ROSETO – Southern Columbia’s running game led the Tigers to a 61-0 win over Pius X Saturday afternoon at Amelio Scott Alumni Stadium.
The Tigers had 384 total yards of offense and 299 yards of that was on the ground. They were led by fullback Adam Fuedale’s 91 yards rushing and Nate Hunter’s 57 yards. Blake Marks made his debut today, rushing for 100 yards on five carries and two scores.
On the opening play, Pius X’s Aaron Savelli hit Eric Marbury for a 52-yard completion down in Tigers territory. The Tigers defense settled down and the offense took over on downs.
Late in the first quarter the Tigers started to wear down Pius X’s defense and marched 89 yards on eight plays for the score. Taylor Young threw the ball up and Bryce Parry ran under it for a 65-yard touchdown.
Young only had to throw seven passes today and he completed three of them for 85-yards. “I thought he did a good job today and he had a couple of deep balls he overthrew”, said Roth. “But you can see he has a strong arm and when he settled down he was fine.”
After a sluggish start the Tigers led 6-0 after one quarter.
“It’s the first game and we had a lot of first year starters,” said Jim Roth. “I think some of our players were a little tentative for that every reason. But once we settled down we were able to make plays.”
In the second quarter the Tigers got their running game going. “We just lined up and went right at them. We used different backs and we made plays, “ said Roth.
After another stop by the defense, Southern Columbia drove 80 yards. The drive was capped off when Matt Lupold went in for a seven-yard score. Adam Feudale’s two-point conversion made it 14-0 Tigers.
The Tigers started to substitute more players on a vey hot day and their defense started to take over. Garet Sosnoski had a big sack and tackle. Joe Kleman intercepted a Savelli passed. “It’s a matter of getting some playing time for the young kids and getting them some experience. The defensive effort was nice by them. It seemed the young kids brought some energy into the team.”
The Tigers capitalized off the turnover. Feudale scored from 15-yards out. Luke Rarig’s kick put them up 21-0.
On the very next play TJ Belle of Pius fumbled the ball and Mitch Stanziale recovered it on the Pius 19.
Two plays later Lupold hammered into the end zone for a six-yard score.
Both teams drove deep in each other’s territory and came up empty. At halftime Southern Columbia led 27-0.
You think after coaching for a long time Roth has seen it all. Guess again.
The Tigers opened up the second half with a 78-yard kickoff return for the by Feudale. But not to be outdone, Joe Kleman went 50-yards on a punt return for a score. “I don’t remember if we ever did this. I doubt it. But both these guys are capable of doing that,” said Roth.
With 7:44 remaining in the third quarter the mercy rule was well under way. The Tigers led 42-0.
After another big punt return by the Tigers to the Pius 15, Brad Noll went in untouched for a 10-yard scamper.
The younger kids didn’t disappoint too. In came freshman runner Blake Marks. In the short time he played in the fourth quarter, he scored touchdown runs of 28 and 60. “He played well and especially on defense,” said Roth. “Some of those short passes we had trouble stopping early in the game. When he came in he was stopping it.”
| Final | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | T |
| Southern Columbia | 6 | 21 | 22 | 12 | 61 |
| Pius X | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1st Quarter | |||||
| SC – Bryce Parry 65-yard pass from Taylor Young 3:11 | |||||
| 2nd Quarter | |||||
| SC – Matt Lupold 7-yard run 8:56 | |||||
| SC – Adam Feudale 15-yard run 4:57 | |||||
| SC – Matt Lupold 6-yard run 3:55 | |||||
| 3rd Quarter | |||||
| SC – Adam Feudale78-yard kickoff return 11:47 | |||||
| SC – Joe Kleman 50-yard punt return 7:44 | |||||
| SC – Brad Noll 10-yard run 3:22 | |||||
| 4th Quarter | |||||
| SC – Blake Marks 28-yard run 9:19 | |||||
| SC – Blake Marks 60-yard run 3:55 | |||||
One Response
SCA returned 2 punts for TD’s in a state playoff game against Steel High back around 2002 or 2003. SCA trailed 19-6 at half time. I think Steel High got the ball to start the 2nd half and had to punt after 3 plays. SCA returned the punt and it was 19-13. SCA held again and returned the next punt for a TD and just like that it was tied 19-19, Steel High turned the ball over and SCA scored quickly and SCA led 25-19. I think the final was 45-25. The exact order of scoring might not be exactly right, but I believe 2 punts were returned for TD’s in that game.