Photo provided by: andrew grimm
Steubenville Catholic Central’s Tommy Purgi shakes off a tackle from Bridgeport’s Owen Clark during Saturday night’s game at Harding Stadium.
STEUBENVILLE — At the beginning of the season, Steubenville Catholic head coach Eric Meek said one of the team’s goals was to win all of the senior home games.
Mission accomplished, at least as far as the regular season is concerned.
Led by Meek, the Crusaders’ defense led them to a three-game shutout victory and showed a dominant performance in a 35-0 victory over visiting Bridgeport on Senior Night.
“Another shutout, another great night of rushing offense. The kids played great,” Meek said. “I’ve said it all year long, these kids are great kids. They’re a great group to work with every day.
“We said early on that we wanted to win every senior home game, and that’s exactly what happened. But if we keep going like this, we might be back here (in the playoffs).” It’s great for the seniors, they’re eight great young guys. I’ve only known them for 18 months, but I feel like I’ve known them for 18 years. They’re just great young guys.”
The win improves the team to 8-0 for the first time in 10 years and gives the Crusaders a berth in the Division VII, Region 25 playoffs, according to Joe Eitel’s rankings Saturday night.
“I don’t think anyone expected us to go 8-0, but here we are in October,” Meek said. “We accept and we’re proud. We’re not looking ahead, we’re going to keep working.”
As it has done all season, Steubenville Catholic did most of its offensive damage on the ground, led by senior tailback B.J. Fallon, who gained 309 yards and rushed for four touchdowns. times were recorded.
He gained 115 yards on 13 carries with three trips to the end zone and a 19-yard pass for an extra score. He scored on runs of 3, 4 and 22 yards.
Junior Tyler Pergi also topped the century mark with 10 totes for 111 yards and a score on a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter as the running clock started.
Senior QB Tyler Iarenti gained 101 total yards, rushing for 67 and throwing for 34, including a TD to Fallon.
“When you look at how hard these kids work at practice, how focused they are every day and their work ethic, it’s amazing,” Meek said. “I really am. I’m so proud of each of them and our program.”
The Bulldogs, who fell to 13th in the Division VII, Region 27 standings with a 3-5 record, were able to move the ball at times and finished with 181 yards of offense, but they turned the ball over three times and once again fell short of promising prospects. I showed him the drive. Steubenville Catholic trailed 14-0 in the first quarter with a turnover on downs.
“We just didn’t play well,” Bridgeport head coach Fred Ray said. “We didn’t show up ready to play and that’s part of the problem, so we’re going to fix that.
“Unfortunately, young people show up every now and then. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and (Steubenville Catholic) has a lot of seniors and juniors, it happens. We’ll be fine. Yo.”
Jaqui Sleat gained 67 yards on 13 carries and completed 4 of 6 passes for an additional 51 yards. Aiden Kinsey played most of the time as Bridgeport’s QB, going 6 of 17 for 38 yards, but was picked off twice.
Jimmy Hernon and Braden Rauch served as INTs for the Crusaders defense, who also had four sacks for a total loss of 21 yards.
The Bulldogs went 3-and-out on their first two drives, while Steubenville Catholic’s first two possessions ended with a 5-yard run and a 19-yard catch by Fallon, quickly taking a 14-0 lead. .
His third TD, 4-yard run, capped off a long nine-play drive in the second quarter. The Crusaders also missed a field goal and stalled a drive in the red zone late in the second half, holding the game at 21-0 at halftime.
Fallon ran for a 22-yard score on three plays in the third quarter, and Pelzi ran 30 yards for the score midway through the fourth.
Bridgeport heads to Shadyside on Friday. Steubenville Catholic begins Friday’s trip to Conoton Valley and concludes the season with a trip to Region 25 foes.
