Canon-Mac gets key win over Norwin
CANONSBURG – Canon-McMillan’s path to a more favorable playoff seed became a bit more clear Friday night.
The Big Macs (3-1, 5-3) handled their business at AHN Field as they defeated Norwin 34-23, putting Canon-McMillan in the three seed in Class 6A if the playoffs were to start today and most importantly, avoid juggernaut Pittsburgh Central Catholic in the first round.
The Big Macs can still finish as high as second place in the conference.
Bryce Collins was the bell cow for the Big Macs attack as he rushed for 201 yards on 24 carries. Ty Jansma finished with 9 completions in 16 attempts for 136 yards and a score.
Norwin (1-3, 4-4) was paced by John Gergely Jr., who finished with 172 rushing yards on 21 carries. Parker Rigo added 98 yards on 21 carries for the Knights who were playing without leading running back Giovanni Rothrauff, who suffered a broken leg last week.
Canon-McMillan came out in the third quarter and went on a long clock-draining march that culminated in Rhys Maentz’s second field goal, this one from 22 yards, as it extended the Big Macs’ lead to 34-10 with 5:40 left.
But as they did much of the evening, Norwin managed to remain a pest as it responded with another score, this one from Rigo as he ripped through the Big Macs’ defense for a nine-yard touchdown run, cutting the Canon-McMillan lead to 34-17 at the 2:09 mark of the third.
Norwin was able to get a stop and appeared poised to cut deeper into the Big Macs’ lead. But the Canon-McMillan defense held firm when Collins sacked Max Ritz on the Big Macs’ 35 on fourth-and-long at the nine-minute mark of the fourth.
On Norwin’s next possession, Gergely, who had run wild much of the contest, was stripped of the ball by Bryce Collins on the Big Macs’ 30. Dakota Carmona recovered, ending another Norwin threat deep into the fourth.
Norwin did get into the end zone and get to within two scores as Ritz found Steven Kaefer for a 1-yard scoring toss late in the game. Ritz’s two-point pass, however, was intercepted by Braelon Wingfield to leave the Big Macs lead at 11 with 31 seconds to go.
Canon-McMillan struck first after forcing a Norwin punt early in the first quarter. Collins started his big night when he ripped off a 50-yard scoring run on his second carry. Maentz’s kick was good, giving the Big Macs an early 7-0 advantage.
Norwin’s defense made its presence known on Canon-McMillan’s second possession when Jansma was stripped of the ball during a sack. Giovanni Pirillo recovered for the Knights. It appeared that Norwin had tied the contest via a 22 yard Ritz touchdown run. But a holding penalty nullified the score. Norwin was forced to punt after two holding calls that pushed them out of field-goal range. Ritz’s quick kick rolled out of bounds at the five, seemingly pinning the Big Macs deep.
But a series of lengthy Collins runs, one of which was 40 yards, kick-started the drive. Collins capped the 95-yard march with a four-yard score, pushing the Big Macs’ lead to 14-0 at the 3:28 mark of the first quarter.
Canon-McMillan made it 17-0 early in the second on a 44-yard field goal. But the Knights, playing shorthanded, began to punch back. A lengthy drive resulted in a 38-yard Alexander Petrisko field goal with 5:27 to go in the half, cutting their deficit to 17-3.
Roman Cimarolli extended the Canon-McMillan lead to 24-3 with a 95-yard kickoff return on the ensuing kick. Norwin though swung back thanks to the powerful legs of Gergely Jr., who broke runs of 38 and 17 yards in the second quarter. His 17-yard touchdown run pulled the Knights to within 24-10 with a little more than 2:15 to go in the first half.
Canon-McMillan though took momentum back thanks to a 69-yard Jansma-to-Bryan Schmeltz scoring connection with 35 seconds left in the half, providing the Big Macs with a 31-10 lead.