HS FOOTBALL: Devils lose heartbreaker to Marian, 24-7
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Marian Catholic WR #11 Jacob Fenstermaker, ballcarrier, attempts to break free from Shenandoah's defenders en route to the endzone.
SHENANDOAH – “Tonight was heartbreaking, but we’ve got to keep staying positive and moving forward,” Shenandoah Valley Head Coach Ed Moran said after Friday night’s loss to Marian Catholic.
Moran’s Blue Devils squad came into the game with a sincere belief that the ongoing losing streak would end on the west end tonight.
“You leave no doubt tonight, that Shendo is back,” Anthony Staivecki, defensive coordinator, told the players as they huddled prior to running onto the field. “We are back from the dead, and we’re coming back from the dead tonight, to resurrect Shenandoah football tonight.”
For the first three quarters of Friday’s game, those words appeared to hold truth.
Though, penalties, mistakes, and the athleticism of Marian WR Jacob Fenstermaker led to Shenandoah’s downfall in the fourth.
A defensive dogfight characterized the first half of play, with neither team able to find success on offense. The only score in the first half was a field goal by Marian’s #10 Michael Baloga, a senior, giving Marian a 3-0 advantage.
With 3:10 remaining in the third quarter, the Colts capitalized on a Devils fumble, as #11 Fenstermaker, a junior, scored on a long run, giving Marian a 10-0 advantage.
Shortly after, on 4th down, Shenandoah QB #8 Owen Kosar, a junior, found fellow junior WR #10 Joey Vevasis, who made his way to the 1 yard line. RB #42 Brian Dunne, a junior, rumbled into the endzone to put Shenandoah on the board, 10-7.
Not long after, Shenandoah found themselves in the red zone once again, with the opportunity to take the lead.
“If we scored there, then we’re up 14-10, and it’s a different game at that point, Moran said.
Regarding the fumbles under center and other mistakes, Moran said, “those are things that, when you’re a 1-31 team, sometimes those things happen. Moving forward, we’ve just got to make that next step.”
The fourth quarter would see Marian run away, tacking on a few more scores to take a 24-7 victory.
“This was a game we were looking forward to, but, tonight, we just didn’t get it done,” Moran added.
Marian Catholic (1-2) scored their first win of the season under returning head coach Stan Dakosty, who had praise for the Shenandoah squad.
“Shenandoah is a scrappy team, coach is doing a [great job,] I thought Kosar would be one of the best quarterbacks we saw,” Dakosty told reporters after the game. “We made a whole gameplan for him and #10.”
For Shenandoah (0-3) and Moran, the goal moving forward is still to snap the streak and maintain a positive outlook.
“The rest of our schedule, we have competitive games ahead of us,” Moran said. “We’ll play them as best we can.”
Next week, Shenandoah travels to Valley View to face the Bulldogs of Tri-Valley. The game will be the first of the season for Tri-Valley.
Full Photo Gallery
About Author
