Junior running back carries Laurel past Mohawk
Laurel (55) vs. Mohawk (28)
Written: Oct 30, 2010
  By STEVE TREU
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
Laurel High saved its best for last this season.
And for Dylan Jones, the best may be yet to come.
Laurel's junior running back exploded for one of the best games in school history to spark a 55-28 rout of host Mohawk in a WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Conference finale last night.
Jones ran 28 times for 277 yards and four touchdowns as the Spartans (3-5 conference, 4-5 overall) put together their finest offensive performance of the year, while their star runner provided another reason for the team to be excited for 2011.
“Our line was strong, we caught them a couple times throwing the ball and we have an exceptional running back in Dylan Jones,” Laurel coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “Things just went our way tonight.”
Laurel’s way was into the end zone.
The Spartans scored touchdowns on eight of their nine possessions, including all five in the second half to turn a 21-21 halftime tie into a blowout.
Jones broke the tie just 78 seconds into the third quarter on a 23-yard sprint off left tackle and then nearly duplicated the exact run 86 seconds later from 21 yards out for what turned out to be the game-winning score. His first touchdown came on a 75-yard burst in the first quarter and he added the final tally late in the fourth by walking in around the right side from the 3.
All told, Laurel piled up 368 rushing yards and 463 total.
“We didn’t tackle and we got handled on the defensive line,” Mohawk coach Jason Long said. “Any time you get mauled up front like that and you are going against a really good running back like that, you’re in big trouble.”
The Warriors (2-6, 2-7) looked pretty good on offense as well, with quarterback Johnny Beatty throwing for 250 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-31 passing. He also ran for a pair of touchdowns, including an 11-yarder on the first possession of the game and a 1-yarder midway through the second.
Beatty whipped a 10-yard bullet on a crossing pattern to Matt Vogel for a TD late in the first quarter and connected with Colin Bredl on an 8-yard scoring strike in the fourth, but the Spartans overwhelmed Mohawk beginning with 53 seconds left before halftime when they were down 21-14.
After forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back with time to operate, Laurel struck quickly when Kyle Richeal beat his man down the left sideline and Brandon Ritchie laid in a perfect bomb for a 49-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Ritchie and Richeal repeated the play — this time for 46 yards — to set up Billy Morrison's 2-yard plunge for a 48-21 lead early in the fourth.
Ritchie had the Spartans’ other two touchdowns as well, racing to the right pylon from 7 yards out on their first possession and dashing around the right after a fake handoff and cruising untouched for a 47-yarder in the third.
“For whatever reason,” Long said, “I don’t think we had our ‘A’ Game.”
Jones, to the contrary, brought his ‘A+’ Game.
“Dylan is as good as they come,” Holzhauser said. “He is quite an athlete. He’s a student of the game, always in the locker room with the linemen asking about blocking schemes. He does everything he needs to do to become a great back. ... We’re already looking forward to next year.”
The teams combined for 843 yards of total offense and committed 17 penalties for another 144 yards, yielding a nearly three-hour game. Ritchie and Jason DeRosa both had interceptions for the Spartans.
LAUREL MOHAWK
10 First downs 17
374 Yards Rushing 140
6 Yards Lost 10
368 Net Rushing 130
2 Passes Attempted 32
2 Passes Completed 16
0 Passes Intercepted 2
95 Yards Passing 250
463 Total Yards 380
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-0
0-0 Punts-Average 3-37
8-65 Penalties-Yards 9-79
LAUREL 14 7 20 14 — 55
MOHAWK 14 7 0 7 — 28
Scoring plays
MOHAWK — Johnny Beatty, 11-yard run (Cody Dean kick).
LAUREL — Brandon Ritchie, 7-yard run (Joe Johnson kick).
MOHAWK — Matt Vogel, 10-yard pass from Beatty (Dean kick).
LAUREL — Dylan Jones, 75-yard run (Johnson kick).
MOHAWK — Beatty, 1-yard run (Dean kick).
LAUREL — Kyle Richeal, 49-yard pass from Brandon Ritchie (Johnson kick)..
LAUREL — Jones, 23-yard run (Johnson kick).
LAUREL — Jones, 21-yard run (kick failed).
LAUREL — Ritchie, 47-yard run (Johnson kick).
LAUREL — Billy Morrison, 2-yard run (Johnson kick).
MOHAWK — Colin Bredl, 8-yard pass from Beatty (Dean kick).
LAUREL — Jones, 3-yard run (Johnson kick).
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