JOHNSTOWN - Bishop Carroll was successful in taking the momentum, but the Huskies never could take the lead.
BC put together a long drive to start the second half and get to within a point on a David Maruca-to-Dane Woo touchdown pass, then recovered an onside kick and went on the march again. The Huskies stalled inside the Westmont Hilltop 30, though, and the Hilltoppers were able to end the high school football season with a 16-6 nonsectional Laurel Highlands Conference win in a clash of 1-8 teams with first year coaches on a snowy, rainy and muddy Saturday afternoon at Price Field.
"We made some really, really good adjustments at halftime and pretty much did what we wanted to for a while there," Huskies coach Greg Snyder said. "We got down there again and just made a couple mental mistakes - I'll take the blame for those -- and didn't get into the end zone. I think, if we get into the end zone, it's a different story."
Carroll had 120 yards in the second half after being held to just 44 in the first two quarters. Dan Lesney chalked up 80 of his team-high 94 yards on the ground after the intermission, including a 24-yard scamper to the Westmont 24 after he recovered Michael Pyo's onside kick. However, another run gained just 2 yards, and Maruca was sacked twice and forced to scramble on a third play to thwart BC's go-ahead threat.
The Hilltoppers then went the length of the field to regain a seven-point advantage on Liam Moran's 6-yard fourth-down pass to Clint Barron. After another Carroll drive stalled at the Westmont 38, the Hilltoppers took almost six minutes off the clock, leading to a Mitch Causer field goal with 1:49 left to ice the game.
Sam Curry did most of the damage for Westmont, rushing for 162 yards on 32 carries. He had 113 yards by halftime and accounted for the only score of the first half on a 5-yard run.
"They were playing smash-mouth football, and they really came at us," Snyder said. "In the second half, I think we did a better job."
The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Westmont, and Hilltopper coach Pat Barron thought it might give a boost for the future.
"This is a great game to go out on," Barron said. "This was huge to build momentum for the offseason, to get these kids in mind of what we're doing. For a first year coach, like Greg on the other side, I know we both wanted it really bad."
It was a tough season at Carroll, after a controversial coaching change in the offseason. The Huskies, though, held their last three opponents to 19 points or less, leaving Snyder optimistic for the future.
"We only lose two seniors, and, for the most part, we fought," Snyder said. "The big thing is these kids got a year of experience, and I do believe as the year went on we got a lot better."
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Carroll0 0 6 0 - 6
Westmont Hilltop0 7 6 3 - 16
Second quarter
WH-Curry 5 run (Causer kick), 11:03.
Third quarter
BC-Woo 7 pass from Maruca (run failed), 7:32.
WH-Barron 6 pass from Moran (run failed), 0:34.
Fourth quarter
WH-Causer 24 FG, 1:49.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Bishop Carroll-Lesney 16-94, Frederick 4-22, Lessard 6-19, Woo 2-9, Maruca 8-(-2). Westmont Hilltop-Curry 32-162, Moran 13-48, Kleinmeyer 1-(-5), TEAM 2-(-3).
PASSING: Bishop Carroll-Maruca 4-9-1-22. Westmont Hilltop-Moran 4-6-0-76.
RECEIVING: Bishop Carroll-Woo 3-14, Lesney 1-8. Westmont Hilltop-Kleinmeyer 2-65, Barron 1-6, Carney 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Bishop Carroll-none. Westmont Hilltop-Carroll.
TEAM STATISTICSBCWH
First downs719
Rushes-yards36-14248-202
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)4-9-14-6-0
Yards passing2276
Total yards164278
Fumbles-lost0-03-1
Penalties-yards7-653-26
Punts-avg.4-32.81-36.0
