NANTY GLO — For The Portage Mustangs, Saturday’s 48-0 win over Blacklick Valley was an embarrassment of riches.
Tommy Burgan and Ryan Scoran each scored two touchdowns and Michael Sinosky rolled to 118 yards and a touchdown to pace the Mustangs, who improved to 2-0 and prepare to host rival Windber Friday night.
“I’m looking forward to it and our kids are really anxious to play them again,” Mustangs coach Greg Gouse said.
Jason Kostan got the offense rolling for the Mustangs in the first quarter after Portage had a long run wiped out by a penalty with a 48-yard run. Burgan scored his first touchdown on an
8-yard run to cap the next possession.
The Mustangs once again recovered from a penalty in grand fashion as Taylor Swires hit Scoran with a 72-yard touchdown pass on the next play to end the second-quarter scoring.
“Offensively, I think we were still a little sluggish in the first half,” Gouse said. “I wasn’t happy how we were walking around.”
The second half was much the same story for Portage, who saw their first drive stall before coming back to life as Michael Sinosky took the ball for a 42-yard gain on the first play, then finished the drive one play later with a 10-yard run, and added the extra point for good measure.
Scoran added his second touchdown on a
70-yard run on the next drive’s second play, and Burgan went in from the 1 to cap off the next drive.
“The second half we really started blocking people and made some great plays,” Gouse said. “We want to play our best game and get some work on the passing game, and we did that.”
Swires was 5-for-9 for 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Scoran was his top target, hauling in four passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, while Zach Petrunak made a diving catch for 29 yards that led to Burgan’s second touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, the Mustangs supported the offense well, not allowing the Vikings a pass completion and limiting them to 58 yards rushing in the game.
“Defensively, we were outstanding,” Gouse said. “I can’t be more pleased with how well the first unit played.”
With his team firmly in control, Gouse was able to empty his bench to give younger players experience and try some new plays. In particular, the Mustangs experimented with reverses with mixed results.
These experiments are important to the Mustangs’ continued success, according to Gouse.
“This gives them reps and makes them better players,” he said. “Some of the reverses were good, some were bad. But we’ll straighten it out.”
The substitutions showed one immediate dividend as Jalen Noel capped the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run.
Even worse for Vikings coach Bill Zamboni was that the offense’s struggles wasted some good opportunities created by the Blacklick Valley defense and special teams.
“I told them it was going to be tough all along,” he said. “I actually thought the defense played decently, even though there were a few pass plays where we broke down in coverage. But Portage is the real deal, and I thought our defense was actually better than it was last week. But it’s frustrating when you can’t move the ball.”
High School Sports
Related Photos
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Portage's Ryan Scoran (right) collides with Blacklick Valley's Dylan Stiles during their game on Saturday in Nanty Glo. John Rucosky
Discussion
Portage pummels Blacklick Valley
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