Strong finish: Connellsville closes season with win over Uniontown, retains Coal Bucket
Connellsville wanted to make sure it headed into the offseason with the Coal Bucket still safely in its possession.
The Falcons closed their first football season as an independent with a 27-6 win over Uniontown at Bill Power Stadium on Friday night, retaining the trophy that goes to the winner of the Fayette County rivalry.
Linkon Keller rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown and Connellsville无毛视频檚 defense held the Red Raiders无毛视频� offense off the scoreboard as the Falcons closed the season with a 3-6 record.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a nice tradition,无毛视频� said Jace McLeen, one of the Falcons three head coaches, on playing for the Coal Bucket trophy.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a great rivalry in the county and we try to stress to these kids that this is something to play for since we don无毛视频檛 have playoffs as independent schools,无毛视频� Uniontown coach Keith Jeffries. 无毛视频淚 never got to play in a Coal Bucket game but I无毛视频檝e coached in several. Our goal was to get that trophy back off of them but we came up short.无毛视频�
Jayden Mickens and Grayden Gillott ran for 59 and 43 yards, respectively, with each scoring a touchdown for Connellsville which dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 28:13 to 19:47 for Uniontown.
The Red Raiders无毛视频� lone score came in electrifying fashion with Calvin Winfrey III returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter but Connellsville无毛视频檚 defense kept the Red Raiders contained most of the night. The Falcons limited Uniontown to just 92 total yards and sacked Winfrey five times.
无毛视频淥ur goal this week was to pitch a shutout and even though they got six on the board it was a shutout for the defense,无毛视频� McLean said. 无毛视频淭hey played hard all week at practice. They knew they无毛视频檙e offense really well. They showed up to play tonight.无毛视频�
When he had time Winfrey was effective, completing 5 of 11 passes for 78 yards although he was intercepted twice on hurried throws. Notorious Grooms had three receptions for 59 yards and Kelan Milsom had one catch for 18 yards.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e got to do a better job pass protecting to give Calvin more time to throw the ball,无毛视频� Jeffries said. 无毛视频淭ory had some nice catches for us and Kelan made a nice catch.无毛视频�
Connellsville churned out 348 yards of offense with all but four of those coming on the ground and had 18 first downs to seven for the Red Raiders (3-5).
David Ranitu led Uniontown无毛视频檚 rushing attack with 35 yards on nine carries and Jamarie Walker had 30 yards on six attempts.
Connellsville mounted a threat on its second drive of the game when it moved from its own 42 to the Uniontown 7 but Ranitu intercepted a Parker Lembo pass at the goal line to turn the Falcons away.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e been a bend but don无毛视频檛 want defense most of the year and we did come up with two interceptions to stop drives near the goal line tonight,无毛视频� Jeffries said. 无毛视频淲e did the same thing against Allderdice and Perry. But our defense was just on the field too long.无毛视频�
无毛视频淗at无毛视频檚 off to them,无毛视频� McLean said of Uniontown. 无毛视频淭hey played hard but I think we just overpowered them. We have a few more kids than they do and it showed in the end.无毛视频�
The Red Raiders, sparked by runs of 16 and 20 yards by Walker and a 37-yard pass by Winfrey to Grooms, drove to the Connellsville 23 early in the second quarter. The Falcons无毛视频� Vonny McBride thwarted the threat with an interception on a fourth-down pass at the Uniontown 11.
Connellsville then put together a nine-play, 78-yard touchdown drive sparked by Gillott who had runs of 13 and 25 yards in the march which he finished with a 5-yard run. Ranitu blocked the extra point leaving the Falcons up 6-0 with 4:17 left in the second quarter.
Winfrey answered with his kickoff return for a score down the left sideline to pull the Red Raiders even at 6-6 as the extra point was missed.
无毛视频淛ust an outstanding individual effort by Calvin,无毛视频� Jeffries said. 无毛视频淲e made some good plays on special teams.无毛视频�
Undaunted, Connellsville answered right back on its next possession with a 79-yard touchdown drive keyed by Keller无毛视频檚 54-yard run on the first play down to the Uniontown 21. Mickens scored from 3 yards out five plays later and Derek Routzahn无毛视频檚 extra point put the Falcons in front to stay, 13-6, with 1:41 left in the half.
Connellsville had a chance to tack on to its lead before intermission when its defense forced a three-and-out and Keller broke another long run, this one for 38 yards, to the Uniontown 37 with 22 seconds left. Lembo无毛视频檚 long pass on the next play was picked off by Grooms at the 8-yard line, however.
The Falcons took control of the game early in the third quarter when their defense forced another three-and-out and the offense moved 57-yards in nine plays for a touchdown as Uniontown无毛视频檚 defense began to wear down.
The drive included runs of 14 yards by Wyatt Hall, 12 and 11 yards by Mickens and 11 yards by Ethan Foley. Lembo capped it with a 1-yard plunge to make it 20-6 with 5:24 left in the third.
Keller followed a 14-yard run with an 8-yard touchdown burst later in the quarter to put the visitors ahead 27-6.
无毛视频淟inkon is our heart and soul,无毛视频� McLean said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 only a sophomore. He无毛视频檚 my leader on the defense and he无毛视频檚 a leader on offense, too. The kids look up to him even though he无毛视频檚 an underclassman.无毛视频�
Uniontown无毛视频檚 last offensive push came early in the fourth quarter when Winfrey completed passes of 15 yards to Grooms and 18 yards to Milsom but Keller无毛视频檚 interception and 26-yard return to the Connellsville 42 halted the threat.
无毛视频淚t was a good game overall,无毛视频� McLean said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud of our boys, especially our seniors. These seniors have been through a lot. Last we went 5-5, this year we were a little bit up and down but they stuck with us all year and battled.无毛视频�
Uniontown will close its season with a home game against Southern Garrett of Maryland next week.
无毛视频淭his is an important game for us,无毛视频� Jeffries said. 无毛视频淲e were 5-5 two years ago but we beat Carrick twice and Brownsville twice so we only beat three teams. Last year we were 4-5 but we beat Brownsville twice so again we just beat three teams. If we can beat Southern Garrett it would give us a win against four different teams for the first time since I无毛视频檝e been here.
无毛视频淪o our goal is to do that and finish the season on a positive note.无毛视频