Yough pulls off 20-14 win over Charleroi for first victory

By: Liam Belan
Friday, September 8, 2023 | 11:43 PM

When Yough scored its second touchdown of the game to bring its deficit to two points and quickly got the ball back from Charleroi, it seemed like Yough was in control as a few minutes remained in the third quarter of Friday night’s nonconference contest at Charleroi.

Yough’s Julian Varrenti then fumbled possession away, but the game was a story of turnovers.

With 7:11 left to play, Charleroi’s Daniel Nusida couldn’t corral the ball on an attempted end-around, and Yough (1-2) got the ball right back. From there, quarterback Raidon Kuroda and the Yough offense ran the ball relentlessly as Kuroda punched in a 5-yard touchdown carry to cap the scoring at 20-14 and give Yough its first victory of the season.

“This feels really good,” Yough coach Ben Hoffer said. “The kids worked really hard, and I’m excited for them to see this all pay off for them. There’s still a lot we need to clean up, but we’ll get better because of it.”

Charleroi (0-2) came up just short as Jackson Keranko connected with Noah Pletcher for a 16-yard touchdown pass early on, and one of two Tyler O’Neil interceptions was returned for a 29-yard score.

“We fought and fought and fought all game,” Charleroi coach Tyler Aeschbacher said. “I know we’re gonna get in tomorrow and see a ton of positive things on film. Obviously, we’re going to see a few mistakes that led to the eventual loss, but I’m so proud of our guys.”

Hoffer’s squad opened the scoring in the battle of the Cougars as Kuroda got his team off to an early start. He finished with 98 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, as well as a passing touchdown that put Yough ahead first.

Facing 4th and 7, Kuroda connected with Ryan Sarver for a 22-yard touchdown. After a failed two-point attempt, Yough went up 6-0 with 7:35 remaining in the opening quarter.

That was Yough’s most successful pass of the ballgame as the team finished with 316 rushing yards between Kuroda, Varrenti, Shane Swope and Anthony Marra.

“We put in flex this week with a two-back set,” Hoffer said. “Julian, Shane, Raidon and all of them took turns getting the ball. They know how to find holes, and they’re three good runners.”

A few minutes later, Charleroi struck back and took the lead after Keranko’s pitch and catch to Pletcher. Landon Barcus nailed the extra point to put the home team up 7-6 with 2:38 left in the first quarter.

After back-and-forth drives that saw no points, O’Neil decided to change that with only a few minutes remaining in the first half.

Kuroda dropped back to throw but found the hands of Charleroi’s linebacker, who took the grab 29 yards to the endzone to double his squad’s lead. With 3:23 left in the second quarter, Barcus made the score 14-6 in favor of the home team.

Aeschbacher and his staff made some halftime adjustments that changed the game a bit as Keranko was given more opportunities to air the ball out coming out of the break. Yough’s pass rush took advantage, getting after the sophomore quarterback and coming up with sacks or forcing incompletions.

“Whenever they’re lining up and there’s no high safety, everyone’s crowded in the box,” Aeschbacher said. “We’ve talked to Jackson about getting the ball out quicker, and he did a good job of that tonight. … Whenever we put the ball in his hands, it’s for a reason, because we trust him.”

“We used (our pass rush) to our advantage,” Hoffer said. “Collin Magill really stepped up tonight. He was a captain this week, and he stepped up a lot. I’m really happy to see all of this hard work pay off.”

Kuroda scored 14 second-half points to seal the victory for Yough.

With 4:30 remaining in the third quarter, Kuroda led the Cougars down the field with several tough runs before powering in for a 1-yard touchdown. Once again, a failed two-point attempt meant Charleroi was still on top 14-12.

After the score, both teams teased touchdowns but never ended up scoring. Both teams had timely, costly penalties that turned potential scoring drives into failed 4th down attempts down the stretch. Combined with several turnovers, each team missed a few opportunities.

Once Yough got possession back after Nusida’s fumble, though, Kuroda finished things off with a winning drive. After his 5-yard touchdown run, he called his own number for the only successful two-point conversion of the contest to make the score 20-14.

Charleroi had a chance to respond, getting the ball back with around a minute remaining, but Yough’s pass rush sacked Keranko twice before he spiked the ball to stop the clock on third down and a run looking to surprise Yough’s defense on fourth down was easily thwarted.

Moving forward, Hoffer wants to make this win a habit for Yough, which will take on Derry next week to open conference play.

“We need to boost this for conference play next week,” he said. “Derry is a really good team. We need to keep watching film and building on stuff and getting better.”

For Charleroi, it’s back to the drawing board after a tough loss. It will take on Sto-Rox to open up conference play next Friday.

“We’re gonna have to make the adjustments on tape,” Aeschbacher said. “We’ll have to see what’s going on in some of our schemes, and then put a game plan together to beat Sto-Rox.”

Tags: Charleroi, Yough