BRADFORD — Keyed by a 155-yard performance on the ground by J.D. Dessicino, Moniteau overcame 130 yards in penalties and a first-half turnover to defeat Bradford 28-0 at Parkway Field in District 9 Large School football play.

The Warriors (1-4, 1-4) were flagged 14 times on the night, but managed to stymie the Owls (0-5, 0-5) throughout the evening while on defense and added an effective performance on the ground to win the game.

“It feels real good to finally get in the win column,” Moniteau coach Bob Rottman said. “We'll take them how we can get them.”

In all, Moniteau rushed for 226 yards on 43 carries. Mason Mershimer added 60 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries, while Nick Martino rushed for 17 yards and a score on five carries.

“The line blocked great tonight, and the backs blocked for each other to open up the holes,” Rottman said. “J.D. did what he was capable of doing.”

Dessicino drew first blood on the evening with a 14-yard run with 4:59 left in the first quarter. Early in the second, Mershimer scored from 20 yards out to give Moniteau a 14-0 lead that it took into halftime.

Then, in the fourth quarter, Mershimer found the end zone again on a one-yard dive play, and Martino capped the scoring from five yards out with 2:08 to play to give the Warriors their 28-0 win.

The Warrior defense needed only one of those scores, though, as Moniteau held Bradford to just 13 yards of total offense.

“My defensive coordinator did a great job with the game-plan this week,” Rottman said. “We did some stunts up front to try and confuse (Bradford) and keep them off balance, and I think that worked.”

The struggling Owls, meanwhile, have been held scoreless in four out of five contests now, and Friday night's total yardage was by far a season low. Bradford managed to move the ball in chunks at times, but low snaps and costly penalties prevented the Owls from gaining any sort of traction.

Bradford lost one fumble, but put the ball on the ground six times in all. In addition, the Owls were flagged 12 times for 100 yards, often at the most inopportune times after picking up big plays.

“We have to clean up the mistakes. We beat ourselves tonight, plain and simple,” Bradford coach Jeff Puglio said. “I thought we moved the ball well, but anytime we got something going, we would fumble a snap or commit a penalty, and that's stuff you can't do. We're not able to make up for that kind of stuff.”

In search of answers on offense, Bradford trotted out a new quarterback this week in senior Doug Hannon, and moved incumbent starter Caleb Nuzzo to receiver.

The freshly minted signal caller completed five of 20 passes for one yard, and was picked off twice.

Frequently, Hannon was left scrambling as pass protections broke down. He was sacked four times on the night, and hurried on most of his throws.

Puglio says Hannon will continue his new role at quarterback.

The Owl run game struggled, as well. Bradford rushed for 12 yards on 25 carries. Sunafrank led Bradford with 12 yards on nine carries. The totals would have been higher, but multiple explosive run plays were called back for holds or blocks in the back.

Additionally, the Owls ran 19 plays that resulted in lost yardage.

On defense, the Owls held on for as long as they could, but eventually wore down. Moniteau gained just 69 yards of offense in the first half before finishing with 250 as a team.

“I thought the defense played well, but you can only ask them to do so much,” Pulgio said.

Bradford, still in search of its first win, will meet with 0-5 Brockway next week. The Rovers fell to Ridgway 42-7 Friday. Moniteau will face off with 4-1 Brookville, who escaped with a 42-41 win over Karns City in double overtime.

Moniteau 6 8 0 14 — 28

Bradford 0 0 0 0 — 0

First Quarter

M — J.D . Dessiciono 14 run (run failed), 4:59

Second Quarter

M — Mason Mershimer 20 run (A.J. McElravy pass from David Stamm), 11:52

Fourth Quarter

M — Mershimer 1 run (run failed), 8:36

M — Nick Martino 5 run (Mershimer run), 2:08

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Moniteau, J.D. Dessicino 23-155, Mason Mershimer 12-60, Nick Martino 5-17, David Stamm 2-(-10), Chaz Mcguire 1-4. Bradford, Derek Sunafrank 9-12, Dalton Dixon 4-7, Doug GHannon 10-(-3), Austen Davis 2-(-4).

Passing: Moniteau, David Stamm 3-6-24-0, J.D. Dessicino 0-1-0-0. Bradford, Doug Hannon 5-20-1-2.

Receiving: Moniteau, A.J. McElravy 1-2, Nick Martino 1-(-5), Jake Smith 1-27. Bradford, Caleb Nuzzo 2-(-1), Jonah Rowry 1(-4), Austen Davis 1-26, Dalton Dixon 1-5.