McFarland, Menichino shine for Mohawk
Mohawk (35) vs. Freedom (8)
Written: Aug 31, 2013
By Kayleen Cubbal
New Castle News
Big plays from big players was all the Mohawk High football team needed in its season opener last night.
Shane McFarland took the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score and the Warriors never looked back in a 35-8 WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference mercy rule win over visiting Freedom.
It was the first victory at home for third-year coach Joe Lamenza.
McFarland, a senior running back/defensive back, enjoyed a night of nights. In just the first half, in addition to the kickoff return, McFarland had a punt return for a touchdown, an interception, a key tackle, five passes defended and 52 yards rushing on six carries. He finished with 73 yards rushing on eight tries for the night.
The Bulldogs threatened in the first half, but the Mohawk defense stepped up.
On its first drive, Freedom had a fourth-and-two at the Warriors’ 31, but McFarland stopped Allen Moeller after just a 1-yard gain. The Bulldogs also reached the Mohawk 7 late in the third quarter, but lost yardage on fourth down. They scored with 1:05 remaining in the game.
Senior quarterback Gio Menichino also enjoyed a banner night, rushing for 104 yards on 10 carries.
McFarland followed up his opening run with a 40-yard touchdown run minutes later and Menichino added a 62-yard TD run to open the second quarter. McFarland added his 85-yard punt return for a score later in the quarter and Menichino gave the Warriors a 35-0 lead at the break with a 38-yard scoring run. Brock Barber added all five point-after kicks.
“It was a good all-around effort,” Lamenza said. “McFarland is a leader and he showed that tonight. He can break it on anyone and he gets it done on defense.
“Our running game was key, but the offensive line still needs to step it up, I saw a lot of mistakes out there tonight, so we still have a lot of work to do.”
(Correspondent Gaylord Muny contributed to this story. Email: kcubbal@ncnewsonline.com)
FREEDOM MOHAWK
9 First downs 8
110 Net Rushing 221
18 Passes Attempted 5
3 Passes Completed 2
1 Passes Intercepted 0
92 Yards Passing 17
202 Total Yards 238
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
7-28.2 Punts-Average 4-35
8-40 Penalties-Yards 7-67
FREEDOM 0 0 0 8 — 8
MOHAWK 14 21 0 0 — 35
Scoring plays
MOHAWK — Shane McFarland, 90-yard kickoff return (Brock Barber kick).
MOHAWK — McFarland, 40-yard run (Barber kick).
MOHAWK — Gio Menichino, 62-yard run (Barber kick).
MOHAWK — McFarland, 85-yard punt return (Barber kick).
MOHAWK — Menichino, 38-yard run (Barber kick). 24 seconds left first half
FREEDOM — Dean Ward, 2-yard run (Kody Komara pass from Noah Wolf).
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