By Larry Gabriel Jr.
Carbondale Area used an efficient offense to score on all three second half possessions as the Chargers pulled away from upset-minded Holy Cross, 35-21. The victory gave the Chargers (6-4) a berth in the Eastern Conference Class AA playoffs and a home game in the opening round, set for Friday night against Hanover.
“Our kids came out better-focused in the second half and took control of the game,” said head coach Larry Gabriel III. “It was good to see that type of response from our kids. Holy Cross played a great game. Coach Tolerico (Ben) and his staff had their kids ready.”
At Holy Cross (1-9) last Saturday afternoon, the Chargers stopped themselves on a few first half possessions and had a punt blocked while the Crusaders plowed their way to real estate in keep-the-chains-moving chunks.
On the Chargers’ first possession of the contest, Dylan Cerra took the first snap on 45 yard sprint to set up Dustin Mancuso’s 10 yard TD pop to cap a four play scoring drive. Cerra’s kick conversion gave CA a 7-0 lead at the 6:10 mark.
While two of the next three CA possessions were hindered by a dropped pass behind the Holy Cross secondary and a turnover after a 47 yard run to the HC 25, the Crusaders got on the scoreboard when Mark Seber blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the endzone to tie the game at 7-7 with 8:25 left in the half.
The Chargers responded with a TD march capped by Michael Torch’s 44 yard scoring sprint down the Crusaders’ sideline for a 14-7 margin with 3:45 remaining in the half.
The Chargers, who ended the game with just 34 offensive snaps compared to the Crusaders’ 66 attempts, posted a scoring drive to start the second half.
DeAntonio’s four yard QB run and Cerra’s kick conversion pushed the spread to 21-7 with 6:53 left in the third period.
Holy Cross went back to work grinding out a 17 play, 84 yard TD journey that consumed the rest of the period. Dane Addley scored from four yards out just :16 into the fourth period. The missed kick conversion kept the score at 21-13.
CA went back to work with DeAntonio hitting Torch on a 25 yard scoring strike at the 7:22 mark. Cerra’s kick pushed the lead to 28-13.
After stopping the Crusaders, CA scored when Joe Plass capping the ensuing series with a 34 yard TD burst. Brittanie Hess added the kick conversion for a 35-13 margin with 4:09 left in the game.
Holy Cross took the game’s final possession to the endzone. Addley hit Travis Graziano on a 17 yard TD toss with :17 left and Michael Paddock added the conversion run for the final 35-21 score.
“Our defense held Holy Cross to that one long TD drive,” said Gabriel. “They did a solid job.”
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By Larry Gabriel Jr.
Carbondale Area used an efficient offense to score on all three second half possessions as the Chargers pulled away from upset-minded Holy Cross, 35-21. The victory gave the Chargers (6-4) a berth in the Eastern Conference Class AA playoffs and a home game in the opening round, set for Friday night against Hanover.
“Our kids came out better-focused in the second half and took control of the game,” said head coach Larry Gabriel III. “It was good to see that type of response from our kids. Holy Cross played a great game. Coach Tolerico (Ben) and his staff had their kids ready.”
At Holy Cross (1-9) last Saturday afternoon, the Chargers stopped themselves on a few first half possessions and had a punt blocked while the Crusaders plowed their way to real estate in keep-the-chains-moving chunks.
On the Chargers’ first possession of the contest, Dylan Cerra took the first snap on 45 yard sprint to set up Dustin Mancuso’s 10 yard TD pop to cap a four play scoring drive. Cerra’s kick conversion gave CA a 7-0 lead at the 6:10 mark.
While two of the next three CA possessions were hindered by a dropped pass behind the Holy Cross secondary and a turnover after a 47 yard run to the HC 25, the Crusaders got on the scoreboard when Mark Seber blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the endzone to tie the game at 7-7 with 8:25 left in the half.
The Chargers responded with a TD march capped by Michael Torch’s 44 yard scoring sprint down the Crusaders’ sideline for a 14-7 margin with 3:45 remaining in the half.
The Chargers, who ended the game with just 34 offensive snaps compared to the Crusaders’ 66 attempts, posted a scoring drive to start the second half.
DeAntonio’s four yard QB run and Cerra’s kick conversion pushed the spread to 21-7 with 6:53 left in the third period.
Holy Cross went back to work grinding out a 17 play, 84 yard TD journey that consumed the rest of the period. Dane Addley scored from four yards out just :16 into the fourth period. The missed kick conversion kept the score at 21-13.
CA went back to work with DeAntonio hitting Torch on a 25 yard scoring strike at the 7:22 mark. Cerra’s kick pushed the lead to 28-13.
After stopping the Crusaders, CA scored when Joe Plass capping the ensuing series with a 34 yard TD burst. Brittanie Hess added the kick conversion for a 35-13 margin with 4:09 left in the game.
Holy Cross took the game’s final possession to the endzone. Addley hit Travis Graziano on a 17 yard TD toss with :17 left and Michael Paddock added the conversion run for the final 35-21 score.
“Our defense held Holy Cross to that one long TD drive,” said Gabriel. “They did a solid job.”
