BROCKWAY SURVIVES MONITEAU TO MOVE INTO CLASS AA TITLE GAME
DISTRICT 9 CLASS AA SEMIFINALS
OCT. 31, 2003 - Brockway 20, Moniteau 12
BY RICH RHOADES

BROCKWAY — It wasn’t easy, but the Brockway Rovers managed to keep their perfect season intact and return to the District 9 Class AA Championship game for the fourth straight season.

Brockway turned away a stubborn Moniteau squad, 20-12, at Frank Varischetti Field Friday night and will play either Brookville or Karns City in the championship game next Saturday at Clarion University.

The defending champion Rovers (10-0) won despite a 14-game streak of 200 rushing yards or more coming to an end. And the Rovers won despite Moniteau senior running back Steve Saul’s 179-yard rushing effort.

The Rovers won because they were able to pass the ball and took advantage of Moniteau turnovers, either stopping potential scoring drives or turning a miscue into points.

Andy Martino, Seth Rhed and Jeremy Sickeri scored touchdowns for the Rovers, who led wire to wire but were never on easy street.

Brockway didn’t secure the game until Rhed’s interception of Moniteau quarterback Clay Kohlmeyer’s pass at the Rovers’ 2 with 1:06 left in the game.

"There are no easy games once you get to the playoffs," Brockway head coach Ray Reckner said. "Moniteau is an excellent football team. They were 6-3 coming in and they lost to some good teams. Saul is one heckuva back and they can score from anywhere on the field. I have a lot of respect for them. Their kids played hard. We’re just fortunate enough to win."

The turning point of the game came late in the third quarter on two Sickeri fumble recoveries. The first one was his own fumble on a punt return that could have given the Warriors the ball at the Rovers’ 32.

On Moniteau’s next possession, Saul appeared to gain a first down on a fourth-and-one run inside the Rovers’ 20, but Saul fumbled fighting for yardage and Sickeri fell on the loose ball at the Rovers’ 19.

On the next play, Sickeri blasted up middle through the Moniteau defense like it was standing still for an 81-yard touchdown romp. The Warriors went from going in for a possible tying touchdown to trailing 20-6 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

"They’re a good team and that’s why they are undefeated, because they take advantage of situations like that," Moniteau head coach Steve Wilson said. "They smell blood and they go for the jugular. Sickeri is a great ballplayer. He’s quick and probably as fast as anyone we’ve seen this year."

Moniteau wasn’t finished as the Warriors scored midway through the fourth quarter when Saul dashed 24 yards for a touchdown at the 6:36 mark. Kohlmeyer hit Saul for a 31-yard pass to start the 69-yard scoring drive.

Saul also finished with 92 yards receiving, giving him 271 of the team’s 319 yards of offense.

"People have keyed on him all year long," Wilson said. "It doesn’t take much for him to break one. He can play the game and he’s definitely the real deal as a football player. He’s a great kid and he deserves the accolades. He’s worked hard for them."

The Warriors had a chance to tie the game late, starting at their own 10-yard line with 3:34 remaining. Kohlmeyer’s 44-yard pass to Saul on fourth-and-three at the Warriors’ 27 put them at the Rovers’ 29

But, three plays later, Rhed and a few of his defensive backfield mates read Kohlmeyer’s post-pattern pass to the end zone and beat the receiver to the ball for the game-clinching interception.

It was a hard-fought victory for a Rovers squad that came in as the second-ranked rushing team in District 9. Moniteau limited the Rovers to 184 yards -- Sickeri led the Rovers with 112 yards on 10 carries, 81 coming on the touchdown run -- the first time since early last season that Brockway failed to gain 200 yards.

Instead, the Warriors forced Brockway to pass and they did.

Rovers senior quarterback John Himes completed 7 of 13 passes for 127 yards in the first half alone. He only attempted three passes in the second half and failed to complete a pass.

But the first half performance was the key.

