The Funding Zone
 
SAFR: Safer Through Science
 

Laurel rallies past South Side Beaver

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

| October 15, 2022

New Castle: Landon Smith rushed for 244 yards and four touchdowns to lead Laurel past previously unbeaten South Side Friday night.

The Spartans outscored the Rams 19-0 in the fourth quarter to erase a 16-14 deficit to take the outright lead in the Big 7 Conference race.

“It feels good. Tonight we were playing for the section championship,” said Laurel head coach Brian Cooper. “I know we have a couple more games, but this was a big one. They are well-coach and have a great team. The score doesn’t indicate how close this game was.” 

Trailing by two entering the fourth quarter and faced with a fourth-and-one, Laurel called a toss near side that Smith broke free and scored from 28 yards out, giving the Spartans the lead for good.

 

It was a much better result for Laurel than an earlier fourth-and-one where they were stopped on a quarterback sneak in the third quarter.

“I should have called that toss on the series before,” Cooper said. “We just wanted to get the first down and keep the chains rolling. Our kids battled hard all night long.” 

Speaking for fourth downs, the Rams drove to the Spartans’ 36-yard line, where they faced a fourth-and-two. 

Laurel’s defense held Ryan Navarra to one yard and took over on downs. The Spartans then went on an 11-play 65-yard drive, all running plays capped off with Smith’s 17-yard with 1:50 to play.

“To me, that series was the game right there,” Cooper said. “Obviously, we still had to go on offense after that, but that stop was huge. I felt confident in our offense about what would happen after that.

Laurel did not attempt a pass in the second half. Quarterback Chase Tinstman completed 7-of-9 passes for 78 yards.

Following Braydin Lewis’s interception, Laurel finished the scoring when Colin Bartley recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Smith ran 15 yards to the 1-yard run before fumbling the ball, trying to reach it in the end zone. 

South Side opened the game with a 12-play 75-yard drive that concluded with Matja Pavlovich’s 27-yard field goal.

Laurel then took a 14-3 lead when Smith scored on runs of 14 and four yards in the second quarter.

“We only had the ball once in the first quarter,” Cooper said. “The defense buckled down, and we got a couple of scores in the second quarter. Our kids showed a lot of heart out there tonight.”

Landon Smith rushed for 244 on 28 carries, with 102 yards in the first half and 142 in the second half.

“Landon is a great kid, and he sticks his nose in there to get the tough yards,” said Cooper. “If he gets into the open field, he has the speed to break it for a big gain.” 

The Rams scored before halftime on Ryan Navarra’s 33-yard touchdown run with 59 seconds to play in the half. Navarra led South Side with 79 yards on seven carries.

 

South Side took the football and the lead in the third quarter on Brody Almashy’s 2-yard run. Almashy rushed for 50 yards and completed 5-of-11 passes for 88 yards with an interception.

The Rams will look to bounce back next Friday night when they host Union Area.

Laurel travels to Summit Academy next Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 12:30.

“We need to continue to get better,” concluded Cooper. “This was one goal, but we have much more we’d like to accomplish this season.” 

Game Highlights:

 

Laurel 33 South Side 16

Score by Quarters

South Side – 3 7 6 0 – 16

Laurel – 0 14 0 19 – 33

Score by Quarters

First Quarter

S – Matja Pavlovich 27 yd field goal, 1:12

Second Quarter 

L – Landon Smith 14 yd run, (Zane Boughter pat), 9:20

L – Smith 4 yd run, (Boughter pat), 2:28

S – Ryan Navarra 33 yd run, (Pavlovich pat), 0:59

Third Quarter 

S – Brody Almashy 2 yd run, (kick failed), 8:35

Fourth Quarter 

L – Smith 28 yd run, (rush failed), 11:36

L – Smith 17 yd run, (Boughter pat), 1:50

L – Colin Bartley fumble recovery in the end zone, (kick failed), 0:21

Individual Stas

Rushing: S – Navarra 7-79, Almashy 10-50, Parker Statler 10-39, Alex Arrigo 4-7, Team 2-0. Totals: 18-112. L – Smith 29-244, Bartley 6-52, Chase Tinstman 12-26. Totals: 47-322. 

Receiving: S – Statler 4-78, Shane Hankey 1-10. L – Lucas Davis 4-35, Brady Cooper 1-14, Carter Haney 2-29. 

Passing: S – Almashy 5-for-11, 88 yards, 1 INT. L – Tinstman 7-for-9, 78 yards. 

Interceptions: L – Braydin Lewis. 

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
QwikCut
 
GoRout
 
Rainbow Lettering
 
x