Aug. 28—COCHRANTON — This isn’t the same old Cochranton Cardinals team that went 0-8 last season.
With Mike Feleppa at the helm, the Cardinals played physical and executed the game plan en-route to a 22-0 shutout against the Union City Bears in a Region 2 bout on Friday.
“They played their hearts out tonight. We did a lot of things right, but we did some things wrong too. It’s good to get that first win under our belt,” head coach Mike Feleppa said. “It wasn’t perfect by any means and we have a lot to improve on. I’m really proud of the kids because they started believing in themselves and they really battled hard for four quarters.”
Union City opened the game by recovering an onside kick. Despite the unfortunate start, the Cardinals defense forced a turnover on downs and got the ball back quickly.
On Cochranton’s first offensive play of the game, senior Jack Martinec took a hand-off right up the gut and 75-yards for touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the Cards were up 8-0.
More stout defensive play by Cochranton kept the Bears at bay and allowed the Cardinals to get the ball with a short field over and over again.
Early in the second quarter, sophomore quarterback Noah Cummings faked a handoff before rolling out to his left. Cummings fired a high pass towards the end zone to 6-5 tight end Wyatt Barzak who secured an impressive one-handed catch. The ensuing extra point gave Cochranton a 15-0 lead.
Cochranton struck again only a few minutes later. With 6:28 left in the half, Blake Foulk picked up a dropped ball in the backfield and scampered to his left. Outstanding down field blocking by wide receiver Bryce McDonough gave Foulk enough room inside the 10-yard line to hurdle his way into the end zone.
The score gave the Cardinals a 22-0 lead. A lead that would prove to be insurmountable for the Bears.
Union City was unable to move the ball for the entire game. The Cardinal defense swarmed to the ball on each and every carry and was physical in the trenches. The Bears managed 39 carries for 55 yards.
“We gang tackled and we ran to the ball real well. We practiced that all week,” Feleppa said. “The coaching staff came up with a great scheme and the kids executed the plan and did a heck of a job. I’m proud of their defensive performance. It’s always a feather in your cap when you can get a shutout.”
Neither team was able to put points on the board in the second half. Cochranton had several opportunities in the red zone but was unable to punch it in.
“I think we left a few things out there on the field. We left a couple touchdowns out there,” Feleppa said. “We also turned the ball over too many times, gave up a possession on the onside kick to start the game and made a lot of mistakes. We did execute enough to win so I’m proud of them for that.”
In the win, Jack Martinec led the team with 155 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown. Jack’s brother, Stephen, rushed for 40 yards on seven carries. Foulk had one touchdown and 51 yards off of four carries.
Cummings went 2-5 for eight yards and one touchdown.
With the win, Cochranton heads into another home game next week against Seneca. Feleppa hopes the team can keep the momentum going from the shutout.
“I hope we can keep it going. I told the kids, ‘when you win, it’s harder to keep winning. You can’t let up. You gotta keep going and keep practicing with intensity every day.'”