Seton LaSalle’s Deanes leads Rebels past Apollo-Ridge

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 29, 2017 | 10:48 PM

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Apollo-Ridge gave opposing defenses fits in recent years with playmakers like Tre Tipton and Duane Brown. On Friday, the Vikings experienced life on the other side.

Behind a virtuoso performance by running back Lionel Deanes — 285 yards and three long touchdown runs — Class 3A No. 2 Seton LaSalle pulled away for a 35-21 victory over host Apollo-Ridge in an Allegheny Conference game.

“It was really a tough win, probably one of the toughest wins I ever experienced in my life,” Deanes said. “But I'm just happy we got out all safe.”

The 5-foot-7 Deanes might not physically resemble his nickname until he takes the field, but Apollo-Ridge became the latest team to realize the difficulties of stopping the “Train.”

Deanes surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards on a 73-yard touchdown run in the first half and amassed 205 yards in the second half, helping the Rebels (5-0, 4-0) distance themselves from a 7-7 tie. He scored on runs of 51 and 32 yards in the second half and set up Nistal Baldwin's 1-yard score with a 46-yard run.

“We had him bottled up sometimes, and we should be making tackles on him,” Apollo-Ridge coach John Skiba said. “He hits one thing, and we misalign ourselves and jump inside for some unknown reason, get out of our gap, and there you go.

“He's a great back. We knew he was going to be good. Everybody knows he's a good back. He can play.”

While Deanes credited his offensive line for opening holes, the Seton LaSalle front seven clamped down on Apollo-Ridge on defense.

The Rebels sacked Apollo-Ridge quarterback Kyle Fitzroy 10 times, held the Vikings (4-2, 2-2) to a 2-for-15 conversion rate on third down and forced five turnovers on downs, all in Rebels territory.

“Two weeks ago, we sat down as a group, the defensive staff, and said we've got to mix things up a little better — we've got to attack,” Seton LaSalle coach Rob Carter said. “We can't be sitting back and bending down the field. … If teams are going to get into a third-and-long situation, we're coming for you.”

Apollo-Ridge couldn't take advantage of some of its premier scoring opportunities after a pair of Deanes fumbles, a blocked punt and other short fields.

Fitzroy, who returned after missing the Vikings' 28-19 Week Four win over Burrell with an injury, completed 10 of 22 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. Logan Harmon rushed for 93 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter with a right leg injury.

“I thought (Fitzroy) was a lot rusty,” Skiba said. “We've got to clean up real fast, and those are the things (where) I can understand our young guys make mistakes because we have enough of them, and they're going to make mistakes. Our older guys cannot make mistakes like we're having right now.”

Deanes began the night 26 yards short of 4,000 for his career, and he got it quickly.

“I don't like to doubt my opponent, but I know when I get the ball, my first thought is to score on every run,” Deanes said.

The Vikings tied the game in the second quarter. Long runs by Harmon and Fitzroy put them inside the 10, and they scored on third down when Fitzroy rolled right and threw back left to a wide-open Alex Gamble in the end zone.

After fumbling in the second quarter and again on Seton LaSalle's opening drive of the second half, Deanes atoned with a 51-yard scoring run in the third quarter to give the Rebels the lead for good. Baldwin made it 21-7 with his 1-yard plunge.

Harmon cut it to 21-13 with his 5-yard scoring run, but Matt Banbury scored from 24 out and Deanes from 32 to put it away. Gamble scored on a 38-yard run with less than a minute remaining.

“We better get better fast. I know that,” Skiba said. “We've got a stretch here of good teams, so we'll see what happens.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Seton-LaSalle