Scotties throw scare into Rochester
Union (19) vs. Rochester (21)
Written: Sep 15, 2012
 By Dan Irwin
New Castle News
Union High nearly fired a shot heard ’round the WPIAL.
In the end, though, the Scotties just shot themselves in the foot.
Union gave WPIAL Class A No. 2-ranked Rochester all it could handle last night at Socrates Roussos Field. But the Scotties also set up two Rams scores on turnovers and a third by surrendering a 97-yard kickoff return, helping the visitors escape with a 21-19 WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference victory.
The Scotties (1-1 in the conference, 2-1 overall) also missed a PAT and a two-point conversion, and halfback Drew Robinson threw an interception from on fourth-and-2 at the Rams’ 19 early in the final frame.
“Usually there’s five or six plays that determine the outcome of the game, and little things like that — the kickoff return, the missed extra point — they ended up coming back and they got us tonight,” Union coach Stacy Robinson said.
Nonetheless, the contest was quite a different affair from the two teams’ last four meetings, when Union was shut out three times and outscored 164-7.
“Back in the old Big Seven, we would play with (Rochester) for two quarters, three, and then they would impose their will on you,” Robinson said. “This is the first time we’ve taken them to the edge with it.
“We expected to play them hard, we battled them all the way through four quarters, but we came up two points short.”
Rochester head coach and Shenango High graduate Eugene Matsook said he expected no less than what he got from the Scotties.
“I think our kids came in a little bit flat, knowing that in the past we’ve beat them pretty good,” he said. “I kept telling them all week this Union team’s got some great skill, and they showed it.
“We needed a game like this. Sometimes, you get in the conference and you win 50-0 every week, it doesn’t do you any good. Tonight, our backs were to the wall, our defense had to step up, we had a couple kids out with injuries, and we had a couple other kids step up with that.”
Union drew first blood on an 83-yard pass from Joe Salmen to Benjamin Young, then appeared to build more momentum when it stopped the Rams (2-0, 3-0) on a fourth-and-1 at the Scotties’ 37. On the next play, though, Young fumbled the ball away, and Dante Marsick rambled 44 yards on first down to knot the score.
Marsick finished with 136 yards on 24 carries.
Union retaliated when Robinson, who had 81 yards on 14 carries, capped a nine-play, 62-yard drive with a 1-yard run, but Alyjah Elmore ran the ensuing kickoff back 97 yards to the Union 3. Marsick scored three plays later to make it 13-all at the half.
Salmen threw an interception on the third play of the third quarter that the Rams turned into a TD seven plays later on a Marsick 3-yard run. Once again, though, Union responded on its next possession, closing to within 21-19 on Robinson’s 5-yard run.
However, a failed two-point try and interceptions on the Scotties’ next two drives — the latter picked off by Ben Richko at the Rams 10 — prevented Union from scoring again.
Afterward, Robinson tried to balance the disappointment of just missing an upset with the encouragement of taking one of the WPIAL’s top teams down to the wire.
“I guess when it’s all said and done, it might be a moral victory,” he said, “but right now, no. I think we had the chance to shock the world, and send waves throughout the state.
“It’s not a moral victory, but maybe it’s a statement loss.”
(Email: d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com)
ROCHESTER UNION
9 First downs 14
217 Yards Rushing 149
20 Yards Lost 25
197 Net Rushing 124
3 Passes Attempted 21
2 Passes Completed 8
0 Passes Intercepted 3
10 Yards Passing 171
207 Total Yards 295
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
3-34 Punts-Average 1-24
5-46 Penalties-Yards 5-54
ROCHESTER 0 13 8 0 — 21
UNION 6 7 6 0 — 13
Scoring plays
UNION — Benjamin Young, 83-yard pass from Joe Salmen (kick failed).
ROCHESTER — Dante Marsick, 44-yard run (kick failed).
UNION — Drew Robinson, 1-yard run (Salmen kick).
ROCHESTER — Marsick, 1-yard run (Ben Richko kick).
ROCHESTER — Marsick, 3-yard run (O’Shea Anderson run).
UNION — Robinson, 5-yard run (run failed).
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