Jefferson-Morgan ground game gobbles up victory
HOUSTON – Jefferson-Morgan ran for six touchdowns en route to a 42-30 win over Chartiers-Houston on Friday night.
For second-year Jefferson-Morgan coach Shane Ziats, the boys up front played a big part.
“It wasn’t just the running backs,” Ziats said. “The offensive line was there, too. The offensive line, they played very well. They came out, they played and they balled out.”
For Chartiers-Houston coach Terry Fetsko, it was a “good football game.”
“I give our guys credit for continuing to fight back,” Fetsko said. “It looked a little dark there. Tonight they were a little more physical than us, and that was the difference in the game.
It was Chartiers-Houston who got this party started. Keegan Kosek returned the opening kickoff to the opponents’ 8-yard line.
It took a while to finish the job, but on 4th-and-goal from the two-yard line, Kosek hauled in a touchdown pass to put the Bucs in front.
Jefferson Morgan answered on its first possession. A 31-yard run by Collin Biscegula made it 7-6, and Nathan Bauza’s PAT tied the game.
After forcing a punt, the Rockets went back on the ball, and they kept on running it. Biscula capped off a 4:24 drive with his second rushing TD, and Jefferson-Morgan had its first lead, up 14-7.
The Bucs fought back on their next position, with fortune on their side. Zeke Watkins fumbled somewhat deep in J-M territory. After the ball flopped around for a bit, Chartiers-Houston’s Anthony Romano picked it up and ran it to the 2-yard line. Aaron Walsh finished the job with a 2-yard QB keeper, and the game was tied again after Romano’s PAT.
But C-H still couldn’t stop J-M. The Rockets held onto the ball for more than six and a half minutes in their next possession, capped off by Biscegula’s third rushing touchdown, this one from 14 yards on a third-and-seven. The PAT was no good, but Jefferson Morgan still led, 20-14.
Chartiers-Houston managed to get a Romano field goal at the buzzer to go into halftime down three.
On the first possession of the third quarter, J-M struck again on a 55-yard run by QB Houston Gusemen. Gusemen would come through later. With C-H facing a 3rd-and-15 at the Rockets’ 35, Gusemen picked off a Walsh pass to thwart the threat.
Another rushing touchdown by Guseman – this one a less exciting 1-yard sneak – made it a three-touchdown lead. Chartiers-Houston cut it to 10 on the first play of the fourth quarter, scoring on a Watkins 6-yard run, then got an interception by Keegan Kosek that set it up at the J-M 31. The Bucs ended up cutting it to 34-30 on a 1-yard sneak by quarterback Aaron Walsh.
But Jefferson-Morgan held on and added a touchdown by John Woodward plus a two-pt conversion to make it 42-30 and shut the door.
Ziats was pleased with how his team handled the opponents’ late charge.
“We answered the bell,” he said.
Jefferson-Morgan will look to keep it going next Friday when it hosts Waynesburg at 7.
For Ziats, maintaining the same the same energy as in the opener will be the Rockets’ key.
“Keeping our focus,” he said. “Keeping our focus. Not letting this get to our heads. It’s on to Waynesburg now.”