Big Red pulls away in fourth for a 3-0 start

STEUBENVILLE -- Big Red used a strong second half performance to earn a 29-14 victory over Archbishop Carroll Saturday on Reno Field inside Harding Stadium.

Trailing the Washington, D.C. based Lions 8-7 at the half, Steubenville took the lead for good when quarterback Phaeton Hill found Tylik Sims for a 26-yard touchdown at the 10:28 mark of the third quarter. Reno Saccoccia's now 3-0 club then scored twice in the fourth to put the game away.

"That was a beautiful win against a good football team," Saccoccia, Ohio's all-time winningest high school football coach, said following the first meeting between the schools. "It definitely was a physical game.

"We preached all week -- fourth quarter. We had to get them into the fourth quarter. We weren't going to win it in the first, second or third quarters, we had to get to the fourth. We did a lot of things to get there. We controlled the ball and we overcame a lot of first half penalties. It was just a great team effort."

With senior members of the 1994 team looking on as part of the Legends of Big Red Football annual celebration, Steubenville took the opening kickoff and mounted an impressive 87-yard drive for the game's first touchdown. All but 23 of the yards came on the ground.

The 17-play march, which took 8:22 off the clock, ended with a 6-yard run by Gavin Bozica. Cole Bowers added the extra point from placement.

Archbishop Carroll, now 0-2, answered with an impressive drive of its own, traveling 67 yards.

Senior quarterback Ty'sean Helm, who stands 6-4 and weighs 260, bulled his way over from a yard out. He then hit Nyckoles Harbor for the two-point conversion.

It appeared Steubenville was going to respond on its next possession, moving from its own 29 to the Carroll 23. But the scoring chance ended when the visitors pounced on a Big Red fumble.

A block in the back penalty on the second half kickoff pinned Archbishop Carroll deep in its own territory. The drive started at the 8-yard line. A flag for illegal motion put the ball at the 4.

Following a short gain on first down and two incomplete passes, the Lions punted from their own end zone.

The kick was a short one and Saccoccia's Big Red started its drive at the Archbishop Carroll 26.

That's when Hill and Sims connected for the 6-pointer. Bozica's conversion run made it 15-8.

Archbishop Carroll's offense found its rhythm again and moved from its own 32 to the Big Red 15. On first down, linebacker Kyjhaun Hopkins broke through to record a tackle for a loss. The drive stalled when two running plays netted 7 yards and a fourth down pass fell incomplete.

Hakim Edwards gave Big Red some breathing room when he gained 25 yards on an end around.

Two Bozica runs were good for 3 yards before a third down Hill pass missed its mark. Faced with a fourth and seven from his own 39, Saccoccia rolled the dice and came up big. Hill hit Ivan Buggs for 18 yards to keep the offense on the field.

The nine-play, 89-yard drive ended with a 1-yard plunge by hard-running Spencer Ostovich. Bowers' kick made it 22-8 with 10:47 left to play.

Big Red needed just one snap for its final score which came following an interception by Buggs. Bozica did the honors from 6 yards away. Bower again nailed his kick.

The Lions wrapped up the scoring on a 13-yard pass from freshman Risan Smith to Marcus Brown.

"I think we had the ball for 18 minutes in the first half and we were losing 8-7 at the half," said Saccoccia. "But that was part of the plan to get them into the fourth quarter.

"Our offensive and defensive lines both did a good job. Our quarterback ran the game. It was a good game plan offensively and defensively. The best thing about the game plan was the players executed it and believed that if we could get them into the fourth quarter, we could win the game."

Big Red finished with 258 yards of offense (177 on the ground and 81 via the air). Bozica paced the ground attack with 90 yards on 21 carries and two scores. Hill completed seven of his nine passes with Sims catching three.

"It was great having the lead at the half but it was still close," Archbishop Carroll coach Robert Harris said. "To me 8-7 is like 0-0.

"They ran the ball real tough especially in the second half and we couldn't get some stops. There were a couple of third down conversions we couldn't get and that changed the ball game. Penalties absolutely hurt us."

The Lions drew 11 flags for 84 yards.

Jamal Mungo ran for 73 yards to lead the Lions, who finished with 115 rushing yards and 153 passing.

Freshman R. Smith entered the game late and threw for 127 yards. Harbor had three catches for 48.

"It was a great trip and we enjoyed coming," Harris said. "I want to thank Coach Reno, his staff and his team for their great hospitality. It was a great game and Big Red gave us the wake-up call that we needed. My hat is off. They have always been a strong team and we knew we were in for a dogfight.

"This kind of game helps some of our younger kids grow up. Our backup quarterback came in and had two possessions. It helped his understanding of what varsity level football is like. The same thing is true for a couple of other younger guys we will be counting on down the road."

UP NEXT

Big Red entertains Pittsburgh University Prep Friday.

Archbishop Carroll will play its first home game Saturday when it hosts Washington Woodson.

Steubenville 29, Archbishop Carroll 14

Archbishop Carroll 0 8 0 6

Big Red 7 0 8 14

First Quarter:

BIG RED: Bozica 5 run (Bowers kick)

Second Quarter:

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL: Helm 1 run (Harbor pass from Helm)

Third Quarter:

BIG RED: Sims 26 pass from Hill (Bozica run)

Fourth Quarter:

BIG RED: Ostovich 1 run (Bowers kick)

BIG RED: Bozica 6 run (Bowers kick)

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL: Brown 13 pass from R. Smith (run failed)

RUSHING: Archbishop Carroll 26-115-1 (Mungo 18-73; Helm 4-16-1; N. Smith 2-13; Burke 1- 7; R. Smith 1-7); Big Red 41-177-3 (Bozica 21-90-2; Ostovich 7-22-1; Faulks 5-14; Kyjhaun

Hopkins 2-15; Williams 1-(-1); Edwards 2-37; Minniefield 1-1; Kyleigh Hopkins 1-(1); Manning 1-0).

PASSING: Archbishop Carroll 11-22-153-1-int (Helm 3-13-26-int; R. Smith 8-9-127-1); Big Red 7-9-81-1 (all by Hill).

RECEIVING: Archbishop Carroll 11-153-1 (Harbor 3-48; Brown 2-25-1; Mungo 1-0; Ebron 2-

26; Carey 1-15; Wynn 1-14; Davis 1-15); Big Red 7-81-1 (Sims 3-37-1; Buggs 1-18; Edwards 1- 5; Smith 1-23; Bozica 1-(-2)).

FIRST DOWNS: Archbishop Carroll 16; Big Rd 20.

PENALTIES-YARDS: Archbishop Carroll 11-84; Big Red 6-55.

PUNTS: Archbishop Carroll 1-24; Big Red 2-44.

FUMBLES-LOST: Archbishop Carroll 3-1; Big Red 2-2.