Big games from Fulton, Wetzel carry Latrobe over Connellsville

By: Jason Black
Friday, October 14, 2022 | 10:06 PM

Previous Next

The Connellsville football team, playing on its own field, put together a fairly strong first quarter in front of a homecoming crowd Friday night.

But once things started to go downhill, there was no stopping the slide as the Falcons were beaten by visiting Latrobe, 43-13, in a Class 4A Big 7 Conference game.

Latrobe used several Connellsville turnovers and some big plays to pull away.

“What we’re doing in practice is not translating on the field,” Connellsville coach Chad Lembo said. “We had three straight turnovers, and once that happened, I felt like we checked out of the game after that.”

Connellsville couldn’t find an answer for Latrobe quarterback John Wetzel or running back Robert Fulton.

Fulton rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. With his big game, Fulton became the all-time single-season rushing leader in Latrobe history.

“He is a special player and a special kid, and he is a great leader,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said.

After Connellsville punted on its first possession, Latrobe pieced together a nine-play drive that concluded with a Fulton 1-yard touchdown run. Ben Bigi added the first of five extra points to give the Wildcats (5-3, 3-2) a 7-0 lead.

But the Falcons bounced back with a nice drive of their own. Capone Mickens, who rushed for 81 yards, broke off a 59-yard run to set the Falcons up in Latrobe territory. However, the Latrobe defense stiffened and held Connellsville to a 36-yard field goal from Ben Zavatchan to make it 7-3.

It looked as though that would be the score heading to the second quarter, but before the first quarter ended, Fulton broke loose for an 80-yard score.

From there, things quickly got away from the Falcons. After Sawyer Butina intercepted an Anthony Piasecki pass, Kollin Stevens paid off the turnover by hauling in a 16-yard touchdown strike from Wetzel. Wetzel finished a perfect 7 for 7 for 160 yards and three passing touchdowns.

Connellsville fumbled on its next drive, and Latrobe turned that into a 28-3 lead when Wetzel scored on a 10-yard run. The Falcons were backed up on their next possession and a botched snap forced Connellsville to recover in its own end zone for a Latrobe safety, making it 30-3.

Before the half was over, Stevens caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Wetzel for his second score of the game. And Corey Boerio capped the first-half scoring with a 46-yard touchdown strike from Wetzel to make it 43-3.

“We took care of the ball and played good defense, and we held them to a field goal in the first half,” Prady said. “And in the first half, we made some big plays.”

Prady also noted that, despite Connellsville’s struggles, he knew the Falcons would come out strong to start the game.

“We expected it,” Prady said. “They are much improved, and they played hard. It’s always tough to win on the road, but we did what we had to do.”

The Falcons (2-6, 1-3) scored the only points under a running clock in the second half.

In the third quarter, Mickens capped his strong night with a 1-yard touchdown run. Then in the fourth, Zavatchan booted another field goal, this one a 37-yarder, to complete the scoring.

“We’ve done well in the first quarter most of the season,” Lembo said. “But we’ve got to continue teaching reads and tackling and working on fundamentals because they always seem to nip us in the butt. We can’t move on until we get this stuff down.”

Connellsville will try to move on next week when it visits Thomas Jefferson for another conference game. Also in conference play next week, the Wildcats will look for their fourth straight victory when they host McKeesport.

Tags: Connellsville, Latrobe