ST. MARYS — After building a two-touchdown lead early in the second quarter, Curwensville wound up in a dogfight with homestanding Elk County Catholic before escaping Dutch Country Stadium with a 14-12 Allegheny Mountain League South Division win in scholastic football action Friday night.
Despite being the focus of the aggressive Crusader defense, standout Nick Sipes racked up 138 yards rushing and accounted for all the Golden Tide points for the second week in a row.
Both teams are 1-1 and will be involved in what may become an interesting chase for the AML-South crown as well as berths in the District 9 Class A Playoffs.
Early on, Curwensville established its ground attack with a pair of impressive drives, though it was a 35-yard bomb from quarterback Shawn Sipes to wideout Jesse Hoover that was the key play on its first possession. Sipes punctuated that 56-yard thrust with a four-yard touchdown over the right side and booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 6:48 left in the first quarter.
After forcing Elk County Catholic\’s second punt, the Golden Tide chewed up 70 yards in the final 4:13 of the first period and 2:25 of the second quarter with a methodical 15-play push. Sipes got the call eight times and responded with 56 yards, including the last five, again over the right side of the offensive line. His PAT kick made it 14-0.
However, the Coach Keith Lecker\’s Crusaders wouldn\’t go away.
Their first foray into Golden Tide territory ended after they reached the 20, but Brad Meholic gave them great field position moments later when he returned Brandon McDonald\’s punt 33 yards to the Curwensville 26. On third down, quarterback Andy Herbstritt capped an impressive first half by finding running back Eric Mastrogiacomo wide open down the right sideline for a 24-yard touchdown pass. Sipes charged right up the middle to block Joshua Catalano\’s PAT attempt in what proved to be a pivotal play, for it forced Elk County Catholic to attempt a two-pointer for a tie following its second score.
Curwensville managed to squeeze 13 plays into the final 2:38 of the half and moved 70 yards, but time ran out as Sopic was ruled out of bounds inches shy of the goal line as he dove for the right pylon after a six-yard scramble around right end.
The Golden Tide rolled into the red zone again on its second possession of the third quarter, a pair of Sopic-to-Brandon Hess completions producing 29 yards before the Crusader defense stiffened inside the 10. Three rushes moved the ball to the four, but a fumble on the snap short-circuited the fourth down play.
Those missed opportunities loomed large when Herbstritt hit a clutch third-down pass to Nick Brennan for 10 yards, Derek McCullough squirted through the left side and cut back to the right for 15 yards and Mastrogiacomo brought the home fans to their feet by slanting off right tackle, veering to the sideline and streaking to paydirt. The 68-yarder was his fifth TD in two games and pulled the Crusaders to within two points. Hess prevented the Crusaders from knotting the score when he stopped Herbstritt on a keeper around left end, so the final score was history with 1:56 left in the third period.
After Curwensville ran out of downs at the ECC-29 early in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders got the ball three times but never threatened. Though they gambled at their own 24 and gave up the ball with just under three minutes left on an incomplete pass, ECC stopped the Golden Tide at the 15 with 1:04 left for one last gasp but couldn\’t move the ball.
EXTRA POINTS — Mastrogiacomo, one of the better backs Curwensville will try to corral this season, had 124 yards in total offense, while Herbstritt gave the Golden Tide fits with his passing, completing 11 of 23 for 111 yards… Hess turned in another fine all-around effort for the Golden Tide with 49 yards rushing, 43 yards on three receptions and, like Sipes, helping anchor the defense… Sipes gave the large contingent of Curwensville rooters a startle late in the game when he was unable to get up after the 26th of his 28 carries. It turned out to be a severe leg cramp, and he missed only one play… Joe Hawkins registered a sack and Sopic pulled down an interception on Herbstritt\’s last-play Hail Mary pass for Curwensville, which will host AML-South foe Brockway (1-1) next Friday at 7 p.m.
CURWENSVILLE
Ends — Olson, Johnson
Tackles — Kephart, Horton
Guards — Russell, Hawkins
Center — Caldwell
Backs — Sopic, Hess, Sipes, McDonald
Subs — Skebo, Holt, Holland, Kalgren, Hoover, Dell\’Antonio, McGary, Maney, Dixon, Kahl
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Curwensville 7 7 0 0 — 14
Elk County Catholic 0 6 6 0 — 12
First Quarter
Cur — Sipes 4 run (Sipes kick), 6:48
Second Quarter
Cur — Sipes 5 run (Sipes kick), 9:33
ECC — Mastrogiacomo 24 pass-run from Herbstritt (Kick blocked), 2:38
Third Quarter
ECC — Mastrogiacomo 68 run (Run failed), 1:56
TEAM STATISTICS
Cur ECC
First Downs Rushing 10 2
First Downs Passing 5 4
First Downs Penalties 1 1
Total First Downs 16 7
Yards Gained Rushing 222 141
Yards Lost Rushing 10 31
Plays-Net Yards Rushing 55-212 24-110
Passes Att-Com-Int 10-6-0 23-11-1
Passing Yards 92 111
Punts-Average 3-32.7 3-35.3
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-0
Penalties-Yards 3-25 5-36
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Curwensville: Sipes 28-138, Hess 14-49, Sopic 10-22, Holland 2-6, McGary 1-minus 3. Elk County Catholic: Mastrogiacomo 8-84, McCullough 3-12, Herbstritt 7-10, Moore 1-5, B. Meholic 1-5.
PASSING — Curwensville: Sopic 10-6-0-0, 92 yards. Elk County Catholic: Herbstritt 23-11-1-1, 111 yards.
RECEIVING — Curwensville: Hoover 3-49, Hess 3-43. Elk County Catholic: Mastrogiacomo 4-40, Higgins 3-27, Brennan 2-21, B. Meholic 1-19, McCullough 1-4.