Shenango dominates stats, but not scoreboard
Shenango (6) vs. Chartiers-Houston (20)
Written: Sep 12, 2011
By DAN IRWIN
New Castle News
There were two things the Shenango High football team couldn’t seem to hold onto Saturday.
One was the ball. The other was momentum.
Thus, the Wildcats ended up dropping a 20-6 decision to Chartiers-Houston in a nonconference game that, statistically, they dominated. Shenango fumbled the ball away four times — including two that the Buccaneers converted into touchdowns — and came away without points three times after getting inside their opponent’s 10 yard line.
The Wildcats (1-1) outgained the Buccaneers, 240-150, in total yards and ran 67 offensive plays to the visitors’ 32. However, Chartiers-Houston (2-0) stopped Shenango on fourth-and three from the 8 in the second quarter; on third-and-goal from the 1 in the fourth quarter when Shenango fumbled the ball away for the fourth time; and on fourth-and-goal from the 13 with just over two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
“Defense did a great job,” Chartiers-Houston head coach Terry Fetsko said. “We talked about bending and not breaking and that’s what we did tonight.
“I know we gave them some yards. First half, I believe, we only had about 14 plays. They controlled the clock, but we wouldn’t let them in the end zone. That’s a tribute to the kids.”
Similarly, Shenango head coach Ryan Mayo was pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
“I think this is the best our defense has played in a long, long time,” he said. “(Chartiers-Houston) is a team that made the playoffs last year, only lost five kids. They’re fast, they do a lot of things well, and really, we shut them down. We gave them a kickoff return, but our defense gave up 13 points, and one of those (touchdowns) was on a short field.”
Shenango scored first, six plays after the Buccaneers fumbled the ball away at their own 22 on the first play of the game. Quarterback Tynen Greer’s 11-yard run put the ’Cats up, 6-0.
The lead didn’t last long, though, as Jevone Hairston returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to knot the game at 6-all.
Chartiers-Houston went ahead two plays after Shenango fumbled the ball away at its own 16 late in the opening stanza. Following an offensive pass interference call, quarterback Daniel Lis hit Miles Williamson on a third-down, 24-yard scoring strike.
Shenango fumbled the ball again on its next possession, and the Buccaneers needed just two plays to strike pay dirt, scoring on a 54-yard run by Lis.
“The kickoff return, that took the momentum away from us, that was big,” Mayo said. “And then on third and long, we lose a little coverage, and the guy got behind him, and touchdown. Third and long should be a winnable situation with the defense but it went the other way for us.
“But overall, I’m super pleased with the defense, and we have to work on what’s wrong with the offense, and I don’t think it’s much. We’ve just got to get down in that red zone and cash in. Overall, I think there’s a lot of positive you can take from this game.”
*****
BOX SCORE
CHAR-HOU. SHEN.
5 First downs 14
138 Yards Rushing 163
14 Yards Lost 36
124 Net Rushing 127
8 Passes Attempted 15
2 Passes Completed 7
0 Passes Intercepted 0
26 Yards Passing 117
150 Total Yards 244
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 6-4
5-39.6 Punts-Average 2-36.5
6-52 Penalties-Yards 2-15
CHAR.-HOU. 6 14 0 0 — 20
SHENANGO 6 0 0 0 — 6
Scoring plays
SHENANGO — Tynen Greer, 11-yard run (kick failed).
CHARTIERS-HOUSTON — Jevone Hairston, 85-yard kickoff return (kick failed).
CHARTIERS-HOUSTON — Miles Williamson, 24-yard pass from Daniel Lis (Zach Hamilton kick).
CHARTIERS-HOUSTON — Lis, 54-yard run (Hamilton kick).
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