Mohawk misses out on playoffs
Mohawk (28) vs. New Brighton (35)
Written: Oct 27, 2012
 By Andrew Petyak
New Castle News
NEW BRIGHTON — It’s been said football is a game of inches. It took 72 to end Mohawk’s season.
A potential game-tying reception on the last play of the game came up two yards short as the Warriors lost at New Brighton, 35-28.
The game was crucial for both teams. Mohawk needed a win to get the fourth playoff spot out of the Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference. For the Lions (3-4 conference, 3-6 overall), a win vs. the Warriors and a Freedom loss to Riverside would give them the spot.
“Huge loss,” Mohawk coach Joe Lamenza said. “They hung in there. They fought hard.”
The loss was heartbreaking to second-year coach Lamenza, but after finishing last season 0-9, he sees improvement.
“We made a lot of strides,” he said. “Last year we couldn’t even compete with anyone for a half. This year every game was close. We were in a position to win every game.”
The game couldn’t have started out any better for the Warriors.
After a three-and-out from the Lions to start the game, Mohawk (2-5, 2-7) scored on a six-yard run from running back Shane McFarland. McFarland had a big night for the Warriors, rushing for 269 yards on 31 attempts with two touchdowns.
A 49-yard touchdown run by running back Vince Menichino put the team up by 14 late in the first quarter. He finished the game with 150 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns.
“Tremendous job tonight from Vince and Shane,” Lamenza said. “The entire offensive line was blocking really well. They really opened some things up for them.”
The two teams exchanged scores on the next drive to make it 21-7 Mohawk. The second quarter, though, was when things started to fall apart for the Warriors.
After a kick return to Mohawk’s 34, New Brighton was able to score two plays later on a 19-yard run from senior running back Kellen MacKey to cut the lead to 21-14.
The Lions got the ball right back on the kickoff. When returner Austin Main fumbled the ball, New Brighton recovered it at the Warriors’ 16. Three plays later, Gabe Greco found receiver Travis Strobel in the corner of the end zone to tie the game. That score held into halftime.
Mohawk’s sloppy play continued in the second half. Receiving the ball to start the third quarter, the Warriors fumbled and New Brighton quickly capitalized. Greco found Tyler St. Esprit again on a 37-yard touchdown pass that gave New Brighton its first lead of the game, 28-21.
“That’s the makeup of our team,” said New Brighton coach Joe Greco, whose team missed out on the final playoff berth with Freedom’s win over Riverside. “We feel like when we are running our no-huddle offense we can fast break sometimes and catch up some points in a hurry.”
Mohawk gained 72 yards on the ground to end the third period, including a 33-yard run by McFarland and a 35-yard run by Vince Menichino. The drive ended when Menichino ran in from five yards out to tie the game, 28-28.
The Lions were able to respond with a 12-play drive that ended with a 28-yard run from MacKey to retake the lead, 35-28. MacKey finished the game with 163 yards on 32 carries with two touchdowns.
“That drive was mostly guts,” Greco said. “Our quarterback did a great job of converting first downs.”
With just over five minutes on the clock, the Warriors season was on the line. Six McFarland rushes brought the ball to the Lions’ 35 with under a minute to play. As was the theme the entire half, penalties reared their ugly head. A hold negated a solid run from McFarland on the next play. A false start after a Warriors’ timeout gave the team second-and-20 from the 45. An illegal procedure penalty on the next snap drove the ball back to midfield. For the game, the Warriors were penalized 16 times for 145 yards.
“There were a lot of penalties tonight,” Lamenza said. “You can’t blame the referees. We’ve got to leave no doubt.”
Facing a second-and-25, Mohawk caught New Brighton off guard with a run from McFarland to the Lions’ 28. On a manageable third-and-3 with time running out, quarterback Gio Menichino was flagged for an illegal forward pass penalty on the following play.
With one second on the clock, Menichino found senior receiver John Hartzell on a slant. Hoping to force himself into the end zone, he was stopped short of the goal line — two yards short to be exact.
(Email: a_petyak@ncnewsonline.com)
MOHAWK.......NEW BRIGHTON
14 First downs 16
459 Yards Rushing 235
17 Yards Lost 8
442 Net Rushing 227
2 Passes Attempted 21
1 Passes Completed 12
0 Passes Intercepted 1
6 Yards Passing 129
431 Total Yards 356
3-3 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
2-43.5 Punts-Average 3-22.6
16-145 Penalties-Yards 9-100
MOHAWK .............14 7 7 0 — 28
NEW BRIGHTON 7 14 7 7 — 35
Scoring plays
MOHAWK — Shane McFarland, 6-yard run (John Hartzell kick).
MOHAWK — Vince Menichino, 49-yard run (Hartzell kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Tyler St. Esprit, 9-yard pass from Gabe Greco (Gavin Pritchard kick).
MOHAWK — McFarland, 2-yard run (Hartzell kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Kellen MacKey, 19-yard run (Pritchard kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Travis Strobel, 10-yard pass from Greco (Pritchard kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — St. Esprit, 37-yard pass from Greco (Pritchard kick).
MOHAWK — V. Menichino, 5-yard run (Hartzell kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — MacKey, 28-yard run (Pritchard kick).
|