Tornado falls 44-21 to Mt. Lebo
BUTLER TWP — Butler was looking for a spark and found it.
Mt. Lebanon found a bigger one.
The Blue Devils executed an onside kick late in the first quarter and parlayed it into 21 quick points Friday night. The flurry gave Mt. Lebanon a big lead en route to a 44-21 victory at Art Bernardi Stadium.
The Golden Tornado (0-3, 0-1), playing their Quad County Conference opener, took a 7-0 lead with 3:58 left in the opening period when Andrew Kline returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown. The points were Butler's first in a first half this season.
“We talked about looking for a spark, somebody make a big play early and we got one,” Tornado coach Eric Christy said. “Andrew was named a captain this week because of how well he played in practice and that effort carried over.”
Mt. Lebanon (2-1, 2-0) answered on its next possession, however, marching 72 yards in eight plays. Seth Morgan tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tim Walters to pull the Blue Devils even.
Mt. Lebanon then pulled off the onside kick, covering the football at the Butler 48. Three plays later, Morgan found Mason Ventrone for a 12-yard scoring strike and the lead the visitors never lost.
“I felt like we got some momentum with that tying score and I wanted us to build on it,” Mt. Lebanon coach Mike Melnyk said. “We had been practicing that play and that was the time to use it.
“We kept their defense on the field and those guys got tired.”
Mt. Lebanon drove 66 yards in four plays on their next possession and took a 21-7 lead. The margin quickly ballooned to 34-7 as Lucas DeCaro and Michael Palmer returned interceptions for touchdowns 15 seconds apart.
“It got away from us for a while and that was the difference,” Christy said. “We practiced onside kick coverage. They (BlueDevils) just executed it really well.
“One of the pick-6 plays was on a deflection. The other one was a sideline route and we didn't get the ball out there.”
A third Mt. Lebanon intertception — this one by Brodie Campbell — started a 60-yard Mt. Lebanon march that ended with a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
After falling behind 44-7, Butler added a pair of touchdowns. Byron Manchester, the Tornado's rushing leader with 87 yards, scored on a 47-yard run and quarterback Matt Rairigh scored on a 55-yard burst.
“Matt had a rough night in the passing game, but it's only his third game as a varsity quarterback,” Christy said. “That's why we left him out there. We wanted him to play a full game.”
Morgan threw for 166 yards and two scores. He also rushed for 103 in triggering a Blue Devil offense that amassed 410 total yards.
“Seth is the guy who makes us go,” Melnyk said. “He had a big game and this is what he's capable of doing.”
Butler did force four turnovers. Kline recovered a fumble during a Butler punt. Zach Slomers and Trever Moore added interceptions.
The Tornado rushed for 206 yards.
“I felt the improvement tonight,” Christy said. “We can build on this.”
Melnyk agreed.
“Butler played hard for four quarters,” Melnyk said. “When a team's been struggling and adds a couple of late touchdowns like they did, that can pick a team up.
“That team will definitely get better.”
Mt. Lebanon 14 23 7 0 — 44Butler 7 0 7 7 — 21First QuarterB —Andrew Kline 50 interception return (Emerson Douthett kick), 3:58ML — Tim Walters 24 pass from Seth Morgan (Casey Sorsdal kick), 1:53ML — Mason Ventrone 12 pass from Morgan (Sorsdal kick), :27Second QuarterML — Everett Lefevre 11 run (Sorsdal kick), 10:30ML — Lucas DeCaro 23 interception return (Sorsdal kick), 8:55ML — Michael Palmer 20 interception return (kick failed), 8:40ML — Sorsdal 38 field goal, :00Third QuarterML — Shandrew Vaughn 10 run (Sorsdal kick), 5:24B — Byron Manchester 47 run (Douthett kick), 3:25Fourth QuarterB — Matt Rairigh 55 run (Douthett kick), :51Individual StatisticsRushing: Mt. Lebanon, Seth Morgan 11-103, Everett Lefever 6-24, Lucas DeCaro 3-30, Michael Palmer 2-2, Shandrew Vaugghn 3-33, Sam LaSota 1-6, Evan Jones 1-8, Joey Daniels 3-14, Maurice Plummer 4-24. Butler, Matt Rairigh 9-80, Byron Manchester 13-87, Chris Mertz 7-43, Kyler Callihan6 (-6), John Ryan Herold 1-2.Passing: Mt. Lebanon, Seth Morgan 10-20-166-2, Joey Daniels 0-2-0-1. Butler, Matt Rairigh 2-10-(-4)-3.Receiving: Mt. Lebanon, Shandrew Vaughn 2-71, Lucas DeCaro 1-8, Tim Walters 2-36, Sam LaSota 1-6, Mason Ventrone 3-45. Butler, Chris Mertz 2-(-4).
