Derry rushes by Mt. Pleasant
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Friday, September 13, 2019 | 10:54 PM
Derry’s Justin Huss eludes Mount Pleasant’s Pete Billey (32) and Ian Fasano during the first quarter Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Mount Pleasant’s Jacob Johnson carries for a first down past Derry’s Justin Huss during the second quarter Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
TROJAN HORSE
Derry’s Justin Huss eludes Mt. Pleasant defenders during the second quarter Friday. Derry won 7-0. The game ended too late for this edition. Check out e.triblive.com for the story and tribhssn.triblive.com for complete high school football coverage.
Derry’s Pryce Donovan scores past Mount Pleasant defenders during the first quarter Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
The Derry student section cheers at the start of a game against Mount Pleasant Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Derry’s Pryce Donovan celebrates after scoring the game’s only touchdown during the first quarter against Mt. Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant quarterback Asher O’Connor throws pass as Derry’s Hunter Wack defends during the first quarter Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Mount Pleasant’s Nick Loughner fumbles during the fourth quarter against Derry Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Derry’s Justin Huss brings down Mount Pleasant’s Jacob Johnson during the third quarter Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Derry’s Justin Huss celebrates a Mount Pleasant turnover during the fourth quarter Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Derry players stand at attention for the playing of the national anthem before their game against Mount Pleasant, as the sun sets Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Derry head coach Tim Sweeney stands in the wind, as he watches his team warm up before a game against Mount Pleasant Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
Derry head coach Tim Sweeney shakes hands with Mount Pleasant head coach Jason Fazekas during the coint oss ceremony before their game Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Derry Area High School.
For fans who like old-fashioned smash-mouth football, Derry Trojans Stadium was the place to be Friday night.
Because of weather conditions, winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour, both teams were forced to abandon the passing game. Mt. Pleasant had minus-3 yards passing and Derry zero.
No. 5 Derry (3-1, 2-0) scored on its first possession of the game, on a 1-yard plunge by Pryce Donovan, and held on for a hard-fought 7-0 victory against Mt. Pleasant (2-2, 1-1) in a WPIAL Class 3A Big East Conference battle.
Both teams will be on the road next week, Derry visiting North Catholic at Mars and Mt. Pleasant going to Deer Lakes.
After Derry’s first drive, neither team could sustain drives because both teams played outstanding defense.
Interceptions stopped a couple of Derry drives. A lost fumble, an interception and eight penalties stalled Mt. Pleasant drives.
“We knew it was going to be a street fight,” Derry linebacker Seth Loughner said. “It was whoever was going to be tougher would win.”
Derry used a nine-play, 40-yard drive to score the game’s only touchdown. The Trojans completed the drive without senior running back Justin Huss, who left the series after two plays after banging up his knee.
Huss did return and rushed for 117 yards on 21 carries. Derry outrushed Mt. Pleasant, 206-122.
Derry coach Tim Sweeney mixed the running backs during the drive as Matt McDowell, Donovan and Mike Kelly carried the ball.
The Trojans converted two third downs during the drive on a runs of 9 and 6 yards by McDowell.
“Pitt-Penn State play tomorrow, but I can’t see a better game than this one,” Sweeney said. “I give Mt. Pleasant a lot of credit. Their kids played tough all night and that’s the type of kids they are.
“There were no tricks out there. We just ran at each other. Both teams took some shots through the air when we had the wind, but they were ready when we tried to pass.”
The deepest Mt. Pleasant got was the Derry 23, but two holding calls moved them back.
“If you want to beat a team like Derry, you can’t turn it over and you can’t have penalties,” Mt. Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas said. “It’s a focus of ours and we have to clean it up. The wind was a factor, but certainly not an excuse.
“Tim and I were talking at the end and you think about the history of Derry-Mt. Pleasant. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but I loved how our kids battled. I had the sense it was a tough, old-fashioned game. We needed to catch a break and couldn’t get it.”
In the fourth quarter, Mt. Pleasant drove to the Derry 47 before a Tanner Nicely tackle forced a fumble that Gavin Adams recovered with 7 minutes, 12 seconds left.
“Mt. Pleasant is a real tough team,” Nicely said. “They are every year. They’re our rival and we thought it would be a dogfight all game.
“The key to the win was our defense. They played amazing. We came in looking for a shutout and that’s what we got.”
Derry then ran out the clock, getting to the Mt. Pleasant 1 before Sweeney had quarterback Paul Koontz take a knee twice to run out the clock.
“Coach Sweeney was tough on us all week and told us we had to be tough and play hard,” Loughner said. “We were expecting them to be physical and they came at us.”
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Derry Area, Mt. Pleasant
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