‘Cats Fall To Blue Dons
Anyone who looked out a window Friday evening would tell you it wasn’t the best weather for a football game. Add Weirton Madonna as an opponent into the equation despite the weather and your odds aren’t favorable.
As a result, the numbers didn’t add up too well for Paden City as the Blue Dons won 54-0 at Berger Field. It was Madonna’s first shut out of the season. They haven’t let a team score more than twice on their defense since their second game, a 62-14 victory over Bellaire St. Johns.
“They’ve got pretty good athletes,” Head Coach Brent Croasmun complimented. “They’ve got speed. They’ve got size. They lost their quarterback last week. They put their back up in and never lost a beat.”
Still adjusting to losing two starters for the season, the Wildcats were still making adjustments on both sides of the ball.
The evidence came with the statistics as the offense generated just 47 yards.
A majority of those yards, 46 to be exact, came on the ground as the weather made it difficult to have a passing game.
Wes Cosper and Geoffrey Bidwell each had 14 yards rushing while Josh Bennett had 12 yards. Taylor Still gained seven yards on the night and Chris Loy filled in at running back for a few carries.
The ‘Cats did attempt a few passes, but Cosper completed only 1-of-3 passes.
Still was the lone recipient who gained a single yard. Offensively, the ‘Cats were only able to gain three first downs.
Defensively, Croasmun was still disappointed, but was happy with the performance of freshman Keith Hardbarger who recorded 11 tackles playing at defensive tackle.
“He did a real nice job. That’s the best game he’s played this year defensively. There was a lot of times he was getting double teamed. I don’t know why they decided to pick on him but they did. If there were any bright spots, he was one. There weren’t very many.”
Keith Kline added nine tackles and Cosper had seven.
The Wildcats will travel to Pine Grove next week to battle the Valley Lumberjacks for their annual rivalry game. This year, legendary coach Tom West returns to lead the ‘Jacks.
“I have a lot of respect for Tom West,” said Croasmun. “He’s a veteran coach. When you’re going up against a coach like him, you know you have to prepare your kids well.
“He has a lot of time to prepare. We know it’s not going to be easy and its going to be a close football game.”
“When we can’t go 11 on 11 in practice, that makes it pretty tough to get ready. I think the kids will play with a lot more emotion this week. It’s the county rivalry.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
‘Cats Fall To Blue Dons
Anyone who looked out a window Friday evening would tell you it wasn’t the best weather for a football game. Add Weirton Madonna as an opponent into the equation despite the weather and your odds aren’t favorable.
As a result, the numbers didn’t add up too well for Paden City as the Blue Dons won 54-0 at Berger Field. It was Madonna’s first shut out of the season. They haven’t let a team score more than twice on their defense since their second game, a 62-14 victory over Bellaire St. Johns.
“They’ve got pretty good athletes,” Head Coach Brent Croasmun complimented. “They’ve got speed. They’ve got size. They lost their quarterback last week. They put their back up in and never lost a beat.”
Still adjusting to losing two starters for the season, the Wildcats were still making adjustments on both sides of the ball.
The evidence came with the statistics as the offense generated just 47 yards.
A majority of those yards, 46 to be exact, came on the ground as the weather made it difficult to have a passing game.
Wes Cosper and Geoffrey Bidwell each had 14 yards rushing while Josh Bennett had 12 yards. Taylor Still gained seven yards on the night and Chris Loy filled in at running back for a few carries.
The ‘Cats did attempt a few passes, but Cosper completed only 1-of-3 passes.
Still was the lone recipient who gained a single yard. Offensively, the ‘Cats were only able to gain three first downs.
Defensively, Croasmun was still disappointed, but was happy with the performance of freshman Keith Hardbarger who recorded 11 tackles playing at defensive tackle.
“He did a real nice job. That’s the best game he’s played this year defensively. There was a lot of times he was getting double teamed. I don’t know why they decided to pick on him but they did. If there were any bright spots, he was one. There weren’t very many.”
Keith Kline added nine tackles and Cosper had seven.
The Wildcats will travel to Pine Grove next week to battle the Valley Lumberjacks for their annual rivalry game. This year, legendary coach Tom West returns to lead the ‘Jacks.
“I have a lot of respect for Tom West,” said Croasmun. “He’s a veteran coach. When you’re going up against a coach like him, you know you have to prepare your kids well.
“He has a lot of time to prepare. We know it’s not going to be easy and its going to be a close football game.”
“When we can’t go 11 on 11 in practice, that makes it pretty tough to get ready. I think the kids will play with a lot more emotion this week. It’s the county rivalry.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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