Mohawk falls to Freedom
Mohawk (25) vs. Freedom (41)
Written: Oct 15, 2016
By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
The Mohawk High football team has yet to pick up a win this season.
And the Warriors have yet to quit battling until the final second ticks off the clock.
Mohawk trailed by 22 points after three quarters and closed to within nine before falling 41-25 to visiting Freedom in a WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Conference matchup.
The loss is the 17th straight for the Warriors (0-6 conference, 0-7 overall) dating back to a 42-14 win over Summit Academy in Week 8 of the 2014 season.
"I'm 18 months into this job," said second-year Mohawk coach Tim McCutcheon. "The culture of this program needed changed. Until we win, the culture won't be changed.
"We're doing the little things that people don't know about that are going to set the foundation for it. Hopefully it will show up on the football field when we get our younger players a little bit older."
The Bulldogs (3-2, 3-5) scored the final touchdown on a Cody Ross three-yard run with just 38.8 seconds to play. Zach Greene converted the extra point for the 41-25 lead.
Freedom called timeout prior to the touchdown being scored, which happened on second down, to save time and get as many cracks at the end zone as possible. That score was the difference in the Bulldogs locking up a playoff spot in coach Tom Liberty's first season at the helm.
A brief discussion took place on the field after the game between McCutcheon and several members of the Freedom staff because of the late score.
"We achieved a goal tonight," Liberty said of his squad. "We needed the points for the playoff tiebreaker. (McCutcheon) didn't realize that.
"We had to win by 10 points. I wouldn't have done that otherwise. I would have taken a knee. This clinches a playoff berth. That's why we needed that win by 10 points. These kids had one goal. They said we had one goal and they did it the hard way."
Five teams from Class 2A from each conference advance to the WPIAL playoffs.
McCutcheon declined to comment when asked about his take on the discussion with members of the Freedom staff or the late score.
Liberty stepped down from his post as Riverside coach following the 2015 season. He coached the Panthers for five seasons and was 2-1 against Mohawk during that span. He noted the Warriors' progression since he last coached against them in 2013.
"They're throwing the ball a lot more than they have in the past," Liberty said. "They have some athletes and they have some big kids here.
"It's getting better here and the talent is getting better here. I just hope (McCutcheon) understands my staff was screaming at me that we have to win by 10 points for the Gardner Points. That was the purpose. But I like what I saw out here from Mohawk. They scared me coming in here. One thing about Mohawk is they never quit. No matter what the score is in every game I've watched of them."
Mohawk turned the ball over three times in the first half and dug a 27-12 halftime deficit.
"We're not a team that can make a lot of explosive plays offensively," McCutcheon said. "Any time we have turnovers or penalties they take their toll on us."
Senior running back Cayne Yakubik rolled up 111 rushing yards on 14 carries with three touchdowns for the Warriors. He ripped off an 83-yard scoring run in the first quarter and he scored the hosts last points on a one-yard plunge in the final frame.
"He was able to give us some explosive plays, something we've been looking forward to him doing all year," McCutcheon said.
The Warriors trailed 34-25 with 6:28 to go in the game. But they faced a fourth-and-28 from midfield and were forced to punt. The Bulldogs then chewed all but 38.8 seconds of that clock before Ross capped the scoring.
"I'm not happy because we don't have any wins," McCutcheon said. "The culture can't change until we start winning some football games.
"We have some young guys that are getting a lot of playing time that are showing promise. We'll have to see if they can continue to grow and where we go from there."
Mohawk returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday when it hosts Vincentian Academy (0-8) in a nonconference matchup. The Royals enter with a 13-game losing streak of their own.
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)
FREEDOM MOHAWK
16 First downs 13
268 Yards Rushing 166
20 Yards Lost 43
248 Net Rushing 123
9 Passes Attempted 20
3 Passes Completed 12
0 Passes Intercepted 2
56 Yards Passing 145
304 Total Yards 268
4-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
4-39.5 Punts-Average 2-32
5-41 Penalties-Yards 6-55
FREEDOM 7 20 7 7 — 41
MOHAWK 6 6 0 13 — 25
Scoring plays
FREEDOM — Nick Henderson, 40-yard pass from Zach Rosa (Zach Greene kick).
MOHAWK — Cayne Yakubik, 83-yard run (kick blocked.
FREEDOM — Kyle Borgman, 4-yard run (Greene kick).
MOHAWK — Yakubik, 5-yard run (run failed).
FREEDOM — Cody Ross, 1-yard run Greene kick).
FREEDOM — Dean Ward, 2-yard run (kick failed).
FREEDOM — Borgman, 1-yard run (Greene kick).
MOHAWK — Jaydon Johnson, 28-yard pass from Nick Wheeler (Joe Leslie kick).
MOHAWK — Yakubik, 1-yard run (pass failed).
FREEDOM — Ross, 3-yard run (Greene kick).
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