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ECC outlasts Ridgway in mud |
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Saturday, 24 October 2009 |
By Greg Reedy
Sports Editor
It took more than 48 minutes to decide a winner in the rain and the mud Friday night.
ECC outlasted Ridgway 18-12 in two overtimes at Memorial Field in Ridgway in a game played under extremely muddy conditions.
"I'm extremely proud of our kids and they have nothing, absolutely nothing to hang their heads about," Ridgway coach Mark Heindl said. "They battled for 48 minutes tonight plus two overtimes. They could have easily folded their tents a couple times tonight but they stayed par to the course and I'm proud of them for that and so are the coaching staff."
Kyle Schneider scored on a quarterback sneak from one yard out in the second overtime to give the Crusaders (3-5) the win on third down. Schneider came in at quarterback after Joe Jacob fumbled the opening snap of the game and Ridgway recovered. The Elkers took advantage of the good field position and took the lead on a one-yard run by Joe Chittester to give Ridgway a 6-0 lead in the first quarter with 8:28 left.
"Kyle Schneider, our backup quarterback, came in. We knew going in that if we start fumbling the snaps that we were bringing him in," Elk County Catholic coach Travis Skrzypek said. "He did a great job. He kept his composure and kept on fighting."
Ridgway (2-6) started with the football to begin the second overtime from the 10. After an incomplete pass and two runs, the Elkers attempted a field goal from 28 yards but could not convert. Heindl said he felt Chittester could make the field goal.
"Joe Chittester, he's a phenomenal kid," Heindl said. "He had the leg power, he had everything there. We tried the extra point there as well. He's a great kid with a big heart and we wanted to see what he could do."
Early in the game, the Elkers took the lead on a one-yard run by Joe Chittester to give Ridgway a 6-0 lead in the first quarter with 8:28 left.
The Elkers were inside the Elk County Catholic 10-yard line in the second quarter and looked to build on the lead, but Ridgway fumbled and it appeared that Robby Wortman took the ball and went 95 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed and the game was tied at 6-all.
That turned out to be the only points of regulation as both teams found footing and long offensive drives hard to come by. Elk County Catholic lost a total of five fumbles on the night.
"Unbelievable," Heindl said. "It's just something about our kids they just keep getting better and better at that aspect of the game. It's a shame that we couldn't capitalize on that but those are the breaks of the game. Elk had that big fumble recovery they ran back and the kids, they could have folded their tents but they battled all throughout and I'm proud of them for that."
By the end of the night, many jerseys were enveloped in the deep mud which was on Memorial Field throughout the game due to the rain throughout the day.
"Overall, I told them to just stick with it," Skrzypek said. "It's a mud bowl, anything can happen. Even with the first score, they got down deep in our territory and you stay with it, you keep on playing even with these conditions. Both teams did that. Ridgway played hard."
Heindl said the Elkers couldn't take advantage of opportunities when they appear.
"They did a good job, the conditions were the same for both teams," Heindl said. "We held onto it, we just couldn't capitalize in key situations of the game."
The Crusaders started with the football in overtime and scored right away as Ricky Pearsall scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to take a 12-6 lead. Elk County Catholic went for the 2-point conversion but was stuffed on a run by the Ridgway defensive line.
Ridgway responded in its first overtime possession as Zack Zelcs was able to cutback and score a touchdown from nine yards out to tie the game at 12-all. Ridgway missed the potential game-winning extra point to force the second overtime.
Heindl said he was proud of the effort.
"These kids, they don't quit," Heindl said. "They're a little upset right now, which is understandable. They never quit once and that's something we'll be proud of them forever for. Even though they didn't get out in the win column in this game, they'll remember this game for the rest of their lives."
Elk County Catholic greatly improved its playoff chances and has a chance to make it in the top 8 against Johnsonburg next week.
"It's real big," Skrzypek said. "We have to win out and we know that. We had a couple games now that were wet, muddy games. If we can push ourselves into the playoffs, we can make some stuff happen."
Skrzypek spoke of the teamwork which the Crusaders have exhibited.
"We have 18 guys on the squad that dress right now," Skrzypek said. "You have to stick together, you have to believe in one another. It doesn't matter who carries the ball into the end zone, it doesn't matter who runs the ball. Eighteen guys as a tight-knit team, that's how we have to play."
Ridgway is at Brockway for a 7:30 p.m. game next Friday. ECC will host Johnsonburg at 7 p.m.
ECC 0 6 0 0 6 6 - 18
Ridgway 6 0 0 0 6 0 - 12
Scoring summary
First quarter
R - Joe Chittester 1 run (run failed), 8:28
Second quarter
E - Robby Wortman 95 fumble recovery (pass failed), 8:27
Third quarter
None
Fourth quarter
None
First overtime
E - Ricky Pearsall 10 run (run failed)
R - Zack Zelcs 9 run (kick failed)
Second overtime
E - Kyle Schneider 1 run (No PAT)
Team stats
ECC Ridgway
4 First Downs 6
37-99 Rushes-Yards 48-64
6 Passing Yards 93
105 Total Yards 157
2-25 Penalties-Yards 1-5
5-5 Fumbles-lost 1-1
Individual statistics:
Passing: ECC: Kyle Schneider 2-7-6-0-0. Ridgway: Jordan Lundin 8-16-93-0-3, Sam Skraba 0-2-0-0-0.
Rushing: ECC: Ricky Pearsall 21-65, Kyle Gerber 9-43, Sam Schneider 1-2, Cole Gerber 1-1, Joe Jacob 1-(-2), Kyle Schneider 4-(-10). Ridgway: Mike Cappiello 16-36, Zack Zelcs 7-19, Cory Eshbach 7-18, Steve Mitchell 6-10, Sam Skraba 3-(-2), Joe Chittester 6-(-4), Jordan Lundin 3-(-13).
Receiving: ECC: Kyle Gerber 1-4, Ricky Pearsall 1-2. Ridgway: Sam Skraba 2-52, Mike Cappiello 3-17, Zack Zelcs 2-16, Ben Jaques 1-8.
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