Eggleston leads ’Canes to convincing win over Ambridge
New Castle (45) vs. Ambridge (7)
Written: Sep 11, 2010
 By JOE SIMON
j_simon@ncnewsonline.com
New Castle High wide receiver Corey Eggleston really didn’t want to play football this year.
Eggleston plays basketball for the Red Hurricane, and he was content doing what he thought was his “only love.” But his friends on the football team weren’t going to let him take another year off. They insisted he come out after two years away from the game.
So he did, and now he’s loving every minute of it.
He certainly enjoyed last night, when he was a vital part of the ’Canes offense’ in a 45-7 Parkway Conference victory over Ambridge.
Eggleston and quarterback Johnny Matarazzo lit up the Bridgers’ secondary. Eggleston, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior, caught seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. He was Matarazzo’s main target — and not just yesterday, either. Matarazzo was one of the guys pestering Eggleston to join the ’Canes (1-0, 2-0).
“I’ve played basketball forever, and I thought that was my only love,” Eggleston said. “But my friends talked me into it, and I wouldn’t change my decision for anything. I’m loving it.”
Matarazzo was equally as impressive as Eggleston. The junior connected on his first eight passes and finished 10-of-14 for 189 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Eggleston said once he decided to play, he and Matarazzo made sure the two would be in sync.
“Me, Johnny and some of the guys came down here during the summer and worked on running routes and stuff,” Eggleston said. “It paid off, too, because now he knows how I run routes, and the timing is there.”
The scoring was widespread for New Castle. Justin Fleo ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries — all in the first half — before re-aggravating an ankle injury. He did not return, yet his early success running the ball caused plenty of trouble for Ambridge (0-1, 0-2).
“When you start scorching ’em with the run, they (the secondary) have to come up a little bit to get involved in the run game,” New Castle coach Frank Bongivengo Jr. said. “Because we were so successful running the ball, our guys were able to get by them even though they were playing so deep (off the ball).”
Fleo started the scoring on the second play from scrimmage, darting up the middle and outrunning the secondary. That play set up Matarazzo’s first touchdown after Ambridge took a short-lived, 7-6, lead. Matarazzo faked the same handoff to Fleo, then pulled the ball back and fired a perfect pass to a wide-open Marcus Carter for a 45-yard TD pass.
Fleo then added a second 37-yard touchdown. This time he ran over a defender in the middle of the field and then shrugged off another tackle on his way to the end zone. On the next ’Canes drive, as they moved inside the Bridgers’ 10-yard line, Fleo came up limping after a 2-yard run. He had the ankle heavily wrapped following the game and needed assistance to walk.
“He had a high-ankle sprain during camp and missed our first scrimmage,” Bongivengo said. “We’re going to have to take a better look at it (today), but he was in some pain.”
Fleo’s injury wasn’t the only flaw found in the victory. New Castle committed 10 penalties for 85 yards, and while the defense allowed just seven points, they gave up nearly 200 yards rushing. Bongivengo said the veer-option offense run by Ambridge can be hard to prepare for, but that’s no excuse for the penalties and players not reacting properly.
“For some reason, defensively, we were on our heels and we were trying to sort things out instead of just attacking and doing what we were taught to do,” Bongivengo said. “They hurt us the first series when they went down and scored, and they were able to control the ball a little on us.”
One area that isn’t a concern is in the trenches. Both Matarazzo and Bongivengo complimented the offensive line, which didn’t give up a sack — or even a hit — on Matarazzo. The men up front dominated the line of scrimmage from the outset.
“I don’t even remember anyone really getting close to (Matarazzo),” Bongivengo said. “Our line is going to be the key this year. We know we have some skill guys, but it doesn’t matter if the line isn’t doing their job. But our line has worked really hard and I’m really proud of them.”
New Castle plays at 7 p.m. at Central Valley on Friday.
AMBRIDGE NEW CASTLE
13 First downs 13
207 Yards Rushing 278
18 Yards Lost 4
189 Net Rushing 274
11 Passes Attempted 14
4 Passes Completed 10
0 Passes Intercepted 0
25 Yards Passing 181
214 Total Yards 455
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
2-35 Punts-Average 0-0
7-56 Penalties-Yards 10-85
AMBRIDGE 7 0 0 0 — 7
NEW CASTLE 14 12 13 6 — 45
Scoring plays
NEW CASTLE — Justin Fleo, 37-yard run (kick failed).
AMBRIDGE — Sam Kwidis, 2-yard run (Joe Savage kick).
NEW CASTLE — Marcus Carter, 45-yard pass from Johnny Matarazzo (Fleo run).
NEW CASTLE — Fleo, 37-yard run (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Jalen Holmes, 2-yard run (run failed).
NEW CASTLE — Holmes, 14-yard run (Brandon Beck kick).
NEW CASTLE — Corey Eggleston, 15-yard pass from Matarazzo (kick failed).
NEW CASTLE — Gianni Oliva, 12-yard run (kick failed).
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