Vogel, Beatty get the party started for Mohawk
Mohawk (49) vs. New Brighton (6)
Written: Sep 25, 2010
By STEVE TREU
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
Johnny Beatty’s picturesque pass fell into Matt Vogel’s hands like a friend tossing him a birthday present.
Which is precisely what it was.
Vogel celebrated his 18th birthday last night in style, sparking Mohawk early with a pair of touchdown receptions in the first quarter of a 49-6 Midwestern Conference rout of visiting New Brighton.
“This was definitely a good birthday gift,” said the Warriors’ big senior with a smile as wide as his team’s margin of victory.
In a game filled with highlight-reel plays, Vogel and his talented quarterback stood out by breaking the game open in the first 11 minutes on scoring hookups of 11 and 37 yards.
Their most memorable connection was the latter one, when a sprinting Vogel slipped past the New Brighton defense and reached up to haul in Beatty’s spiral on the fly.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it,” Vogel said, “but it was a perfect ball.”
“Matt ran a really nice route to get behind everybody, and Beatty put it right where Matt could make a play on it,” Mohawk coach Jason Long said. “It was a good job by both kids.”
Their first scoring strike came on Mohawk’s initial possession, with the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Vogel catching Beatty’s dart in the front of the end zone just over six minutes into the game. The contest was basically over a few minutes later when the dynamic duo struck again.
Beatty finished with 179 yards and three touchdowns through the air on 9-of-17 attempts. He also ran for a 7-yard touchdown and carried in a 2-point conversion try.
“Johnny does so many good things. He has the physical ability to make big plays and mentally he’s so sharp,” Long said. “And Matt, for as big as he is, can move well and has good hands. I have a lot of confidence in all of our skill guys.”
Those skill guys made plays for the Warriors (2-2, 2-2) all evening, including a pair of breakaway scores that buried the Lions (0-3, 1-3) just a few minutes apart in the second half.
Already up 30-0, senior running back Jimmy French took an inside handoff, bolted through the right side of the line and dashed untouched through the New Brighton secondary for a 75-yard touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, junior linebacker John Fleck scooped up a fumble and raced 60 yards for a score.
Mohawk’s other touchdowns came on a 39-yard screen pass from Beatty to Colin Bredl and on Shane McFarland’s 17-yard run late in the fourth.
The Warriors plowed through New Brighton for 408 total yards while yielding just 151.
“Give credit to the offensive line,” Long said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries, but we had a lot of guys step in and battle for us.”
French was the game’s leading rusher with 95 yards on five carries, with freshman Willy Holland tacking on 45 on five tries.
Mohawk, which has won two straight by a combined score of 90-12, will host Ellwood City next week.
“After starting out 0-2, it’s great to respond with two blowout wins,” Vogel said.
New Brighton scored its lone touchdown after the mercy rule had taken effect. With the clock running virtually nonstop throughout the fourth quarter, the Lions broke their drought when quarterback Drew Devinney carried in a 9-yard run.
Bredl posted a game-high 55 receiving yards on two catches and also had a 48-yard interception return. Senior lineman Nathan Murphy had a fumble recovery for the Warriors.
NEW BRIGHTON MOHAWK
7 First downs 14
136 Yards Rushing 261
27 Yards Lost 32
109 Net Rushing 229
9 Passes Attempted 17
3 Passes Completed 9
1 Passes Intercepted 1
42 Yards Passing 179
151 Total Yards 408
3-2 Fumbles—Lost 1-0
4-33 Punts—Average 1-27
2-20 Penalties—Yards 4-28
NEW BRIGHTON 0 0 0 6 — 6
MOHAWK 16 8 12 13 — 49
Scoring plays
MOHAWK — Matt Vogel, 11-yard pass from Johnny Beatty (Beatty run).
MOHAWK — Vogel, 37-yard pass from Beatty (Colin Bredl run).
MOHAWK — Bredl, 39-yard pass from Beatty (Jimmy French run).
MOHAWK — Beatty, 7-yard run (kick failed).
MOHAWK — French, 75-yard run (kick failed).
MOHAWK — John Fleck, 60-yard fumble return (Cody Dean kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Drew Devinney, 9-yard run (run failed).
MOHAWK — Shane McFarland, 17-yard run (kick blocked).
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