Antuono, Lancers enjoy night to remember
Neshannock (42) vs. Mohawk (7)
Written: Oct 29, 2016
By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
The Neshannock High football team locked up the conference championship outright Friday night.
And Lancers quarterback Frank Antuono joined elite company in the win.
The Lancers' defense allowed just 126 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers in a 42-7 WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Conference decision over visiting Mohawk.
The Lancers (7-0 conference, 9-1 overall) came into the game with at least a share of the league crown.
"We're definitely excited for it," Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said of winning the conference crown. "That's our first goal on the way to where we want to get to. We took care of business."
The WPIAL will release the playoff pairings Monday at a meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree.
Antuono, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior quarterback/linebacker, surpassed the 5,000-yard passing and 2,000-yard rushing marks for his career. He became just the second quarterback in WPIAL history to accomplish the feat. Lenny Williams of Sto-Rox was the first, doing so just a couple of seasons ago. Williams is now the starting quarterback at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
"To do that in a career is special," Mozzocio said. "You can think of the long list of quarterbacks in western Pennsylvania and that's special to do.
"When Frank first became quarterback here a lot of people said he shouldn't be the quarterback. I don't know who else we could have put back there that would have put up those kind of numbers, 5,000 and 2,000 for a career. There aren't too many that could do that."
Antuono will continue his collegiate career as a linebacker at Robert Morris University.
"I couldn't have done anything without my teammates and without my coaches," Antuono said. "I've had the best teammates and best coaches throughout my career at Neshannock and I'm grateful for it."
Antuono finished 15 of 21 through the air for 225 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He surpassed the 5,000 career aerial yards in the second stanza and was recognized for his accomplishment during a change of possession.
But Antuono noted the team's win and outright conference crown is what made the night special.
"Winning the conference championship was the first goal we set out for at the beginning of the year," he said. "We have two more goals set. It feels great. It's been a grind all season and I'm just proud of all of our guys."
Neshannock's Sean Doran got his team rolling early. He hauled in a 49-yard pass from Antuono on the game's first play and then plowed in from six yards out on the next play for the score. Tristan Tuck's extra point made it 7-0 Neshannock just 45 seconds into the game.
It was the start of a dominant night for Doran. He capped his night with an 84-yard scoring run late in the third period and Tuck's conversion kick propelled the game into the mercy rule with the Lancers up 35-0. Tuck converted all six of his extra points.
Doran finished with just five carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns. He also added a 14-yard scoring tote in the first frame, while hauling in three passes for 52 yards.
"Sean Doran played excellent," Mozzocio said. "When he got his opportunities he made them count. He hit the holes.
"Our offensive line, which doesn't get a lot of credit, they're undersized every week. We're actually the smallest line in our conference and those guys really picked it up tonight. Nick Staph, Mario Manos, Mason Davison, Gary Crawford and Anthony Medure did an excellent job."
Neshannock's defense continued its strong play. The Lancers are allowing just 11.7 points a game.
"Our defense has been strong all year," Antuono said. "It's just been great having our defense playing so well. I'm proud of our guys."
The Warriors (0-7, 1-8) got on the board when Cayne Yakubik raced 79 yards for a score on a kickoff return following Doran's long touchdown jaunt. Joe Leslie tacked on the extra point.
The Lancers' Chris Scott intercepted two Nick Wheeler passes, including one he returned 75 yards for a score. He added a second touchdown when he snared a 34-yard scoring pass from Antuono in the fourth frame to close the scoring.
"Chris is going to be one of those guys that we need to have step up and be playing that type of football," Mozzocio said. "The two picks were phenomenal."
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)
MOHAWK NESHANNOCK
10 First downs 18
61 Yards Rushing 246
32 Yards Lost 14
29 Net Rushing 232
24 Passes Attempted 23
12 Passes Completed 15
2 Passes Intercepted 1
97 Yards Passing 225
126 Total Yards 457
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
4-33.2 Punts-Average 0-0
2-10 Penalties-Yards 8-77
MOHAWK 0 0 7 0 — 7
NESHANNOCK 14 7 14 7 — 42
Scoring plays
NESHANNOCK — Sean Doran, 6-yard run (Tristan Tuck kick).
NESHANNOCK — Doran, 14-yard run (Tuck kick).
NESHANNOCK — Danny Welker, 3-yard run (Tuck kick).
NESHANNOCK — Chris Scott, 75-yard interception return (Tuck kick).
NESHANNOCK — Doran, 84-yard run (Tuck kick).
MOHAWK — Cayne Yakubik, 79-yard kickoff return (Joe Leslie kick).
NESHANNOCK — Scott, 34-yard pass from Frank Antuono (Tuck kick).
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