Ft. LeBoeuf Grinds Out a Victory Over DuBois

Tagged under: District 10, District 9, Gameday Hub, News

Phil Myers | October 5, 2019

Using a tough smash mouth ground game, forcing five turnovers, and returning a kickoff to the house, Ft. LeBoeuf gradually pulled away from DuBois for a 42-14 triumph Friday night at Mansell Stadium in DuBois.  Coach Jeff Nichols was proud at how his team responded to being down 7-0 early and then clinging to a 14-7 half time lead.  “We knew we could run the ball, so we sat down with the linemen (at the intermission) and they came out and did what we asked them to do,” he stated.

Led by RBs Jack Rimpa and Ben Turi, and QB Max Endres the Bison’s wing-T offense pounded on DuBois, only gaining more than 10 yards six times in forty-nine plays.  LeBoeuf raises its record to 4-3, while the Beavers fell to 0-7.  “That’s the best oh and seven team.  They’re a tough football team.  They’re tough to defend,” said Coach Nichols.

Ben Turi (#28) and Jack Rimpa (#20).

The Beavers scored first when they forced a Bison three and out.  The subsequent punt only travelled eighteen yards giving DuBois possession at the Ft. LeBoeuf 45.  Alex Kovalyak hooked up with Nick Dilullo for 35 yards to the ten on the first play.  Adian Castro scored on a three-yard run on third down with 8:11 on the clock.  Nolan Bussell added the PAT to give DuBois its only lead of the game.

After stopping LeBoeuf on fourth down at the Beaver 14, DuBois drove into Bison territory looking to go up two scores, but a penalty, a sack, and an interception by Joe Gentile on successive plays gave the visitors the ball at the DuBois 40.  From there the Bison used a personal foul penalty on DuBois and four running plays to score with Endres sneaking it for a three-yard TD at 9:58 of the second.  Adam Scarpino tied the game at 7 with his first of six extra-point kicks.

Later, DuBois forced LeBoeuf to punt after holding them to one yard in three tries.  But the punt was fumbled and it appeared that Dom Gentile recovered it for the Bison at the DuBois 41.  Again, the white and blue clad Bison took four plays to score.  Rimpa had the honors this time with a 16-yard scurry to give his team the lead at 14-7.  A lead they would never relinquish.

DuBois threatened right before the half by driving to the LeBoeuf two with 23 seconds left and no timeouts.  A run gained a yard to the one and then a quick pass to the side was picked off by Endres right at the goal line with two ticks left.  “I was nervous coming out of the first half,” recalled Nichols as his team clung to the 14-7 lead and DuBois was to receive the second half kick.

LeBoeuf held the Beavers and made them punt on the opening series of half two.  On the third play of the drive, Endres dropped back to pass, saw an opening, headed to the right sideline, then cut back across to his left, and 49 yards later crossed into the end zone.  That made the score 21-7 only two and a half minutes into the third quarter.

The Beavers answered with an eleven play 63-yard drive that culminated when Kovalyak hit Dale Kot for a seven-yard TD to cut LeBoeuf’s lead to 21-14 half way through the third stanza.  That lead was short-lived when Turi received the kickoff and went right up the middle 85 yards to allow the Bison to get back to their two-touchdown advantage at 28-14.

In the fourth quarter, the Bison added two late TDs, one on a 9-yard run by Tristin Harris and the other on a 9-yard run by Dom Gentile to fix the final score at 42-14.  Coach Nichols talked about his line and two of his running backs by saying, “Those guys run hard every time they get the ball and as long as the offensive line comes off the ball like they have the past few weeks, that’s a pretty good combination.”

Game Notes:  Rimpka led the Bison ground attack with 92 ayrds.  Endres had 58 and Turi had 57.  As a team, Ft. LeBoeuf gained a total of 270 yards, with 257 coming on the ground.  DuBois was paced by Kovalyak’s passing as he hit on 15 of 25 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown.  He received a lower body injury in the third quarter and did not return.  DuBois had a total of 264 yards, 143 passing and 121 rushing.  “Man, all the credit goes to DuBois.  The fact they haven’t quit yet and they’re still pounding away is a testament to their coach (Justin Marshall),” quipped Nichols.

The DuBois and the Ft. LeBoeuf bands put on a nice half time show.  The Beaver Band played songs by the rock group Styx.  DuBois travels to Meadville next Friday, while the Bison are home to the Oil City Oilers who are undefeated at 7-0.

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