Leechburg, PA - North Catholic went into battle with the Kiski Area Cavaliers this past Friday, the 22nd, and came out with a forceful 28-7 win. It wasn't the prettiest of wins, but backed by a solid effort on both sides of the ball, the Trojans took away the all-important win.
Some Background: North Catholic entered this matchup 2-2 on the year and 1-0 in section play following a 19-0 win over Highlands the previous week. The win over Highlands was by far the most complete game played by the Trojans through the first four weeks, which brought them into the Kiski matchup with plenty of confidence and momentum. The offense was finding its grove, and the defense was doing more than just holding up their end of the bargain as they shut down a Highlands offense that was outscoring their opponents through the first three weeks by an average of 33 points. The question became, can North Catholic keep the momentum going and not take their eye off a competitive Cavalier squad? Kiski came into the game 1-3 on the year and 0-1 in section play after a 35-26 loss to Hampton the previous Friday. Kiski was 1-9 last year, but their offense ratcheted up 262 total yards against Hampton, a playoff team last season. Both teams have emerging groups, but the Trojans, with all the momentum, would translate in Week 4?
The Game: Kiski started with the ball but couldn't get anything going and subsequently punted the ball to the Trojans. North Catholic would make quick work of it and get on the board early on a 53-yard touchdown run by Houdini, Jack Fennell, who notched his 5th offensive touchdown of the year to make it 7-0. From there, both teams traded punts, and there were not many notable plays until the second quarter, when Kiski had a 4th and 2 from the North Catholic 38. Cavaliers running back Landon Kucic took the handoff and got first down yardage but fumbled the ball after a forced fumble from Jackson Schade, which was recovered by Jason Siket at the 31. The Trojans' drive started with a bang after a 49-yard reception right down the middle of the field by Brady Koziara off the great throw by Siket—North Catholic ball at the 19. From there, the Trojans got a first down and had 1st and goal, but they couldn't convert on any of their three runs. They decided to attempt a field goal; however, the snap was low, and the play was botched, giving Kiski the ball back after a big stand. The Cavaliers were looking to make something happen with about four minutes remaining when Kaden Sarvar dropped the hammer on 3rd down and brought up a punt with 2:10 to go in half-one. Nothing much precipitated from that, which brought us quickly to halftime, where North Catholic still led 7-0.
North Catholic started with the ball when play resumed and got exactly what they needed: a touchdown. After a quick but productive first few plays, the Trojans marched to the Kiski 30. The next play was a handoff to Danny Franco, who ran to the left side of the line and got a big block by Joey Strano, which gave Franco the room he needed to get some speed, and from there, he was gone. Touchdown North Catholic, which extended the lead to 14-0. Just a few plays later, Kiski quarterback Carson Heinle dropped back to pass and was forced to scramble to his left, where he was met by intense pressure from Brady O'Hara and Kaden Sarvar and threw a pass down the near sideline that was intercepted by Brady Kozaria who took it to the bank and cashed it out for six. North Catholic now led 21-0. The North Catholic defense continued to shine as they wouldn't let Kiski get anywhere near the redzone, which gave the Trojans another opportunity to get on the board after getting a decent field position. Siket with the ball at the Kiski 25 through a perfect pass to Brady O'Hara, who reeled it in while being hit inside the 10 at the 9-yard line. North Catholic would make good on this redzone trip with a touchdown run by their shifty QB Jason Siket, who put the team up 28-0. Kiski earned a garbage time touchdown later in the quarter to get on the board, but make no mistake: North Catholic dominated this game, finishing it with a 28-7 victory over the Kiski Area Cavaliers.
Offensive Takeaways: The Trojans packed a punch offensively in this game by maximizing their drives to end with 307 total yards, the best they've had since Week 0 against Serra Catholic. The running game was the moneymaker in this one, as all three offensive touchdowns came on the ground. Jack Fennell amassed 145 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Additionally, Danny Franco totaled 56 yards and a house call on 8 carries. North Catholic averaged 8 yards per carry; if this can be continued similarly, they will tear up defenses the rest of the year, especially in 4A, where the ground game has been predominant for most offenses across the board. A defense that can stuff the ground game will be successful this season, especially. As far as the passing game is concerned, Jason Siket had yet another solid performance, even with a lot of pressure in his face as the pass rush from Kiski proved to be a problem for the North Catholic O-Line at times as the sacks piled up a bit by the end of the game, but don't expect that to be a problem moving forward. Overall, the Trojans' offense has had back-to-back much-improved outings with confidence and optimism for more to come.
Defensive Takeaways: The defense played yet another impressive game. They scored just as much as they gave up after the Pick6 from senior star Brady Koziara, and anytime that happens, that typically leads to a favorable result. The Trojans' defense has allowed just two touchdowns in the last 10 quarters and has continued to shut down their opponents' passing game, particularly over that span. The secondary has been excellent since their second game of the year against Shady Side Academy. Brady Koziara has shined this entire season as their best defensive player. He has a nose for the ball and, with it, has sniffed out more pass plays than any other player on the team up to this point. Senior Danny Franco played another excellent game, netting 6.5 tackles as he continues leading by example for his group this season. There is very little to be nit-picky about when looking at this front, and as a result, the expectation should remain that this defense should limit passing yards and stifle run games on a week-to-week basis.
Moving Forward: The Trojans are now 2-0 in conference, scoring an average of 23.5 points per game while giving up just an average of 3.5 points per game. While the sample size is still small, this is a third of the section games they play during the regular season. Last year in the Trojans' Greater Allegheny section, Hampton and Mars both snuck into the playoffs with 3-3 records in section play, passing North Catholic solely on tiebreakers. The Trojans are one win away from matching their section wins from last year, and assuming they win at least two of their next four section games, North Catholic will be back in the postseason. However, let's not count our chickens before they hatch. The Trojans play three of those remaining section games against teams who made the playoffs last year, with one coming this upcoming Friday, the 29th, at Lt. JC Stone Field versus Armstrong at 7 p.m. If you cannot attend, enjoy the game from your device wherever you are with the North Catholic Sports Network, which will have all the action live through the North Catholic Athletics website. Have a great week! Let's Go Trojans!
