BUTLER TWP — The numbers were astounding.

20 first downs, 433 yards, 50 points — and that was just in the first half as Neshannock rolled to a 71-28 WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal football victory over Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

“They had a lot more offense than we had defense,” Trojans coach Jason Gildon said. “That's it in a nutshell. We just couldn't stop them.”

The Lancers (11-1) actually went three-and-out on their first possession of the night. But CWNC (6-5) fumbled the ensuing punt — the first of three Trojan lost fumbles — and Neshannock took full advantage of the miscue.

The Lancers scored touchdowns on each of their next seven possessions of the half. They might have mad it eight, but receiver Danny Welker was tackled after catching a pass at the CWNC 8-yard line as time expired.

“Our offense has been clicking in recent games and we carried that momentum into tonight,” Neshannock coach Fred Mozzocio said.

That's putting it mildly.

Neshannock quarterback Frank Antuono wound up completing 13 of 17 passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns — all to Welker, who had six catches for 153 yards. Antuono also carried the ball 16 times for 134 yards and three scores.

Running back Sean Doran had 17 carries for 132 yards and three touchdowns. The Lancers piled up 692 offensive yards despite the mercy rule kicking in midway through the third quarter.

“It all starts with their quarterback,” Gildon said.”He's a leader who can possess the ball and keep going downfield.”

The Trojans had their moments as well. Joey Porter Jr. and Michael Tomlin returned kickoffs for touchdowns and Mario Latronica rushed for 107 yards and two scores. One of Latronica's touchdowns was on a 71-yard run.

The teams combined for eight touchdowns in the second quarter, including four in the final 2:09 of the half.

“We were having problems in kick coverage, so we had to keep the pedal to the medal offensively,” Mozzocio said.

The Lancers ran 64 plays to CWNC's 33 for the game.

“Offense was not our problem tonight,” Gildon said. “We feel like we can match score to score with just about anybody. But you can't give up a touchdown moments after you get one and stay in the game.

“That happened way too much. We have to work on defense, that's for sure.”

Latronica emded his senior season ith 1,252 yards and 15 touchdowns for CWNC. The Trojans lost quarterback William Gipson to a knee injury in the first half.

Neshannock will play Washington in the semifinals next week.

“No. 7 (Antuono), 36 (Doran, 28 (Welker) ... Those guys are our captains, our leaders,” Mozzioco said. “They're hungry for a WPIAL championship. They weren't going to be denied tonight.”

Neshannock 71, CW North Cath. 28

CW North Cath. 7 21 0 0 — 28

Neshannock 14 36 21 0 — 71

CWNC N

5 First Downs 28

20-130 Rushes-Yards 47-334

77 Passing Yards 258

6-13-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 13-17-0

207 Total Yards 692

3-3 Fumbles-Lost 1-0

7-72 Penalty Yards 6-65

First Quarter

N — Sean Doran 11 run (Tristan Tuck kick), 6:10

CWNC — Joey Porter Jr. 79 kick return (Noah Kosobucki kick), 5:56

N — Frank Antuono 12 run (Tuck kick), 3:42

Second Quarter

N — Danny Welker 47 passs from Antuono (Tuck kick), 11:49

N — Welker 10 pass from Antuono (Tuck kick), 8:05

CWNC — Mario Latronica 5 run (Kosobucki kick), 6:47

N — Antuono 13 run (Tuck kick), 5:12

N — Welker 33 pass from Antuono (Antuono run), 2:09

CWNC — Michael Tomlin 77 kick return (Kosobucki kick), 1:56

N — Welker 30 pass from Antuono (Tuck kick), 1:04

CWNC — Latronica 71 run (Kosobucki kick), :34

Third Quarter

N — Antuono 3 run (Tuck kick), 11:12

N — Doran 4 run (Tuck kick), 5:00

N — Doran 1 run (Tuck kick), 1:18

Individual Statistics

Rushing: CWNC, Mario Latronica 14-107, Will Gipson 1-1, Ryan Maziarz 4-14, Jack Cassidy 1-8. Neshannock, Frank Antuono 16-134, Sean Doran 17-132, Danny Welker 4-28, Chris Scott 1-9, Billy Presnar 2-3, Jared Staph 3-19, DJ DeBlasio 1-(-5).

Passing: CWNC, Ryan Maziarz 4-10-16-0, Will Gipson 2-3-61-0. Neshannock, Frank Antuono 13-17-258-0.

Receiving: CWNC, Tyree Brown 1-10, Joey Porter Jr. 3-61, Mario Latronica 2-6. Neshannock, Danny Welker 6-153,Tyler Sear 3-25, Chris Scott 1-4, Sean Doran 2-29, Anthony Dovidio 1-47.