Haden Sierocky leads Ligonier Valley past Apollo-Ridge
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Friday, September 16, 2022 | 10:39 PM
Ligonier Valley’s Haden Sierocky is tackled by Apollo-Ridge’s Michael Fryer and Tyler Jaworskij on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Owens Field.
Ligonier Valley’s John Jablunovsky sprints to the end zone in the fourth quarter for a touchdown against Apollo-Ridge on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Owens Field.
Ligonier Valley’s Haden Sierocky celebrates his touchdown with Broderick Schreyer in the fourth quarter against Apollo-Ridge on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Owens Field.
Apollo-Ridge’s Jacob Mull dives short of the end zone against Ligonier Valley on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Owens Field.
Ligonier Valley’s Haden Sierocky breaks the tackle of Apollo-Ridge’s Nick Curci on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Owens Field.
Apollo-Ridge’s Nick Curci is tackled by Ligonier Valley’s Nick Lonas and Mason Mohnkern on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Owens Field.
Apollo-Ridge Alex Wurmb breaks the tackle of Ligonier Valley’s McKinley Shearer on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at Owens Field.
Haden Sierocky did it all for Ligonier Valley on Friday night.
The 6-foot, 176-pound senior rushed for 150 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, caught four passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass that was tipped by two players before he came up with it.
It all added up to a 28-14 road victory for the Rams over Apollo-Ridge at Owens Field in the Allegheny Conference opener.
Ligonier Valley, 3-1 overall, also got a 40-yard scoring run from sophomore John Jablunovsky.
“It’s not just me, it’s the 10 other guys out on the field,” Sierocky said. “This one means a lot to get this one in, it’s a conference game.”
Friday’s victory was also a bounce-back from last week’s game, a 35-22 setback against Greensburg Salem.
“We were very motivated the whole week during practice,” Sierocky said. “It’s tough to lose at home, especially the first time since 2015. But we just kept our heads down and persevered.”
Apollo-Ridge (2-2) had cut the Rams’ lead to 21-14 after three quarters. But on fourth-and-6 at the Vikings 30, Sierocky took a pitchout and escaped a tackler in the backfield and raced 30 yards for the touchdown to give Ligonier Valley its 14-point win.
“Hats off to Apollo-Ridge,” Rams coach Roger Beitel said. “Coach John (Skiba) always has his kids ready. They’re very physical, big, strong kids. Both teams put everything out there tonight. The difference is that we made some big plays at some key times.”
The first big play was on the initial Rams drive after the opening kickoff. On third-and-8 at the Vikings 17, James Pleskovitch hauled in a 16-yard pass at the Vikings 1.
Sierocky scored two plays later.
Apollo-Ridge tied the score as the Vikings drove 79 yards in just five plays. Senior Nick Curci’s 43-yard run out of the wildcat formation and a 21-yard reception from Gage Johnston set up a 4-yard run by Curci.
Apollo-Ridge quickly regained possession and was moving the ball close to midfield when Sierocky picked up his fumble on a pass play.
On the next Vikings possession, a Johnston pass tipped off an Apollo-Ridge player, then off Jablunovsky’s fingertips into Sierocky’s waiting hands at the Vikings 40.
Jablunovsky’s touchdown on the following play gave the Rams the lead for good, 14-7, with 8 minutes, 10 seconds left in the second quarter.
“We need to stop hurting ourselves,” said Vikings coach Skiba. “The turnovers put us in a bad spot. We could have done some things. We are our worst enemy right now. We’ve done it for two weeks now.”
Apollo-Ridge took advantage of a Ligonier Valley bad snap on a punt attempt and regained possession at the Rams 33. Johnston passed to Mull on a right sideline play to the Ligonier Valley 1, where Curci scored again on a keeper to cut his team’s deficit to 21-14 with 7:45 left in the third quarter.
Apollo-Ridge couldn’t tie the score after committing a roughing-the-passer penalty on one Rams possession and a pass interference on the next possession that led to Sierocky’s final touchdown.
Ligonier Valley has won two of three games since rejoining the WPIAL in 2020.
In an earlier era, the original Apollo High School defeated the original Ligonier High School five times between 1922-27.
Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Ligonier Valley
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