WPIAL Class AAAA: Mt. Lebanon tops Wolverines, 23-14
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John Heller, Post-Gazette
Mt. Lebanon's Lance Petterson gets a stiff arm from Woodland Hills' Larry Walker in the second quarter last night.
Some will argue that perhaps an asterisk should accompany Mt. Lebanon's 23-14 Class AAAA non-conference win against visiting Woodland Hills last night.
After all, the Wolverines, ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL, were without a mighty triumvirate: Buffalo-area transfer Rob Gronkowski, considered a major college prospect as a tight end, was serving a one-game suspension; Star tailback Marcel Farrish wasn't in uniform after running into trouble with the North Braddock police; and Lamar Mason, a standout linebacker who transferred from Central Catholic last week, took the game in from the Woodland Hills sideline.
"We can't control any of that," Mt. Lebanon coach Chris Haering said. "We had to play the guys they put out on the field. That is a great football program that George Novak runs. A great, great program. When it came down to it, we had to play the guys who had on the Woodland Hills uniforms tonight and we are proud of our win."
Those guys who did play for Woodland Hills were shoved around from beginning to end by Mt. Lebanon at the line of scrimmage. It was a manhandling that complemented the play of one of the smallest guys on the field -- Mt. Lebanon's 5-7, 165-pound senior quarterback/defensive back Rob Marasti.
Marasti had two interceptions and scored all three Mt. Lebanon touchdowns.
"Our offensive line pushed them right off the ball, every play," Marasti said. "They did a great job and were the reason we had the open space."
The offensive line cleared plenty of room for Blue Devils senior running back Joe Rodella, who gained 129 yards on 21 carries.
Of Marasti and Rodella, Woodland Hills coach George Novak said, "Both of those young men are fine football players. That's a well-coached team and those two guys really gave us trouble."
Woodland Hills jumped ahead in the first quarter, even though the Wolverines failed to make a first down in the opening 13 minutes. The score came when linebacker Blane Jefferson picked up a fumble by Mt. Lebanon running back Chip Young and raced 42 yards to help give the Wolverines a 7-0 lead.
Mt. Lebanon came right back with Marasti running a naked bootleg on a fourth-and-2, zig-zagging the width of the turf and running 37 yards for a touchdown to help tie the score, 7-7, near the end of the first quarter.
"When you're the underdog by a wide margin, and get behind, it's all about how you respond," Haering said. "What we did there, by coming back and getting a score, said a whole lot about our team. I didn't see a chin dip down when they scored first. For us, to refocus at that point in time, was very crucial."
Mt. Lebanon followed its first score with a long drive that ended when Marasti punched the ball in from the 1, moving the Blue Devils' lead to 13-7 with 11:11 remaining before halftime.
Mt. Lebanon senior kicker Steve Stombaugh added a 20-yard field goal four minutes later. Woodland Hills cut into the lead just 16 seconds before halftime when Woodland Hills quarterback Vondre Griffin connected with fullback Joe Yezovich for a 3-yard touchdown pass to make it 16-14. Marasti's second 1-yard touchdown run, coming with 7:25 to play in the fourth quarter, helped increase the final margin to nine points, 23-14. It was the only score of the second half.
John Heller, Post-GazetteMt. Lebanon quarterback Rob Marasti runs in his first touchdown in the first quarter.
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First Published September 2, 2006 12:00 am
