×

Colts ride offensive backfield to victory

PORTAGE — A 34-8 win Friday night over Portage most likely locked up the No. 1 seed in the District 6 Class 1A playoffs for Northern Cambria.

But while earning the top seed was the focus, the Colts were also energized with some momentum after routing a seven-win team heading into the postseason.

“It really was important to try to lock in that No. 1 seed in Districts,” Northern Cambria lineman Nick Sifford said. “We want to make history, and I think we’ve done that tonight, but we still want more. We’re gonna be a tough team for anyone to beat in the playoffs. This group’s hungry, and I think we have what it takes.”

Northern Cambria (8-2) was backed by a dominant rushing attack, headlined by running back Ben Vasil, who had 23 carries for 145 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Vasil found a hole and walked into the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown on the Colts’ first possession of the game.

He said that much of his success was due to the offensive line, who he said turned it up an extra notch against the Mustangs.

“Those guys up front just dominated,” Vasil said. “They played really well. They do well every week, but tonight was just something else. Those guys are incredible”

Vasil punched in a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Mark Marino also had a noteworthy game for the Colts as he picked up 112 rushing yards on 10 carries, adding a touchdown of his own late in the first quarter.

With starting running back Logan Onkst out with a broken ankle, Sifford said it took a group effort to power past the Mustang defense.

“Our line did amazing tonight, but it wasn’t just us,” Sifford said. “It was also our backs, our wide receivers. Just amazing play by everyone, and I am so proud to be able to play with these guys … Losing the Heritage was a big loss for us, but we just got to keep our focus. We still have a lot of football in front of us, and we really want that District 6 championship to bring back for Logan Onkst.”

The Colts, along with the other three top teams in Class 1A, will have a bye through the first round of the playoffs.

Vasil said that before his team can even think about winning a district title, it has to grind through the playoffs one week at a time.

“We’d like to win (District) 6, but we have to get that first win under our belt first,” Vasil said. “This is a pretty special group, and we’re ready to make history.”

Facing a team with two 1,000-yard rushers in Conner Price and Cole Sossong, Northern Cambria coach Sam Shutty said it took a strong defensive effort to come away with the win.

“Going into this game, I told this guys that if we were going to win, it was going to be through our defense,” Shutty said. “The defense has to show up, and the defense has to get it done. I put it on our lineman, I put it on our tackles and I put it on our ends. I told them they have to do better, they have to do better than they have all year, and they did it. I could not be more proud of how they play.”

After a strong week of preparation, he said his team’s hard work paid off.

“I’m just so proud of these guys,” Shutty said. “They did exactly what we practiced, played exactly how we practiced and then some. It’s just one of things where these guys rose to the occasion, and I’m extremely proud of them.”

The Mustangs (7-3) were held to just 234 total yards in the loss, and Seth Georg had the only score for Portage with an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Portage coach Gary Gouse said that his team had opportunities, but in the end, those chances were stifled by a strong Colts team.

“They got a great football team,” Gouse said of the Colts. “We had some really good opportunities, and we started out not the way we wanted to. We missed a long pass that was wide open, we drove to the 5-yard line –they stopped us. We had two or three great opportunities that they shut us down on.”

Gouse said that with playoffs looming, his team will not let this loss affect his team’s confidence.

“What we always say is ‘there’s nothing you can do about it.'” Gouse said of rebounding from a loss. “We’re not gonna cry about it, we not gonna throw yourself in the ground about it. You move on, we find out what we did wrong, correct it and try to go win the next game. This game’s done. It’s over, so that’s what we gotta do.”

Score by Quarters

Northern Cambria 14 0 6 14 — 34

Portage 0 0 0 8 — 8

First Quarter

NC–Vasil 19 run (kick failed), 7:54

NC–Marino 5 run (Marino run), 2:02

Third Quarter

NC–Kopera 13 catch from Marino (Pass failed), 6:51

Fourth Quarter

NC–Vasil 1 run (Bearer pass from Marino), 8:59

P–Georg 11 run (Sossong run), 5:12

NC–Prasko 43 run (run failed), 1:12

Team statistics NC P

First downs 20 8

Total yards 372 234

Rushing yards 352 224

Passing yards 30 10

Kick returns 2-20 8-71

Interceptions ret. 0-0 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 2-2-0 2-6-0

Punts 0-0 0-0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 5-66 8-57

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING– Northern Cambria, Vasil 23-145, Marino 10-112, Kopera 9-53, Prasko 1-43, Dumm 1-1, Bearer 1-(minus 1), Noll 2-(minus 1). Portage, Price 15-69, Sossong 12-64, Georg 2-30, Wolford 2-20, Koenigsberg 3-17, Forst 3-9, Oravecz 1-8, Berardinelli 1-7

PASSING– Northern Cambria, Marino 2-2-0-30. Portage, Price 2-6-0-10

RECEIVING– Northern Cambria, Kopera 1-23, Vasil 1-7. Portage, Sossong 1-8, Koenigsberg 1-2.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today