Source: The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.迷你倉Sept. 28--DAVIDSVILLE -- Conemaugh Township continued its rebound from adversity Friday night with a 40-6 victory over Blacklick Valley, which remained mired in the small-school plague of success-sapping injuries.They came in winless, the Indians nursing four straight losses, the Vikings three. But Conemaugh Township's preferred quarterback -- senior Bruno Rosa -- returned to health last week and senior wide receiver Jake Formica came back this week. They proved a formidable pair on Friday, hooking up for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns."No. 4 (Rosa) and No. 25 (Formica) put on quite a show," observed Blacklick Valley coach Bill Zamboni.And while Conemaugh Township coach Sam Zambanin conceded that he was glad to have Formica back, he said what pleased him the most was the team effort -- a positive side effect, he said, of the Indians' early struggles."We had a lot of contributions from a lot of people," Zambanini said. "A lot of people got touches offensively, and we had a lot of people stepping up and making plays defensively. The number of people who contributed was the biggest plus I saw."Part of the reason we're able to do that is because we suffered some injuries early, and those guys have been touching the ball," Zambanini said. "They've been getting some reps."The first score came in the second quarter when Rosa hit Formica, who darted in from the Blacklick 6. Nic Ekert added the extra point.Blacklick fumbled the snap on its second play after the ensuing kickoff, and it took the Indians five plays to carry the ball 27 yards, finishing with Kody Ofsanko's run from the 9. Ekert added another point for a 14-0 halftime lead.The fumble was one of six first-half incidents in which the Vikings dropped the ball during the transfer from center to quarterback. And it was evidence of the team's continuing battle against injuries."Our center is out for the season," Zamboni explained. "We had two new centers, and it seems neither was very successful."Zamboni pointed to the problem as, perhaps, the key factor in the outcome.Blacklick opened the second quarter with possession and took the ball down to the Conemaugh Township 4, but quarterback Blake Ray, trying to salvage a broken play, let the ball get away on the Indians' doorstep."I think if we don't fumble on the 2-yard line," Zamboni said. "You have an 0-4 team and an 0-3 team, and 文件倉f we can score there, we can pick up some momentum. But, it went the other way."Conemaugh Township's opening drive of the third quarter began at its 27 and lasted just three plays, wrapping up when Rosa found Formica for a 65-yard score. This time, Ekert's kick was wide left.But Blacklick Valley replied with a sustained drive that ended with yet another bad break. The Vikings held the ball for a dozen plays before a punt that carried to the Conemaugh Township 17, was dropped, and was seemingly recovered by the visitors. Fate in the form of an official's inadvertent whistle forced a do-over, though, and this time the Indians took the ball at their 24 anddidn't drop it.In fact, they took it downfield to score on the initial play of the fourth quarter, on Ofsanko's 5-yard run up the middle. Ekert again added a point.The Vikings got on the scoreboard on their ensuing possession, pushing downfield from their 30 in eight plays and finishing with Blake Ray's dramatic 27-yard throw to Derek Cesarz and the end zone. An attempt to pick up two more points failed.The Indians added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one when Austin Meyers found running room from the Blacklick 14 with 5:01 to play, and another when Jeff Tresnicky handed off to Brandon Stahl, who went up the middle from the Blacklick 36.Ekert added a point on the first, with Tresnicky opting to take a knee after Stahl's score.Despite the final score, Zambanini agreed that Blacklick had been a threat for at least part of the evening."We knew that Blacklick would come in playing really hard football," he said. "I've never seen a Blacklick team that didn't have tough kids on it. They're tough, hard-nosed people. Obviously, they sensed some blood in the water and thought they had a great chance to get a first win. They played tough and played inspired. We were fortunate enough to force a few turnovers, and then of course take advantage of them when we got them."Conemaugh Township faces one of its biggest rivals next week in Windber, and Zambanini said the balance shown by his team on Friday will help."It was a total team effort, which makes it tough for them to sit and say 'Well, it's going to be this guy, it's going to be that guy,'" he said.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.) Visit The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.) at .tribune-democrat.com Distributed by MCT Information Services存倉
全站熱搜