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Rochester pulls away from OLSH

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 3, 2023

Moon Township: Antonio Laure rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns to lead Rochester to a 36-12 victory over OLSH Saturday night at Moon High School.

“This was a good start for us – we scrimmaged last week, so this was a solid week one victory for us to get our season going,” said Rochester head coach Gene Matsook. 

The Rams scored 23 straight points, including 20 in the second half, as they pulled away from OLSH after holding a narrow 16-12 halftime lead. 

Rochester gained 270 yards of total offense, including 225 yards rushing. 

“This was a great team effort; I thought our offensive and defensive lines played well,” Matsook said. “Our defense bent a little bit but didn’t break. They’re a great passing team, but I’m proud of my kids in all three phases of the game we played tonight.” 

Rochester marched 61 yards in ten plays that set up Felipe Gomes-Castilho’s 40-yard field goal with 11 seconds to play in the first half, expanding the Rams lead to 16-12 heading into the locker room.

In the third quarter, Rochester extended their lead as they took football 66 yards in plays as Laure scored on a 7-yard run.

 

“Our entire front seven did a great job tonight,” Matsook said. “From our backs blocking for each other to our tight ends and offensive line, this was a great team win.” 

The Chargers drove inside the Rams’ 30-yard line three times in the second half but could not score – OLSH’s best opportunity came after recovering a fumble at Rochester’s 35-yard line late in the third quarter, trailing 23-12.

Five plays later, Carter Mason returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown with 10:41 to play. It was the third time the Rams had intercepted Chargers signal caller Vann Kavals, including two by Mason.

“That was huge. Mason had two tonight, and he got burned a couple of times early, but he battled back and did an outstanding job,” said Matsook. “That’s what I tell these kids; you must fight back and compete.”

Rochester got the ball back following a punt with 7:27 to play and ran off nearly the entire clock in ten plays as Dom Guido scored on a 6-yard run with 17 seconds remaining.

The Rams also flipped the switch on defense, limiting Vann Kavals to 37 yards passing in the second half after he threw for 192 in the first half.

“We made a few adjustments to get more pressure on their quarterback,” said Matsook. “He’s a big, tall kid that can see the field well, and they have some breakaway receivers that can do some things with the ball in their hands, so we had to change a few things at halftime.” 

OLSH, who was already playing without their leading receiver from a year ago, Dereon Greer, who was lost for the season with a torn ACL suffered last week, also played the majority of the game without Brandon Brazell, who led the Chargers in rushing last season as well as being an All-Conference selection at linebacker.

“Losing Brandon hurt early hurt us,” said OLSH head coach Don Militzer. “We knew we’d be without Dereon, but to lose our leading rusher and an All-Conference linebacker that hurt us. But at the end of the day, in the fourth quarter, we’re knocking on the doorstep to make it a one-possession game – we drop a pass, then the next play, we throw a pick-six that leads to a 14-point swing.”

The Chargers had taken the football and lead to begin the contest, driving 83 yards in eight plays as Ethan Davis-Gardner caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Kavals.

On the initial snap of the second stanza, Davis-Gardner and Kavals did again from 17 yards, outcapping a 7-play 65-yard drive that cut the Rams lead to 13-12.

 

Vann Kavals completed 16-of-31 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns, with three interceptions. Davis-Gardner caught five passes for 116 yards with the two scores, while Dorrien Tate hauled in seven balls for 86 yards.

After falling behind 6-0, Rochester scored two touchdowns in four minutes to take the lead for good.

Antonio Laure’s 37-yard run on the Rams’ opening possession gave them a lead they would not relinquish at 7-6 – following Carter Mason’s first interception that was returned to the Chargers 19-yard line. Laure scored his second of the night from three yards out.

Rochester will look to keep the momentum going when they host New Brighton next Friday night.

OLSH will look to bounce back as they travel to Clairton. 

“Things like this happen,” Militzer concluded. “It’s a non-conference game against a great team. I feel like we beat ourselves tonight; we couldn’t finish drives and need to run the ball better. We did lose our starting running back, but we’ll bounce back and recover from this.” 

Game Highlights:

 

Rochester 36 OLSH 12

Score by Quarters

Rochester – 13 3 7 13 – 36
OLSH -6 6 0 0 – 12

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

OLSH – Ethan Davis-Gardner 8 yd TD from Vann Kavals, (kick failed), 8:13 – 8-83

R – Antonio Laure 37 yd run, (Felipe Gomes-Castilho pat), 6:48 3-53

R – Laure 3 yd run, (kick failed), 2:47 – 5-19

Second Quarter

OLSH – Davis-Gardner 17 yd TD from Kavals, (pass failed), 11:50 – 7-65

R – Gomes-Castiho 40 yd field goal, 0:11 – 12-61

Third Quarter

R – Laure 7 yd run, (Gomes-Casttilho pat), 7:37 – 8-66

Fourth Quarter

R – Carter Mason 84 yd interception return, (Gomes-Casttilho pat, 10:41

R – Dom Guido 6 yd run, (pass failed), 0:17 – 10-51

Individual Stats

Rushing: R – Laure 19-128, Jayden Norman 9-58, Dom Guido 7-33, Mason 4-25, Amari Curry 1-0, Desmond Ledford 1-(-2), Team 2-(-17). Totals: 43-225. OLSH – Kavals 7-26, Brandon Brazell 1-4, Brady Brazell 4-1, Fields-Schulz 2-2, Team 1-(-3). Totals: 15-30.

Receiving: R – Laure 2-45. OLSH – Davis-Gardner 5-116, Iseia Fields-Schulz 3-26, Dorrien Tate 7-86, Lucas Vittorino 1-1.

Passing: R –  Norman 2-for-7, 45 yards, Laure 0-for-1. OLSH – Kavals 16-for-31, 229 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT.

Interceptions: R – Carter Mason (2), Norman.

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