Cougars fend off Scotties for 28-7 win
Darnell Graham
Charleroi无毛视频檚 Legend Davis (27) catches the pass as he steps into end zone for a touchdown with Southmoreland无毛视频檚 Isaac Trout (22) defending during Friday无毛视频檚 Interstate Conference game at Russ Grimm Field.
Southmoreland's Colt Harper (9) attempts to line up Charleroi's Alex Conrad (16) for a tackle during Friday's Interstate Conference game at Russ Grimm Field.
Southmoreland's Colt Harper (9) sidesteps Charleroi's Malik Nails (32) and cuts into an opening in the line during Friday's Interstate Conference game at Russ Grimm Field.
ALVERTON 无毛视频� Charleroi and Southmoreland faced off Friday night in an Interstate Conference showdown and while Charleroi won 28-7, both teams ended the night by clinching playoff spots with Scotties earning their first postseason berth since 1979.
无毛视频淚 am very happy as this is a big conference win,无毛视频� said Charleroi coach Lance Getsy. 无毛视频淪outhmoreland has been putting up points and they did not score on our defense.
无毛视频淚 am pleased knowing that our young players are getting better every week.无毛视频�
Southmoreland coach Dave Keefer spoke about the play on the line of scrimmage.
无毛视频淭he line didn无毛视频檛 block, they beat us up front and pounded us,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淭onight, they are the better team, they took it to us and my hat无毛视频檚 off to them as they are a good team.无毛视频�
The Cougars took over at the Southmoreland 38 after forcing a turnover on downs on the first drive of the game.
However, Alex Conrad was intercepted by Mason Basinger on Charleroi无毛视频檚 first play and junior returned it 38 yards to open the scoring with 8 minutes to play in the first quarter.
Southmoreland无毛视频檚 7-0 lead held into the second quarter, but lasted two plays into the quarter when Conrad hit Legend Davis with a 24-yard scoring strike with 10:45 to go in the half.
Charleroi gained 120 yards on 25 plays, while Southmoreland tallied 81 yards on 27 plays.
The Cougars received the second half kick and marched 83 yards on 10 plays to take a 14-7 lead when Brayden Mihalcin scored from 10 yards out. The drive took 5:42 off the clock.
无毛视频淲e went back to what we do,无毛视频� said Getsy. 无毛视频淭hings went well for us. We adjusted some things at the half and the kids executed.无毛视频�
无毛视频淲e thought at 7-7, we start the game over and get a stop,无毛视频� Keefer said. 无毛视频淭hey ate the clock and pounded us.无毛视频�
If Charleroi didn无毛视频檛 take control of the game on that drive, it did three plays later when Conrad intercepted Cernuto at the Southmoreland 36.
Charleroi needed seven plays to eat up another 3:30 off the clock, capped when Conrad scored on a one-yard keeper with just over a minute to go in the third quarter to give the Cougars a 21-7 lead.
Charleroi gained 119 yards on 17 plays and ate up over nine minutes off of the clock in the decisive third quarter, while Southmoreland was limited to 27 yards on five plays.
Charleroi went on another long scoring drive to put the game away after holding Southmoreland on downs.
The Cougars went 45 yards on 11 plays, but more importantly for Charleroi, ate up almost seven more minutes off the clock. Mihalcin scored his second one-yard touchdown of the second half. The score gave the Cougars a 28-7 lead with 4:13 to play.
Mihalcin rushed for 118 yards on 26 carries.
Charleroi finished with 283 yards of total offense on 57 plays, while Southmoreland无毛视频檚 high-powered offense did not score and was held to 104 yards on 45 plays.
Southmoreland clinched its first firs playoff berth in 40 years with McGuffey无毛视频檚 win at Brownsville.
However, when Keefer was asked after the game if he was happy knowing that his team would be in the playoffs tomorrow when he woke up despite losing, he gave a one-word answer无毛视频� 无毛视频淣o.无毛视频澛�
The Cougars play first-place McGuffey for Friday, while Southmoreland heads to Shenango in a non-conference game.
Interstate Conference
Charleroi聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽0-7-14-7 无毛视频� 28
Southmoreland 7-0-0-0 无毛视频� 7
First Quarter
S: Mason Basinger 38 interception return (Andrew Rodriguez kick)
Second Quarter
Char: Legend Davis 24 pass from Alex Conrad (Joey Caruso kick)
Third Quarter
Char: Brayden Mihalcin 1 run (Joey Caruso kick)
Char: Alex Conrad 1 run (Joey Caruso kick)
Fourth Quarter
Char: Brayden Mihalcin 1 run (Joey Caruso kick)
Records: Charleroi (4-1, 5-1), Southmoreland (4-2, 5-2).