Keystone Oaks Shut Out Gladiators in 3A Tilt 34-0 @NickHaus75 @PaBackyard
Tagged under: District 7, News
Nate Grella | November 6, 2021
By Nick Haushalter
Week 1 of playoffs began with the South Allegheny Gladiators travelling to face the Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles. This matchup was never really close– Keystone Oaks got the shutout with a final score of 34-0. The Eagles were led by a powerful running game highlighted by RB Kevin Drew, while their defense produced few spectacular plays but controlled the line of scrimmage well and limited the threat of passing downfield.
After a few punts to open the match Keystone Oaks marched down the field before Drew punched in a 3 yard TD run.
Golden Eagles strike first! 3 yard rushing TD by Cortes puts them up 7-0 with 5 min. left in 1st q. @PaBackyard@PaFootballNews pic.twitter.com/mmRgfg1zTf
— Nick Haushalter (@NickHaus75) November 5, 2021
On the next drive, South Allegheny turned over the ball deep in their own territory with a costly fumble. Just a few plays later RB Tyler Perry took a direct snap for another short TD rush.
Perry takes the direct snap for a short TD, putting KO up 14-0! @PaBackyard @PaFootballNews @ko_goldeneagles pic.twitter.com/qU9wFcFd5K
— Nick Haushalter (@NickHaus75) November 5, 2021
The Gladiators’ trouble continued as soon after a bad botched snap forced a punt from deep in their own territory. The Eagles drove down the field before Drew got loose along the right sideline for another TD.
After botched snap derails and forces a punt by SA, Eagles put together a quick drive capped by this 30 yd TD by Drew! @PaBackyard @PaFootballNews @ko_goldeneagles pic.twitter.com/bCJeDKu7dU
— Nick Haushalter (@NickHaus75) November 5, 2021
While South Allegheny was able to put a few limited drives together before this, after these offensive and defensive woes their team seemed to lose some of its spirit. The game was never really in question as they faced a 21 point deficit and a Keystone Oaks defense which seemed to only get better as the game wore on. Gladiators QB Jones often found himself scrambling against a threatening pass rush, which further hampered the big passing plays which South Allegheny needed in order to mount a comeback.
Before the game was over Drew had one more rushing TD– while Golden Eagles WR Owen Minford made a highlight-reel worthy over the shoulder catch in extremely tight coverage to put his team up 34-0. At this point Keystone Oaks was playing their backup RB and rushing the ball up the middle on almost every play to run out the clock.
PLAY OF THE NIGHT! Keystone Oaks’ Minford reaches back in tight coverage for this INCREDIBLE TD grab! @PaBackyard @PaFootballNews @ko_goldeneagles pic.twitter.com/JSmRnYV5jv
— Nick Haushalter (@NickHaus75) November 6, 2021
Throughout this contest, the only noteworthy play by South Allegheny was a hail mary with 1 second left at the end of the first half; Jones chucked up the ball to WR Dillion Hynes, who caught it amidst tight coverage but still far outside of the endzone. It was a desperate effort which exemplified how the rest of the game went for the Gladiators.
Next week Keystone Oaks will take on a more dangerous opponent: undefeated North Catholic. South Allegheny ends their season with a 4-7 record.
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