"(Moniteau defense) came up with 10 men in the box and forced us to throw the ball," Reckner said. "Basically, we’re a running attack. We have three backs who are excellent backs and they pretty much stuffed our run. We went to the air and it proved to work out."

The ability to pass set up the first score of the game as Brockway went 88 yards on 14 plays. Four Himes completions covered 61 yards, including a 26-yarder to Brent Carnahan on third-and-six from the Rovers’ 34. The drive ended on Himes’ 13-yard TD pass to Martino with 5:41 left in the second quarter.

Moniteau, still without a first down, answered quickly. Three plays covered 72 yards, finishing off with Saul’s 46-yard TD run. The failed extra point kept Brockway ahead at 7-6 with 4:26 remaining in the half.

The Rovers scored on their next possession, going 64 yards on nine plays. Again, key passing from Himes highlighted the drive. Two completions to Sickeri for 39 yards and Carnahan for 19 yards helped set up Rhed’s 2-yard run with one minute left in the half. Brockway took a 13-6 advantage into halftime.

Each team scored once in the second half, seeing Moniteau’s chances at a playoff upset slip away. The Warriors’ season ended at 6-4, their first winning season since 1986.

"The kids have played hard all year," Wilson said. "They haven’t given up, ever, and they came out here and scrapped with a team that we were a heavy underdog against. We felt we could play with them and the kids knew they could. We didn’t catch some breaks and didn’t execute some plays and that’s the game. That’s football."

The Rovers, meanwhile move on to play on the artificial turf at Clarion University's Memorial Stadium next Saturday.

"We have a good football team and they’ve earned the right to be there in the championship game," Reckner said. "They beat a very good football team right here. And we’re going to have a very good team to play next week. Either Karns City or Brookville will be a good opponent. It should be a very good championship."

BROCKWAY 20, MONITEAU 12

Score By Quarters

Moniteau 0 6 0 6 - 12

Brockway 0 13 7 0 - 20

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

B – Andy Martino 13 pass from John Himes (Seth Rhed kick), 5:41.

M – Steve Saul 46 run (kick failed), 4:26.

B – Seth Rhed 2 run (kick failed), 1:00.

Third Quarter

B – Jeremy Sickeri 81 run (Seth Rhed kick), :39.

Fourth Quarter

M – Steve Saul 24 run (run failed), 6:36.

B M

First Downs 14 11

Rushes-Yards 47-184 33-209

Passes: Comp-Att-Int 7-16-2 6-14-1

Passing Yards 127 110

Total Yards 311 319

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-1

Punts-Avg. 5-37.6 7-31

Penalties-Yards 1-5 1-10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Brockway: Jeremy Sickeri 10-112, Seth Rhed 15-53, Andy Martino 14-46, Brian Linden 1-3, John Himes 4-(-21), Team 3-(-9). Moniteau: Steve Saul 25-179, Matt Schandelmeier 7-33, Clay Kohlmeyer 1-(-3).

Passing – Brockway: John Himes 7-for-16, 127 yards, 1 TD, 2 Ints. Moniteau: Clay Kohlmeyer 6-for-13, 110 yards, 1 Int.; Ryan Rumbaugh 0-for-1.

Receiving – Brockway: Jeremy Sickeri 2-43, Andy Martino 2-31, Brent Carnahan 2-27, Matt Foradora 1-26. Moniteau: Steve Saul 4-92, Jeremy Moore 1-12, Greg Kepple 1-6.

Interceptions – Brockway: Seth Rhed. Moniteau: Clay Campbell, Eric Hilliard.

Sacks – Moniteau: Chris Cooper 1, Jeremy Moore 0.5, Josh Warburton 0.5.

Kick Returns – Brockway: Bobby Liddle 3-74. Moniteau: Ryan Rumbaugh 4-77.

Punt Returns – Brockway: Bobby Liddle 3-20, Jeremy Sickeri 1-0. Moniteau: Ryan Rumbaugh 2-21.