It took second-seeded Greater Johnstown until the second quarter to get its motor in gear at Trojan Stadium on Friday night.
The Trojans spotted third-seeded Indian Valley a first-quarter touchdown before reeling off five consecutive scores to defeat the Warriors 35-7 in a District 6 Class AAA semifinal.
Trojans fullback Quadir Christian tallied two rushing touchdowns, quarterback John Siciliano threw for a score and ran for another before Johnstown capped its win over the defending district champions when Calvin Anderson picked off an errant William Long pass for a touchdown.
“We got off to a slow start. We were sluggish,” Trojans coach Kevin Marabito said. “It could have been attributed to some nerves.
“The positive thing is the kids bounced back and we just took it to them. We believed all along we could do this. We started out slow, but good football teams can find ways to make things happen, and once we got going it was tough stopping us.”
The Men of Troy had two touchdowns called back – one in each half – on holding penalties, something Marabito knows his team will have to shore up.
“The only thing that hurt us (Friday) was the penalties,” said Marabito, who is in his second season at Johnstown. “We’ve got to cut down on those.”
Johnstown (8-3) will face No. 1 seed Hollidaysburg (9-1) on Nov. 14 at Altoona’s Mansion Park for the district championship.
“You get there, it’s just icing on the cake,” Marabito said. “We’ve just got to go out and play hard and whatever happens. If we can get the District 6 title, that’s what you shoot for.”
The lone score for the Warriors (4-7) came with 14 seconds left in the first quarter, when Michael Fultz hauled in a pass from Long, who threw three interceptions, and found his way into the end zone from the 27.
Christian scored from the 1 after Siciliano passed to LaQuinn Stephens-Howling for 50 yards on a 3rd-and-24 from Johnstown’s own 49. Jon Maurizio booted the first of three point-after kicks, tying the game at 7.
“We started out very well,” Indian Valley coach Tom Shearer said. “We had some momentum and we slowly lost it. I think that long pass took a little bit out of us. It was a great play on their part.”
Siciliano, who was 4-of-9 passing for 101 yards, then hit Jordan Jefferson from the 10 to give Johnstown a 13-7 lead at halftime.
Christian found the end zone from the 16 with 10:10 left in the third quarter to break open the game. Carlton Wyatt pulled in the two-point conversion pass from Siciliano for a 21-7 lead.
“We came out a little sluggish,” said Christian, who finished with 64 rushing yards on 12 carries. “Our line bounced back and the receivers did a good job blocking when I ran the ball. We ran a little bit, and that opened up our passing.”
Siciliano scored from the 8 with 11:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Anderson’s 27-yard interception return down the left sideline with 10:14 left set the final.
“It was a great win for the community, the school and the team itself,” Marabito said.
High School Sports
Trojans punch ticket for District 6 title game
- High School Sports
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Richland's Lumley settles for pair of silver medals
Paige Lumley was on an emotional roller coaster and seeing silver on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Richland senior had state record jumps twice during the triple jump competition, but ended up with a silver–medal leap of 40 feet,
1¾ inches.
Defending state champion, second-seeded junior Lanae Newsome of Brookville, won with a jump of 40-3½. -
Ridge’s Dull takes second with school-record time
Matt Dull finished his athletic career with his best on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Chestnut Ridge senior ran a career-best time of 38.12 to finish second in the 300 hurdles final, also setting another school record. -
Young takes silver in state triple jump
Chestnut Ridge senior Michael Young capped six years of triple jumping with a silver medal Friday on the first day of the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University.
Young had a career-best leap of 45-9¼ just behind Jared Horne of Schuylkill Valley whose winning jump was 46-9. -
Forest Hills’ Smay places fifth in Class AA long jump
Brooke Smay is moving on up.
The Forest Hills junior earned a fifth-place position in the Class AA long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 3 ½ inches Friday on the first day of the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University. -
Bishop McCort wins District 6-A baseball crown
Bishop McCort truly won the District 6 Class A baseball championship as a team on Friday at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
There were more than a few huge plays. Of course a number of individuals stepped up to secure a 3-1 victory over LHAC rival Bishop Guilfoyle. -
Somerset denied 6-AAA baseball title
Hollidaysburg pitcher Dom Viduya and his Golden Tigers teammates beat defending champion Somerset 3-1 in Thursday’s District 6 Class AAA championship game at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
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Pitcher's 'bad day' results in no-hitter
Bridgit Yothers struggled on the mound on Thursday.
But the Chestnut Ridge right-hander was able to persevere through her issues, throwing a no-hitter against Bedford in their District 5 Class AA semifinal and helping the Lions to a 5-0 victory. -
Local athletes look to shine at PIAA track and field meet
Each of the nearly 50 area athletes who will be competing at this weekend’s PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University, will be looking for his or her best performance of the season, but only the top eight finishers in each event for both boys and girls will stand on the podium in front of the crowd at Seth Grove Stadium.
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Westmont, Somerset represented at PIAA Class AA tennis tourney
The PIAA Class AA tennis tournament showcases the top players in the state, which includes three area athletes, when it begins today at the Hershey Racquet Club.
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Corridini’s hit propels Shade
Tasha Corridini had been having a tough time at the plate on Wednesday.
The Shade leftfielder had struck out twice in her prior two at-bats against Shanksville-Stonycreek pitcher Kayla Stockenus.
But in the bottom of the seventh of a scoreless game with Kaily Karl on first, Corridini clubbed a triple out to the fence, scoring Karl and giving the Panthers a walk-off 1-0 win over the Vikings in a District 5 Class A softball quarterfinal. - More High School Sports Headlines
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