A happy return
BUTLERTWP — Michael Bresnahan jump-started Butler again — and the engine didn't sputter this time.
After a scoreless first half in which both teams squandered scoring opportunities, Bresnahan returned the second-half kickoff 62 yards to the Fox Chapel 20-yard line.
The Golden Tornado responded with four scores over the final two quarters Friday night in registering a 23-0 football win over the Foxes at Art Bernardi Stadium.
Bresnahan returned the second-half kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown against Norwin last week, but that was Butler's lone score in a 20-7 loss.
"We weren't going to let that happen again,"Butler quarterback Nick Monteleone said. "Simple as that."
Monteleone threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns Friday, connecting with tight end Aaron Dorondo for a 9-yard scoring pass three plays after Bresnahan's kick return.
Lee Stalker sacked Fox Chapel quarterback Joe Donahoe on a third-down play midway through the third quarter, giving Butler possession at the Foxes 40-yard line after a punt.
Three plays later, Monteleone found Andy Strutt deep down the middle for a 39-yard touchdown pass.
A 20-yard Fox Chapel punt early in the fourth quarter gave the Tornado possession at the Foxes 35-yard line. Two plays later, Monteleone found Jordan Roycroft deep down the middle for a 35-yard scoring strike and a 20-0 lead.
Following Regan Young's second interception of the night and s 24-yard return, Chris Haley capped Butler's scoring with a 24-yard field goal with 4:52 remaining. Haley was wide left on a 39-yard attempt in the first half and missed the PATafter Butler's third touchdown.
"Chris needed that,"Butler coach Garry Cathell said of the successful field goal. "I mean, he's barely been missing. If our goalposts were bigger, a couple of those might have bounced off and gone through, he's been so close."
Butler's scoring drives were 20, 40, 35 and 8 yards Friday night. The Tornado defense forced four turnovers and had five quarterback sacks.
"Our defense was all over the field tonight,"Monteleone said. "When the defense and special teams get you the ball in those positions, playing offense is easy."
It wasn't such an easy night for Fox Chapel (0-3). Quarterback Joe Donahue left the game late in the third quarter with an ankle injury and left the field on crutches afterward.
In the first half, the Foxes fumbled the ball away inside Butler's 10-yard line on the game's first possession and had a 36-yard touchdown pass wiped out by a holding penalty.
"We don't respond to adversity well,"Fox Chapel coach Bryan Deal said. "You can't turn the ball over and allow touchdown passes over the top if you want to win games.
"We squibbed that (second-half) kickoff down into the mud, had four or five guys on top of that kid and he still breaks loose for the long return. We just didn't tackle. That play gave Butler the momentum it needed."
The Tornado (2-1)missed two scoring chances of their own in the first half. On a fourth-and-goal play from the Fox Chapel 2-yard line, Bresnahan was nailed for a 3-yard loss by Steve Smith.
Haley's errant field goal try was the 16th play of a 77-yard drive that wound up fruitless.
"There was no panic in our locker room at halftime,"Cathell said. "It was all business. A couple of the kids stood up and told their teammates to stay the course, that we were the better football team."
