Slipping away
FOX CHAPEL — It just wasn't Butler's night.
Starting quarterback Jamison Smith left the game early in the first quarter with a wrist injury, the Golden Tornado lost two big plays to holding penalties and suffered an ill-timed turnover Friday night at Fox Chapel.
It all added up to a 21-0 Northern Eight Conference football loss to the Foxes (4-4, 3-4), who clinched a berth in the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs.
“This is just so disappointing,” Butler coach Rob Densmore said. “I love these seniors. God, I wanted to see them in the playoffs.
“They've done everything I've asked of them — leadership, hard work, commitment ... I couldn't have asked for a better group of seniors to work with, especially in my first year.”
With Smith out of the game, the Tornado (2-6, 1-5) went with Lucas Dubyak running the Wildcat for a while offensively. Sophomore Alec Bayer took plenty of snaps at quarterback as well.
Butler was limited to 115 yards and seven first downs on the night.
“I feel for them,” Fox Chapel coach Eric Ravotti said. “I know what it's like to lose your quarterback because I've been there. You have to pretty much scrap what you've worked on all week.”
While Densmore admitted he and his staff had to make adjustments, he did not pin the loss on that fact.
“They outplayed us tonight. We made too many mistakes and they capitalized on them,” the coach said. “Fox Chapel earned that playoff berth.”
After having a 22-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Smith wiped out by a holding call, the Foxes broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter as Carrington Vaughn got loose for a 40-yard touchdown run.
The 7-0 score stood at halftime.
Before it did, a holding penalty wiped out a 22-yard Dubyak run that would have given Butler a first down at the Fox Chapel 22.Another holding call ruined a 22-yard run by Robert Kunst on a fake punt that would have given the Tornado a first down at the Foxes' 40.“I wasn't happy with some of the officials' calls,” Densmore admitted. “There were some tough holding calls on us and I thought they missed some hoding calls on them while we were trying to sack (quarterback Bily) Urso.”A lost fumble gave Fox Chapel possession at the Butler 27 late in the third quarter.Urso, who threw for 117 yards, found Smith for a 3-yard scoring pass and a 14-0 lead shortly thereafter.Vaughn's 54-yard run on a second-and-17 play set up Darius Booker's 6-yard touchdown burst with 5:24 left in the game that finally sealed the win for Fox Chapel.Vaughn had 20 carries for 171 yards offensively, 10 solo tackles defensively from his linebacker position. Smith had 10 solo stops for the Foxes.“He's a great player on both sides of the ball,” Ravotti said of Vaughn. “He and (Foxes tight end) David Brown are two of the best players I've seen in the WPIAL this year.”Safety Reid Werth had eight solo tackles to pace Butler defensively. Dubyak and Jeremy Hanford provided consistent play at linebacker and Jared Hinkle recovered a fumble for the Tornado's 16th takeaway this season.“Our defense has really come along this year,” Densmore said. “I know we have work to do offensively, but people who follow this program know there's a change in the mentality.“We're going to play as hard as we can and as physical as we can next week against Central Catholic, just like we have all year.”Fox Chapel can realize a winning regular season with a non-league win over Hempfield next week.“You'd have to do some deep research to find out the last time that's happened here,” Ravotti said. “I'm proud of our kids.“But I also respect Butler and what's happening there. They force teams out of their game defensively. They did it to us tonight and they've done it to a lot of teams.”
