Late-arriving Wilkinsburg unable to catch Scotties
Union (26) vs. Wilkinsburg (0)
Written: Sep 12, 2009
By DAN IRWIN
d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com
Wilkinsburg apparently had a longer trip than it thought.
The Tigers also gave Union a shorter field than they’d have liked.
After arriving at Socs Roussos Stadium just 15 minutes before the scheduled 7 p.m. kickoff, Wilkinsburg went on to botch three punt snaps, setting the Scotties up each time on the Tigers’ side of the 50 yard line. Union took advantage of the field position to score three touchdowns en route to a 26-0 non-league win.
Union (1-1) got on the board with a safety when the first of the three errant punt snaps sailed over the head of Baratta Bey and out of the end zone in the first quarter. After Wilkinsburg’s ensuing free kick, the Scotties began a five-play scoring march from the Tigers’ 40, capped by 21-yard pass from Anthony Forletta to Damian Trott.
Wilkinsburg’s next series also ended with an ill-fated punt try, and Union took over on the Tigers’ 34. Matt Moore scored the first of his two touchdowns five plays later on a 13-yard run.
In the third quarter, yet another misfired punt snap resulted in a 21-yard Wilkinsburg loss and gave Union the ball at the Tigers 15. Moore scored on a 2-yard run four plays later.
Union rounded up the scoring on Nathaniel Majors’ 3-yard run with 2:30 left in period three.
“The field position doesn’t mean anything unless we capitalize on it, and a few times we did,” said Union head coach Stacy Robinson, who also noted that his team fumbled the ball away twice in the first quarter, at the Tigers’ 25 and 1 yard lines.
“But a few times we also blew it, we fumbled on the 1, and that stuff has just got to be eliminated — tomorrow morning. Tonight we had a lot of mistakes and we’ve got to eliminate them, but we did some good things also.”
Moore, for example, got off to a rocky start, turning the ball over on his first carry. But the senior tailback wound up with 80 yards on 17 attempts, while also catching three passes for 26 yards.
“It makes me more determined to get in on a play,” Moore said of his fumble “to get the ball a couple more times, hold on to it a little bit better.
“I figured we would be able to move the ball on them pretty good,” he added. “They’re kind of an undisciplined team.”
The Tigers demonstrated that by committing 16 penalties for 84 yards. And as if being their own worst enemy wasn’t tough enough, they also couldn’t solve Union’s rushing defense, netting a minus-46 yards on the ground
The Scotties pressured Tigers quarterback Jordan Wade for much of the night as well, sacking him seven times (including three by tackle Michael Annarella).
And yet, Wade still went on to pass for 174 yards, including 81 on a 12-play, second-quarter march that ended at the Union 11. The Tigers, down 14-0, faced fourth-and-goal from the 1, but running back Rob Taylor fumbled the ball for a 10-yard loss.
“Wilkinsburg’s got some players, and if you give them an open space or a chance to go deep on you, they will,” Robinson said. “They tested our will and our character and we were able to come through. They were knocking on our door and they were about to make it a football game, we were able to stop them
“I always tell the kids there’s four, five plays that determine the outcome of a game. That was a big play. We stopped them from scoring, and the tide turned in our favor.”
WILKINSBURG UNION
6 First downs 15
38 Yards Rushing 188
84 Yards Lost 7
-46 Net Rushing 181
25 Passes Attempted 12
9 Passes Completed 8
1 Passes Intercepted 0
74 Yards Passing 109
128 Total Yards 290
3-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-2
3-25 Punts-Average 1-28
16-84 Penalties-Yards 4-25
WILKINSBURG 0 0 0 0 — 0
UNION 8 6 12 0 — 26
Scoring plays
UNION — Safety, Wilkinsburg punt snap goes out of end zone.
UNION — Damian Trott 21-yard pass from Anthony Forletta (Pass failed).
UNION — Matt Moore 13-yard run (Kick failed).
UNION — Moore 2-yard run (Kick failed).
UNION — Mate Majors 3-yard run (Run failed).
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