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EBENSBURG -- For the way McCort-Carroll Catholic's 2023 campaign came to a close, all players that returned from last year have more motivation than ever to win this season.
The Crushers fell in double-overtime to Philipsburg-Osceola on a game-winning two-point conversion. McCort-Carroll coach Tom Smith said a photograph from that game still hangs in the Crushers locker room.
McCort-Carroll carried that fire into Friday night's season opener with Central Cambria, and after trailing in the fourth quarter, the Crushers used Angelo Gallucci's game-winning 3-yard touchdown pass to Brady Page to claim a 28-27 victory over the Red Devils.
"We've been practicing very hard to get over the hump as a football program, and this was the perfect win to do that in the manner that we did it," Smith said. "We remind them of that loss every day. Our kids are finally starting to understand that you have to think about the struggles, and the struggles that it takes to get here."
Player of the game: Gallucci entered as quarterback for the first time midway through the fourth quarter after an injury to starter Bentley Bainey.
The junior engineered a go-ahead scoring drive where he went 4-for-4 passing for 40 yards, capped off with his touchdown to Page.
"Injuries happen, so you have to be ready at all times," Gallucci said. "I did my best not to overthink the situation and do my best for my team. We came together and got this win. I just did my part, and I'm glad I was able to step up and get that score for the guys."
Friday served as Gallucci's redemption for a loss against Central Cambria in last season's opener, when he was tackled a half-yard short of the first down marker while attempting to score the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Ironically, the Crushers were going towards the same endzone, but this time, Gallucci came through.
"I talked to (Gallucci) during the film study last night, and I told him that he was going to have a sensational game tonight and win us the game, and he did," Smith said. "He came out here, and right down that same area of the field, he guided our team to victory. You wanna talk about guts? That's it right there."
Most vital statistic: McCort-Carroll recovered from a horrific second half offensively, where the Crushers turned the ball over on downs and lost two fumbles prior to Gallucci's touchdown pass.
The latter giveaway resulted in Central Cambria's Grady Snyder recovering the ball and returning it 64 yards to put the Red Devils ahead 27-21 after a missed extra point with 9:09 to go.
Central Cambria also had a 28-yard field goal sail wide with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
"Both teams played very hard," Central Cambria coach Don Fyfe said. "Both teams made mistakes, which is what you'll see in Week 1. They just came out one point ahead of us. Their offensive line really gave us fits, too. They really ran the ball well and that hurt us."
The teams battled back and forth for the first three quarters, leading to a 21-all tie going into the final frame.
Notable: Jon Delia rushed for 97 yards and two first half touchdowns for McCort-Carroll before leaving the game due to injury. Bainey found Garrett Farabaugh for a 2-yard score just before halftime.
Central Cambria quarterback Hunter Pittsinger completed 9 of 17 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Two scores went to Snyder, and the third was hauled in by Cam Stevens.
Snyder rushed for 121 yards on 17 carries. Gabe Burkett caught four passes for 101 yards.
"Every coach and player on our team, top to bottom, led us to this win," Smith said. "Our guys earned this, and it's great feeling. We're looking forward to try and keep this going next week."
Records: McCort-Carroll 1-0, Central Cambria 0-1.
Next week: McCort-Carroll hosts Bishop Guilfoyle, Central Cambria travels to Bald Eagle.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
McCort-Carroll 7 14 0 7 -- 28
Central Cambria 7 7 7 6 -- 27
First quarter
MC--Jon Delia 25 run (Avery Conner kick), 9:22.
CC--Grady Snyder 4 pass from Hunter Pittsinger (Liam O'Brien kick), 3:49.
Second quarter
CC--Snyder 65 pass from Pittsinger (O'Brien kick), 11:42.
MC--Delia 2 run (Conner kick), 6:49.
MC--Garrett Farabaugh 2 pass from Bentley Bainey (Conner kick), :04.
Third quarter
CC--Cam Stevens 6 pass from Pittsinger (O'Brien kick), 6:50.
Fourth quarter
CC--Snyder 64 fumble recovery (Kick failed), 9:09.
MC--Brady Page 3 pass from Angelo Gallucci (Conner kick), 3:55.
TEAM STATISTICS MC CC
First downs 20 12
Total yards 442 331
Rushes-yards 42-250 25-139
Yards passing 119 192
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 14-23-0 10-18-0
Punts-avg. 1-37 1-44
Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 8-58 4-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--McCort-Carroll, Page 1-(-2), Spontak 10-41, Bainey 9-87, Gallucci 4-11, Farabaugh 7-16, Delia 11-97. Central Cambria, Snyder 17-121, Pittsinger 7-17, Estep 1-1.
PASSING--McCort-Carroll, Bainey 10-18-79-1-0, Gallucci 4-5-40-1-0. Central Cambria, Snyder 1-1-40-0-0, Pittsinger 9-17-152-3-0.
RECEIVING--McCort-Carroll, Delia 2-10, Farabaugh 2-0, Spontak 3-42, Dressick 4-43, Page 1-3, Gallucci 1-14, Stevens 1-7. Central Cambria, Snyder 3-69, Burkett 4-101, Estep 1-6, Stevens 1-6, Sinosky 1-10.