By Andy Close

KANE – Kane’s Arie Paup scored two first quarter touchdowns, and Kane rode solid defense the rest of the way to shutout Elk County Catholic 14-0 at rainy Paul R. Miller Field in Kane Friday night.

“I thought the kids came out and played hard,” said Kane head coach Jason Barner.  “The weather condition weren’t ideal, but we were able to fight through it.”

On the second play from scrimmage a fumble by ECC quarterback Joe Jacob set up Kane (3-2 Overall, 3-2 AML) with a first-and-goal from the ECC 10-yard line.

Paup quickly went to work scoring on second-and-goal from two yards out to make it 7-0.

A 50-yard punt by the Wolves Robert Leonard pinned the Crusaders at their own 1-yard line with 5:49 to play in the first quarter.   Elk County Catholic (2-3, 2-3) tried to run the ball out from the shadow of its own goal line, but on the first play of the drive Jacob again had trouble with the handoff dropping it in the end zone.  Paup recovered, and Kane had all the offense it would need.

“Both teams had to deal with the weather conditions,” said ECC head coach Travis Skryzpek. “We are not going to sit here and make excuses for why we lost.”

Kane (3-2, 3-2) was able to contain ECC running back Ricky Pearsall, who came into the game with over 700 yards rushing on the season.  Pearsall never got going and was held to just 39 yards on the night, easily his lowest total of the season.

“I challenged our big guys up front tonight,” said Barner.  “They stepped up and did a real good job.”

Neither team could establish much on offense, as ECC (2-3 overall, 2-3 AML) was held to 101 total yards for the game. 

Kane’s offense couldn’t get much going with the exception of Paup, who rushed for 92 of his game high 117 yards in the first half.

Neither team was able to get much going in the second half until the Crusaders got a golden opportunity early in the fourth quarter.

ECC’s Kyle Gerber broke through the line on a punt attempt by the Wolves and was able to get a hand on the ball setting up the Crusaders with a first-and-goal from the Kane 7-yard line. 

“Anything can happen,” said Skrzypek.  “When Kyle got to that ball on the punt you kind of felt like maybe the momentum switched a little bit.”

The momentum was short lived for the Crusaders, as the Wolves defense came up with its biggest stop of the game.

Successive runs by Gerber and Pearsall put the ball at the 3-yard line.  Jacob then tried to run a quick sneak but was stopped after only a yard gain.  Pearsall was stopped in the backfield on fourth down, and any chance ECC had at coming back was erased.

“Our defense came up real big for us there,” said Barner.  “If they score then, it’s a different game. 

Jacob finished the game 5 of 10 passing for 58 yards.  All but one of his passes went to Wortman, who finished with 52 yards receiving. 

ECC will be on the road again Friday when it matches up with the high scoring Brockway Rovers.  Kane will also be on the road as the Wolves travel to Johnsonburg.

Kane 14, Elk County Catholic 0

Score by Quarters

Kane- 14 0 0 0- 28

ECC-  0 0 0 0- 0

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

K- Arie Paup 2 run (Brandon Long kick)10:33

K- Paup fumble recovery in end zone (Long kick) 5:43

Team Stats

                                    K                     ECC

First Downs                10                    6

Rushes-Yards              43-155             36-43

Passing Yards             0                      58

C-A-I                          0-5-0                5-11-0

Total Yards                 155                  101

Fumbles-Lost              3-0                   4-2

Penalties-Yards           7-42                 2-5

Punts-Avg.                  5-36.5              5-42.0

Individual Stats

Rushing: Kane: Arie Paup 30-117, Dylan Eckstrom 11-36, Alex Anderson 2-2.  ECC: Ricky Pearsall 17-39, Kyle Gerber 4-21, Joe Jacob 4-(-)14, Team 1-(-)3.

Passing: Kane: Alex Anderson 0-5.  ECC: Joe Jacob 5-10, 58 yards. Ricky Pearsall 0-1

Receiving: ECC: Robby Wortman 4-52, David Bojalad 1-6