Falcons rally past Scotties in first ‘Battle of 119’
The first 无毛视频淏attle of 119无毛视频� between Southmoreland and Connellsville had a tremendous buildup with a boisterous crowd, a trophy on the line and great entertainment on and off the field at Falcon Stadium.
But the night took a dark turn early on for the Falcons.
Connellsville quarterback Cooper Wilson went down with an arm injury on their first possession, but the Falcons refused to let that setback spoil their return to the WPIAL.
Jeffrey Nicholson courageously stepped in at quarterback and Linkon Keller scored two long touchdowns as the Falcons rallied from an early deficit to earn a gutsy 21-15 win Friday night.
The Falcons无毛视频� reward was seizing control of the 无毛视频淏attle of 119无毛视频� traveling trophy for the first year of what both schools intend to keep as their annual opening game.
无毛视频淭he kids were talking, they haven无毛视频檛 experienced that amount of support in a long time,无毛视频� Connellsville head coach Jace McClean said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 why we do this.无毛视频�
Nicholson connected on 7 of 12 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns with one interception after taking over for the injured Cooper. Three of those completions went to Keller for a whopping 179 yards, including an 80-yard catch-and-run for what proved to be the winning score in the fourth quarter.
The night started out well for second-year head coach Dustin Shoaf and the Scotties in an explosive first quarter.
Dawson Wolfe gave Southmoreland the lead with a 2-yard touchdown run that capped a five-play drive and Liam Smith无毛视频檚 extra point made it 7-0. The senior quarterback/linebacker ran the ball 28 times for 161 yards and added 67 yards passing on six completions.
Connellsville got a double dose of adversity in the first quarter with Cooper, who managed to stay in the game one play after his injury before departing, throwing a long touchdown pass that was negated by a penalty.
无毛视频淗aving your starting quarterback break his arm the second play of the game, stay in for a play and throw an 80-yard touchdown the very next play shows what kind of kids we have,无毛视频� McClean said. 无毛视频淯nfortunately, it was called back.无毛视频�
Nicholson entered and threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to Keller to get the Falcons within 7-6 after a missed extra-point kick.
Southmoreland increased its lead with a six-play drive that Reese Jordan finished off with a 9-yard touchdown run and Seth Grosser ran in the two-point conversion after picking up a fumble to put the visitors up 15-6, still in the first quarter.
The Falcons defense stiffened from there, holding the Scotties scoreless the rest of the way.
Nicholson无毛视频檚 second TD toss went 19 yards to Jeremy Jenkins in the second quarter with Tucker Beaman无毛视频檚 extra point slicing Connellsville无毛视频檚 deficit to 15-13.
The score remained that way until the fourth quarter when Nicholson and Keller teamed up again for the go-ahead score.
无毛视频淚t was a screen pass,无毛视频� McClean explained. 无毛视频淭hey were getting pressure on us all night and it was a perfect call at the perfect moment.无毛视频�
McClean gushed about the night overall.
无毛视频淭he atmosphere was electric,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e had a few surprises for the fans, including the Kick of Destiny, fireworks, and with a little bit of Neil Diamond.无毛视频�
The Kick of Destiny featured fan Jake Pritts who won a drawing and then a cash prize by successfully kicking a field goal during the break between the third and fourth quarters.
Diamond无毛视频檚 song 无毛视频淪weet Caroline无毛视频� was played to rev up the crowd even more.
无毛视频淲hen we played that, the student section went crazy,无毛视频� McClean said. 无毛视频淭hey were electric all night and even caused a (Southmoreland) false start during the game.
无毛视频淭hey brought the energy from the kickoff to the fireworks in the end.无毛视频�
Rocco Farrell had four receptions for 76 yards for Connellsville, which out-gained the Scotties, 316 to 262, although Southmoreland produced more first downs, 15 to 12.
Mason Pergar was the Scotties无毛视频� leading receiver with four catches for 18 yards.
McClean lauded his team无毛视频檚 performance.
无毛视频淚 think overall, winning a close game like this speaks volumes about these kids,无毛视频� McClean said. 无毛视频淎ll that we had to battle throughout the game and to pull off the comeback win is amazing.无毛视频�
SCORING SUM
Southmoreland 15-0-0-0 无毛视频� 15
Connellsville 6-7-0-8 无毛视频� 21
First Quarter
S: Dawson Wolfe 2 run (Liam Smith kick)
C: Linkon Keller 84 pass from Jeffrey Nicholson (kick failed)
S: Reese Jordan 9 run (Seth Grosser run)
Second Quarter
C: Jeremy Jenkins 19 pass from Nicholson (Tucker Beaman kick)
Fourth Quarter
C: Keller 80 pass from Nicholson (Keller pass from Nicholson)