By Andy Close

ST MARYS – Check Sheffield off the list of Allegheny Mountain League defenses that Ricky Pearsall has abused.

The Elk County Catholic tailback turned in another impressive performance rushing for 149 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to a 27-6 win Friday night. 

“He knows where the hole is, and he made a couple of real nice, long runs again tonight,” said Elk County Catholic head coach Travis Skrzypek.  “He can grind out the tough runs and get north south when he has to also.”

Elk County Catholic (2-2 Overall, 2-2 AML) dominated play throughout rushing for over 200 yards while limiting Sheffield (1-3, 1-3) to 151 yards of total offense for the game. 

“That’s a tough football team,” said Skrzypek.  “I thought we did a nice job on them defensively and played a solid overall game.”

The Crusaders got it going early in the second half.  A fumble recovery by Drew Anderson set-up ECC with a short field at the Sheffield 13-yard line.  Three plays later quarterback Joe Jacob hooked up with Robby Wortman for a 5-yard touchdown.  Wortman was able to hold on to the pass despite being hit as he caught the ball.

“Robby has great hands, and he runs his routes hard every time, so a defensive back never knows if it’s a run or a pass,” said Skrzypek “He was able to haul in some nice passes tonight.”

Sheffield answered early in the fourth quarter, going on an 8-play, 45-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard Jimmy Hahn touchdown run.  ECC appeared to stop the Wolverines on fourth down from the 5-yard line, but was flagged for a facemask on the play that allowed the Wolverines their second chance. 

Pearsall helped the Crusaders answer right back, breaking off a 22-yard run and then scoring from eight yards out on the very next play to make it 27-6.

ECC’s defense was swarming all night, as it limited Sheffield to just 67 yards rushing for the game.  With Sheffield forced to throw the ball, the Crusaders were able to pressure Wolverine quarterback Craig Fitch into four sacks and an interception.

“We definitely have some work to do in the secondary,” Skrzypek said.  “A couple of games ago, we had trouble stopping the run.  It’s a work in progress.  We’ll just take it one game at a time and continue to get better.”

The Crusaders got off to a quick start in the first half.  A Sheffield punt gave them a first down from the Wolverine 39-yard line.  Pearsall made quick work of the short field, carrying the ball down the right sideline untouched for a touchdown and a 7-0 Crusader lead.

Both teams had drives stall late in the second quarter because of turnovers. 

Jason Abraham’s interception of Jacob and subsequent return set-up the Wolverines at the ECC 36-yard line with 2:34.  Just two plays later, however, Sam Schneider intercepted Fitch at the 7-yard line to halt the Sheffield drive.

NOTES – Pearsall has put up some impressive numbers through the Crusaders first four games, rushing for 752 yards and 10 touchdowns … Fullback Kyle Gerber also had a solid game on the ground for the Crusaders, rushing for 77 yards on 13 carries … Jimmy Hahn led the Sheffield attack, rushing for 60 yards on 14 carries … It doesn’t get any easier for ECC, as they travel to Kane next week for a key AML South showdown.  Sheffield returns to action next Saturday when they play host to Otto-Eldred.

Elk County Catholic 27, Sheffield 6

Score by Quarters

Elk County Catholic   7 7 6 7- 27

Sheffield                     0 0 0 6- 6

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

E- Ricky Pearsall 39 run (David Bojalad kick) 6:28

Second Quarter

E- Kyle Gerber 13 run (Bojalad kick) 7:35

Third Quarter

E- Robby Wortman 5 pass from Joe Jacob (Kick failed) 2:45

Fourth Quarter

S- Jimmy Hahn 5 run (Conversion failed) 9:56

E- Pearsall 8 run (Bojalad kick)

Team Stats

                                    E                     S

First Downs                12                    9

Rushes-Yards              39-241             30-67

Passing Yards             68                    84

Com-Att-Int                5-8-1                8-21-1

Total Yards                 309                  151

Penalties-Yards           4-37                 5-35

Fumbles-Lost              2-2                   4-2

Punts-Avg.                  3-46.5              7-35.4

Individual Stats

Rushing- ECC:  Ricky Pearsall 22-149, Kyle Gerber 13-77, Sam Schneider 2-2, Cole Gerber 1-10, Joseph Georgino 1-3.  Sheffield: Jimmy Hahn 14-60, Craig Fitch 6 –(-)7, Khalil Slaughter 6-12, Jasper Rentas 1-(-)6, Tevin Williams 3-8.

Passing: ECC: Joe Jacob 5-8, 68 yards 1td 1int. Sheffield: Craig Fitch 8-21, 84 yards 1 int, Jimmy Hahn 0-1, 0yards

Receiving: ECC: Robby Wortman 4-64, David Bojalad 1-4.  Sheffield: Nick Bonavita 3-36, Jimmy Hahn 3-38, Jasper Rentas 1-10, George Fitch 1-0.

Interceptions: ECC: Sam Schneider.  Sheffield: Jason Abraham.