Beaver hands Laurel fifth loss
Laurel (7) vs. Beaver (41)
Written: Oct 23, 2010
By STEVE TREU
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
If wins were awarded for attitude, then Laurel High was victorious last night.
Based on the scoreboard, however, it was all Beaver.
The Bobcats moved well through the air and on the ground en route to a 41-7 triumph over host Laurel in Midwestern Conference action.
The final score did not reflect how the Spartans (2-5 conference, 3-5 overall) played.
“The kids gave great effort,” Laurel coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “Beaver is a very good team, but I didn’t see our kids folding out there. They gave it all they got, so I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Beaver (6-1, 7-1) piled up 338 yards of total offense, including 224 rushing, but relied on the pass to build an early lead.
Junior quarterback Christian Herstine completed 9 of 12 attempts for 106 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.
“Laurel did a good job stopping the run in the first half,” Beaver coach Jeff Beltz said. “They forced us to make some adjustments, so we threw it around a little bit.”
On Beaver’s first possession of the game, Herstine rolled to his right and found Nathan Mick for a 16-yard touchdown connection.
After Mick booted a 35-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead, Herstine tossed a 10-yard jump ball in the end zone for Marcus Little in the final minute of the opening quarter.
Mick extended the advantage to 20-0 with a 38-yard field goal. Later, Herstine whipped a 5-yard scoring strike to Justin Sosnowski in the front of the end zone in the closing seconds of the first half.
“They are very, very talented,” Holzhauser said.
“We have some decent athletes,” Beltz said, “and they made the plays they needed to make.”
After a scoreless third quarter, the Spartans got on the board when Billy Morrison broke through the Beaver defense for a 31-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth.
Morrison had 39 yards on eight carries, while Dylan Jones led Laurel with 45 yards on 11 runs.
“I’m happy for Billy,” Holzhauser said. “He missed some games but he’s worked hard to get back to where he is, so that was a big touchdown for him.”
Beaver scored twice in the fourth, once on a 30-yard fumble return by Jeremy Teams and then on a 29-yard run by Zeesha Braslawsce with 3:56 remaining.
The Bobcats forced four turnovers, the last of which was the fumble that popped in the air right into Teams’ hands for an easy return.
“Getting turnovers has been a trademark of our defense this year,” Beltz said.
Freshman Josh Dando thwarted a Beaver score by intercepting a pass at the goal line in the third quarter.
Laurel will close the regular season next week at Mohawk (2-5, 2-6), which lost to Beaver 37-7 two weeks ago.
BEAVER LAUREL
11 First downs 4
241 Yards Rushing 119
17 Yards Lost 14
224 Net Rushing 105
16 Passes Attempted 9
10 Passes Completed 3
1 Passes Intercepted 1
114 Yards Passing 24
338 Total Yards 129
2-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-3
2-27 Punts-Average 7-27
4-27 Penalties-Yards 1-15
BEAVER 17 10 0 14 — 41
LAUREL 0 0 0 7 — 7
Scoring plays
BEAVER - Nathan Mick, 16-yard pass from Christian Herstine (Mick kick).
BEAVER - Mick, 35-yard field goal.
BEAVER - Marcus Little, 10-yard pass from Herstine (Mick kick).
BEAVER - Mick, 38-yard field goal.
BEAVER - Justin Sosnowski, 5-yard pass from Herstine (Mick kick).
BEAVER - Jeremy Teams, 30-yard fumble return (Mick kick).
LAUREL - Billy Morrison, 31-yard run (Joe Johnson kick).
BEAVER - Zeesha Braslawsce, 29-yard run (Brandon Ragowski kick).
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