Offense ice cold in Washington’s loss to Neshannock
Washington’s Connor Bedillion is emotional after the Prexies were eliminated from the WPIAL Class AA playoffs Saturday night by Neshannock.
Washington’s Ronald Paith hugs Zyan Wallace after the Prexies lost Saturday night to Neshannock.
Neshannock’s Tyler Sear celebrates after recovering an on-side kick in the second quarter Saturday night against Washington.
Washington’s Connor Bedillion throws a third-quarter pass Saturday night against Neshannock.
Zyan Wallace (center) celebrates after scoring Washington’s only touchdown Saturday night against Neshannock.
MOON TOWNSHIP – The snow turned the football field white.
Neshannock’s offense made Washington blue.
Frank Antuono, the 6-2, 220-pound quarterback for the Lancers, threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Neshannock to a 27-7 victory over Washington on a snowy Saturday night at Moon High School.
Neshannock (12-1) will take on Steel Valley, which eliminated Riverside last night, in the finals at Robert Morris next Saturday. Kickoff for that game is 6 p.m.
Neshannock, winner of the Midwestern Conference, had never made it to a WPIAL football championship game. Washington (11-1), champions of the Century Conference, last earned a berth in the finals in 2012. The Prexies lost to Aliquippa 34-7 that year.
“It hurts right now,” said Washington head coach Mike Bosnic. “Maybe down the line we’ll be able to reflect on what a great year it was.”
The Lancers dominated for much of the game, holding Washington to just 45 yards in the first half while building a three-touchdown lead. But the dagger for Wash High came when Antuono hit Danny Welker with a 72-yard touchdown pass with 4:36 to play.
“We’ve been playing like that defensively all year,” said Neshannock head coach Fred Mozzocio. “Our defense has been our rock all year. They have created turnovers for us and it carried over into tonight. We defended well.”
Mozzocio felt the Lancers first touchdown drive – a seven-yard run by Antuono – was the key moment of the game.
“It was tremendous,” Mozzocio said. “We just executed and did a great job. We kept pounding and it paid off.”
Antuono completed 10 of 16 passes for 184 yards and had 18 carries for 88 yards. Antuono’s rushing total was 20 yards more than the top four rushers for Wash High combined.
“We couldn’t get going in the first half,” said Bosnic. “We played a little better in the second half. (Neshannock) just played more aggressive than us. They were more physical.”
The Prexies scored one touchdown, a four-yard run by Zyan Wallace three plays before the third quarter ended. Wallace led the Prexies with 21 yards on seven carries.
“It was a little too late,” said Bosnic. “I thought we had a chance but it was too little, too late.”
The Prexies were hurt by an offensive pass interference call against Isaiah Robinson that was hotly disputed by the Wash High coaches. Three plays later, Connor Bedillion was intercepted. That turnover led to Neshannock’s final score.
“That’s one heck of a football team over there,” said Mozzocio of Washington. “Don’t think they are not. We just did a great job preparing these kids and got it done this evening.”
Wash High had a bad first half, fumbling two straight times on its first possession. By the end of the half, the Prexies trailed 21-0 as Neshannock scored on one running play and two pass plays, all engineered by Antuono.
The Lancer quarterback directed a nine-play, 80-yard drive he capped with a seven-yard run to make it 7-0 with 9:32 left in the quarter.
Following an exchange of punts,Neshannock drove 55 yards in 10 plays. Antuono found Doran in the end zone from four yards out. Doran made a nice catch of the tipped pass to make it 14-0 with 2:53 left in the half.
Neshannock then hit a liner on the kickoff that ricocheted off a Wash High player, making it a live ball. The Lancers recovered and drove down to the Wash High three, where on fourth down, Antuono found Scott in the back corner of the end zone to make it 21-0. On the drive, Scott hit Welker with a 28-yard pass.