Week 7 football roundup: Defense, Cole Johnston lead Karns City over Westinghouse; Union/A-C Valley stays perfect
Karns City’s defense bent a few times but didn’t break in the end.
Facing third-and-long in the final seconds, the Gremlins cut off Westinghouse quarterback Zahir Ismaeli’s scramble short of the sticks, then had his receivers covered on fourth-and-1 and eventually forced a sack after he slipped trying to escape pressure.
Karns City held on for a 28-24 non-region win to improve to 5-2. They are 1-1 in region play. In the third quarter, he gave the Gremlins a 21-14 lead when he kept the ball on an RPO play and took it around the right side for a 21-yard TD. His final TD was a 30-yard dance and run that made it 28-16 in the third.
QB Cole Johnston had a big night rushing, putting KC on the board first when he plowed over a defender and scored on an 8-yard keeper to make it 7-0.
Running back Hunter Scherer made it 14-0 for the Gremlins on a 2-yard plunge.
Union/A-C Valley 30, Kane 0 — Logan Skibinski stole the show in this one, rushing for 227 yards and three scores to lead the Falcon Knights’ potent rushing attack to remain a perfect 7-0 (2-0 District 9, Region 3) on the year.
Skibinski carried the ball just 16 times, averaging 14.2 yards per touch. He gave UACV an 8-0 lead on a 45-yard run (Andrew Kifer hit Trent Fleming for the two-point conversion) barely 1:30 into the game, then broke free in the fourth quarter for touchdowns of 85 and 20 yards.
Skibinski also tackled the Kane punter in the end zone for a second-quarter safety that made it 16-0. He also had a sack on defense.
Normal lead back Max Gallagher played a productive second fiddle, scoring on a 10-yard run in the first and finished with 91 yards on 16 touches. He also had six tackles, one for a loss.
Ridgway 42, Moniteau 7 — Weston Cook threw for 126 yards and hit Ian Ross seven times for 79 yards and a touchdown, but the Warriors dropped their fourth straight to fall to 2-5 (0-1 D9, Region 3).
Cook finished 13 of 24 with a TD and three interceptions. Running back Brendin Sankey was held to 16 yards on 11 carries, pacing the run game. Aidan Kern had five catches for 42 yards.
Central Valley 34, North Catholic 28 — The Trojans (5-2, 2-1 Western Hills) suffered their second straight loss but nearly pulled off an impressive comeback.
Down 24-0 at the half, QB Joe Felitsky led a 21-point run to get North within three points, 24-21. It started with Quinn O’Hara picking off Central Valley’s Braddock Ambrose and returning it to the house. Moments later, Felitsky hit Preston Simko for a TD of 66 yards to cap a three-play, 99-yard drive. The two connected again for an 84-yard score on the subsequent drive.
But the Warriors (3-4, 3-1) responded with a TD and a second long field goal to go up 34-21, and all but sealed it with a late interception with about 2:30 left.
North scored as time expired on a hook-and-ladder.
Felitsky finished 22 of 33 for 379 yards, three TDs and two interceptions. Simko caught six balls for a likely career-high 196 yards, and Waskiewicz added five catches for 114 yards and a score.
Conneaut 26, Slippery Rock 13 — The Rockets took a 7-6 lead in the second quarter as Lamont Patterson scored on a 4-yard run. Host Conneaut responded with a touchdown and two-point conversion to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.
Sawyer Allen’s 12-yard touchdown catch pulled Slippery Rock (2-5, 0-3 District 10, Region 4) within 14-13 before Conneaut scored again with six minutes to play. The Rockets threw a pick-six late to account for the final score.
