Raging Bulldogs

By T.J. Turrisi

October 4, 2008 October 03, 2008 11:21 pm

— Meadville tackle Anthony Loiacona grabbed Xavier Hollamon by the jersey and put him on the ground on the first play Friday at Bender Field.
That play turned out to be a theme in the Bulldogs’ 62-0 non-region, Homecoming win over Erie Central Tech.
Meadville (5-1) racked up 427 total yards to the Falcons’ 62, and the defensive line recorded eight sacks for 62 yards lost.
Loiacona and end Neil Heagy led the way with three and three-and-a-half respectively.
“Me and Neil shared so many sacks together,” Loiacona said.
Coming off a tough 20-13 road loss to Bradford, Meadville got the confidence boost it needed. And the ’Dogs did it as a team.
Everyone contributed on defense and special teams, and six different players found the end zone on offense.
“We wanted to have a team effort, and we wanted to have a sharp ballgame all around,” coach Mike Pendolino said. “Even when the young kids got in there, they played hard and were laying hits as hard as the varsity did. It was a complete team effort, and you can’t ask for any more.”
Central (1-5) punted on its first possession, and Toney Phillips found paydirt on a toss sweep from five yards out.
The senior halfback then recovered one of five Falcon fumbles on the ensuing kickoff.
Fullback Mike Kalustian willed his way into the end zone from 24 yards out with a stiff arm and a defender around his waist at the 5:58 mark.
After another Central punt, Meadville’s next drive featured a 12-yard run and a 39-yard catch by Phillips, and was culminated with a 22-yard carry by Jon Roncolato for the touch.
The Falcons converted on a long fourth down to start the second quarter, but a penalty and back-to-back-to-back sacks by Heagy (2) and Zack Steck put Central at 4th-and-52.
After a punt, quarterback Jarrod Kilburn carried a keeper in from six yards out on 4th and 1 with 5:38 on the board.
Heagy recovered the following fumbled kickoff, and Tyler Banks kept a scoring drive alive with a 17-yard jaunt on 4th and 3.
Kalustian punched it in from three yards away, and the extra point made it 34-0 at the half.
Central recovered an onside kick to start the third but threw a pick on the first play from scrimmage.
Three plays and 82 yards later, Roncolato scored on a 24-yard scamper. The drive lasted 50 seconds.
Loiacona and Heagy brought down Hollamon on a fake punt attempt, and Kalustian rumbled 24 yards for another Meadville score on the first play of its next drive.
Devon Boyda recovered a fumbled pitch to end Central’s next possession late in the third quarter.
Backup running backs Aaron Marks and Addison Goodrum scored for the ’Dogs in the final period.
Central tailback Kaylon Mims had a 64-yard touchdown run called back for an illegal block in the fourth.
After allowing a late score last week, Pendolino was extremely pleased with the defense’s play.
“They’ve worked so hard for so long,” he said. “They challenged themselves to get the job done (tonight), and the whole defense gets three cheers. It was tremendous play all around.”
“We practiced real hard all week,” Loiacona said. “They were probably the hardest practices we’ve ever had, and we came out really hard and just kept on playing that way. We didn’t let down.
“Our defense improved a ton. We’ll be ready for (Slippery Rock).”
Offensively, Meadville averaged 7.8 yards per carry. Kilburn passed just four times, completing two for 61 yards.
“We just were making really big holes, and the running backs went right through,” Loiacona said of the O-line. “It was a team effort.”
Kalustian led the charge with 86 stripes on 14 takes, followed by Banks (11-77), Phillips (5-73) and Roncolato (4-53).
Mims paced the Falcons with 44 yards on 10 totes.