end to Clairton on the Big Macs’ turf, the Lancers returned for a WPIAL Class A quarterfinals match against third-seeded Jeannette in an attempt to rid the sour taste of last year’s failure.
What sixth-seeded Neshannock left with Friday night, however, was another bitter, season-ending loss, this time a 25-15 defeat at the hands of the Jayhawks.
Jeannette, which fell to the Lancers in last year’s WPIAL Class A quarterfinals, turned to its big-play capability to attack Neshannock (9-2). The Jayhawks ran seven plays that went for 20 or more yards, which included three third-down conversions.
“I think it’s part of the game, they’re ramming the ball and running it at us. All of a sudden, they hit us with a play-action a couple times,” coach Fred Mozzocio said. “You’ve got to give them credit, they made the plays in the game to win. Unfortunately, we did not. That falls on me, first and foremost. It’s my job to have the team ready and we didn’t get it done tonight.
“But we’re not going to hang our heads, we had a hell of a season and we’ll take it at that.”
The Lancers, who were seeking their fourth-straight WPIAL Class A semifinal appearance, kept a close eye on the rushing attack of Jeannette (10-1), as they limited the Jayhawks to just eight rushing yards in the first half.
Jeannette quarterback Gio Vonne Sanders, with top rusher Kareem Hall sitting on the sidelines, finally broke through in the second half and totaled 133 yards on the ground, including a two-yard score.
The Jayhawks would finish with 358 total yards of offense, just eclipsing the Lancers’ 329 mark.
Neshannock frequently found itself facing fourth-down situations, but struggled to convert as it went 0-for-5 on fourth downs.
That included three of its four first-half drives, all of which ended within the Jayhawks’ 35-yard line.
Two of those drives lasted 14 plays each, with the opening drive going for 50 yards and the other, which ended at the Jeannette 1, going 63 yards down the field.
“Our defensive coaches had a great defensive plan, we mixed some things up and did some great things,” Hall said. “The kids played well, that helped. They had a big running back and a big quarterback and that had us worried. I know they got their yardage, but we came up big when we really needed to.
“You don’t want to give up yards, but I’ll give them 1,000 yards as long as we win the game.”
Despite the close misses, Neshannock still went into the half with a 7-7 tie, thanks to a Robert Lindsey field goal block in the closing seconds of the first half.
Jeannette opened up the second half with a five-play, 57-yard drive that ended in Sanders’ score and a successful two-point conversion.
Trailing by 11 points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Neshannock quarterback Frank Antuono rolled right and found a wide-open Danny Welker for a 40-yard score. The two-point conversion, a direct snap to Welker, was successful and brought the Lancers to within three.
That would be the closest Neshannock got, as Jeannette responded with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Anthony Schmidt. Antuono would throw deep on the next drive’s first play, which was intercepted by Sanders.
The Lancers would another chance to put a dent in the Jeannette lead, trailing by 10 with under five minutes to play, but another Sanders interception all-but sealed Neshannock’s fate.
“We battled and we were in this football game tonight,” Mozzocio said. “We had our opportunities, but things just didn’t go our way. They outplayed us and outcoached us.”
(Email: AKoob@ncnewsonline.com)
NESHANNOCK JEANNETTE
20 First downs 11
156 Yards Rushing 179
22 Yards Lost 11
134 Net Rushing 168
14 Passes Attempted 8
24 Passes Completed 13
2 Passes Intercepted 0
195 Yards Passing 190
329 Total Yards 358
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
0-0 Punts-Average 3-21.7
5-25 Penalties-Yards 5-30
NESHANNOCK 0 7 0 8 — 15
JEANNETTE 7 0 11 7 — 25
Scoring plays
JEANNETTE — Ryan Swinton, 2-yard run (Swade Redman kick).
NESHANNOCK — Robert Lindsey, 8-yard run (Essa Barhoum kick).
JEANNETTE — Gio Vonne Sanders, 2-yard run (Sanders run).
JEANNETTE — Redman, 40-yard field goal.
NESHANNOCK — Danny Welker, 40-yard pass from Frank Antuono (Welker run).
JEANNETTE — Anthony Schmidt, 11-yard pass from Sanders (Redman kick).
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