CHERRY TWP — Moniteau's seniors produced on Senior Night as the Warriors defeated winless Punxsutawney Friday night.

“I loved what I saw out there tonight,” Moniteau coach Bob Rottman said. “We owned the line of scrimmage.”

The Warriors (3-6, 3-6) marched down the field with a consistent running game, led by fullback Nick Martino orchestrating the offense from a Wildcat formation.

“Martino ran like he was possessed tonight, breaking tackle after tackle,” Rottman said. “After that last score, there looked like there was a trail of red following the path that he took. It was nice to see him play like that tonight.”

Martino finished with 25 carries for 269 yards and three touchdowns.

“I felt amazing,” Martino said. “I gave it my all. I wanted to come out and leave it all on the field no matter what.”

A rolled ankle early in the third quarter, left Martino hobbling, but he was still active throughout the second half of the game.

He then relied heavily on running backs J.D. Dessicino and Mason Mershimer, who produced well in taking over his carries.

Martino said the line played some of its best football all year, even with a change from their normal offense.

“In the huddle, everything was organized. They were all listening and understanding,” Martino said. “Everything just went together great tonight. They all played hard.”

Rottman said the team played really well as a unit.

“Jake Smith and Riley Grossman went double tight end all night, and they blocked their butts off all night long,” Rottman said.

“(Kicker) Ethan (McDeavitt) had some big kicks and some nice runs and a fake punt, and Donnie Thomas at center was solid.”

In the final home game, McDeavitt kicked a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter, his longest of the year. He also converted all five extra points.

Thomas changed jerseys in the fourth quarter and entered the game in a different capacity on offense — running the ball.

Thomas gained 33 yards on four carries to help extend the drive that would end the game.

“I wasn't expecting him to run it that well with that much speed,” Rottman said.

Rottman said the Punxsutawney offense caught the Warriors off-guard

“They got us a little bit with the zone read with the quarterback coming up the middle. We did bite on the sweeps a little bit there,” Rottman said.

“That's the first time we've seen that this year. We've been seeing a lot of spread, but not a lot of zone read.”

Rottman said he was happy with the defense's performance, especially against a scheme they weren't used to.

As the night came to an end, Moniteau's seniors walked their home field one last time in uniform. They each buried a penny somewhere on the field, out of tradition.

Martino led the Warriors through the gate. He was limping but walking on his own.

“I'm a little sore. I haven't done much evaluation yet,” he said. “I'll definitely be back next week.”

Punxsutawney 0 7 8 6 — 21

Moniteau 7 21 10 7 — 45

First Quarter

M — Nick Martino run 19 (Ethan McDeavitt kick), 4:10

Second Quarter

M — Martino run 19 (McDeavitt kick), 9:45

M — Mason Mershimer run 16 (McDeavitt kick), 4:35

P — Kameron Falgout run 18 (Peyton Hetrick kick), 1:50

M — Martino run 19 (McDeavitt kick), 0:23

Third Quarter

M —McDeavitt field goal 38, 7:19

P —Falgout run 14 (Peyton Hetrick pass to Brendan Heitzenrater), 4:40

M —J.D. Dessicino run 9 (McDeavitt kick), 1:29

Fourth Quarter

P —Falgout run 1 (pass failed), 10:09

M —Mershimer run 15 (McDeavitt kick), 7:58

Individual Statistics

Rushing:Punxsutawney, Kameron Falgout 18-178, Max Landon 6-43, Jacob Bellerillo 1-0. Moniteau, Nick Martino 25-269, J.D. Dessicino 8-75, Mason Mershimer 5-56, Donnie Thomas 4-33, Ethan McDeavitt 2-33, David Stamm 2-12, Jake Smith 1-0.

Passing:Punxsutawney, Peyton Hetrick 7-11-73-0,Falgout 4-7-60-1, Landon 0-1-0-0. Moniteau, Martino 0-6-(-3)-1, Stamm 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: Punxsutawney, Falgout 3-57, Landon 2-42, Brendan Heitzenrater 4-17, Hetrick 1-12, Micah Kriebel 1-5. Moniteau, Smith 1-(-3).

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