Rochester has no trouble with Neshannock
Neshannock (0) vs. Rochester (42)
Written: Oct 17, 2009
By STEVE TREU
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
ROCHESTER — If you saw one possession from each team, you saw them all.
Rochester rolled. Neshannock, well, it did something quite the opposite.
The Rams scored touchdowns on their first five turns with the ball and the Lancers usually responded with a three-and-out series in a 42-0 rout for host Rochester in WPIAL Big Seven Conference action.
“They just ram-rodded us,” Neshannock coach Pat Cuba said.
Other than an interception thrown by the Lancers, the Rochester touchdown/Neshannock three-and-out trend in the first half was interrupted by just one Neshannock first down and a kneel-down by the Rams to end the second quarter.
The pattern was clear from the start, as Rochester (5-0, 7-0), ranked No. 1 in the state in Class A, quickly moved 56 yards in less than three minutes and produced all the points they would need on a 1-yard run by Trey Johnson.
After the Lancers (1-4, 2-5) went three-and-out, the Rams cruised another 72 yards in less than three minutes for a 14-0 lead on Nick Tapia’s short scoring burst.
After the Lancers went three-and-out again, the Rams took it 55 yards in less than three minutes and scored when Troy Belcastro hauled in a 23-yard pass from Jason Adamson to make it 21-0.
The trend was set and there were still 24 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We didn’t take (Neshannock) lightly,” Rochester coach Gene Matsook said. “We came out and took care of business.”
Cuba had expected the Lancers, coming off a 17-6 win last week against Western Beaver, to at least put up at fight against the first-place Rams.
“I thought we were going to be able to come off the ball better than we did,” he said. “We’re just not big enough and boy did that show its ugly face tonight.”
Rochester continued to have its way with Neshannock in the second quarter, scoring two more times on passes from Adamson to Tapia (15 yards) and Devon Glass (5). The Rams were in position for more points at the end of the quarter but settled for a 35-0 margin headed into intermission.
The Rams rolled up 356 yards of offense in the first half, compared to just 31 for Neshannock.
With the mercy rule in effect throughout the second half, Rochester emptied its bench and posted the final score on a 47-yard punt return by De’Andre Moon.
Neshannock had a few individual highlights: junior Asa Davies had a couple nice kickoff returns, quarterback John Sansone zipped a 17-yard completion to Nick Graziani to move the chains on third-and-long, and freshman Ryan Tyler stymied Rochester’s last possession with a 9-yard sack.
Other than those plays, it was all Rochester.
“They are an excellent football team, well-coached. Gene does a great job,” Cuba said. “We took a lot of steps backward tonight. I’m very disappointed in the way we played, but we can’t quit. We have two games to go.”
Derek Gallagher was the game’s leading rusher with 85 yards on nine carries, while Johnson added 66 yards on eight tries. Erik Welker led Neshannock with 17 yards on three attempts.
The Lancers play their final road game of the season Friday at Monaca, while Rochester travels to South Side Beaver on Saturday.
NESHANNOCK ROCHESTER
2 First downs 16
54 Yards Rushing 277
20 Yards Lost 17
34 Net Rushing 260
11 Passes Attempted 14
3 Passes Completed 9
1 Passes Intercepted 0
49 ......Yards Passing .........126
83 Total Yards 386
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
6-34 Punts-Average 2-33
2-33 Penalties-Yards 4-40
NESHANNOCK 0 0 0 0 — 0
ROCHESTER 21 14 7 0 — 42
Scoring plays
ROCHESTER — Trey Johnson, 1-yard run (John Johnson kick).
ROCHESTER — Nick Tapia, 3-yard run (kick failed).
ROCHESTER -—Troy Belcastro, 23-yard pass from Jason Adamson (Adamson run).
ROCHESTER — Tapia, 15-yard pass from Adamson (J. Johnson kick).
ROCHESTER — Devon Glass, 5-yard pass from Adamson (J. Johnson kick).
ROCHESTER — De’Andre Moon, 47-yard punt return (J. Johnson kick).
|