PATTON —
First-year coach Tony Penna Jr. knew entering the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference season that his Johnstown Trojans would be strong on the defensive side of the ball with eight returning starters.
The coach was pleasantly surprised by the play of his first-year starting quarterback, Gervon Simon, on Friday night at Cambria Heights.
Simon went 8 of 15 for 158 yards with a touchdown and ran 10 times for 36 yards and another touchdown to lead the Trojans over the Highlanders, 32-7.
“This kid had tremendous talent,” Penna said. “He sat and watched for two years, and he showed what he could do tonight.”
The game started out poorly for the Trojans, as they had 12 of their 18 penalties in the first 14 minutes and looked sluggish on offense for their first series. Simon completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mark Watson to put the Trojans up 6-0 at the end of the quarter.
The Trojans wasted little time scoring in the second, as Tyler Arsenault scored on 9-yard run. Calvin Anderson caught a pass for the two-point conversion and Johnstown led 14-0 only 49 seconds into the second quarter.
“We definitely showed how green some of our guys are with the penalties,” Penna said. “But we were able to overcome them and settle down.”
The Trojans capitalized on a fumble by Cambria Heights quarterback Caleb Vescovi, getting a nice return to set them up at the Highlanders 20-yard line.
Three plays later, Simon called his own number, going in from the 1 to make it 20-0 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Trojans took advantage of a Highlanders mistake as Calvin Anderson intercepted Vescovi and returned the ball to the Cambria Heights 5-yard line. Arsenault took it in one play later to put the Trojans up 26-0 halfway through the third.
The veteran Vescovi completed only
4 of 19 passes for 63 yards with three interceptions while contending with Johnstown’s pressure defense.
“I think the pressure got to him a little bit,” Cambria Heights coach Justin Myers said. “Caleb is a good player, though, and he’ll shake this off and be ready for next week.”
The Trojans scored again, as Calvin Johnson took an end around from 39 yards out for a 32-0 advantage.
Cambria Heights scored with 11 seconds left as Nathan Bearer found Joel Snedden in the side of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Penna is excited about his team’s opportunity to compete in the LHAC this year.
“We’re going to go one game at a time and the next step is to prepare for Bishop Guilfoyle,” Penna said, “I really like my coaches and the group of players we have here. I’m looking forward to it.”
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Johnstown hammers Heights
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