Published Sunday, Nov. 17, 1996
Trojans 29
Bulldogs 6
WPIAL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Greenville rolls Westinghouse in AAA action
KORCINSKY TOPS 2,000-YARD MARK WITH 157 YARDS
By Jeff Greenburg
Herald Assistant Sports Editor
SHARON _ Fixty-six seconds isn't a whole lot of time. But it was more than enough for Greenville Saturday afternoon in a PIAA Class AAA first-round state playoff game.
The Trojans (12-0) broke open a one-point game by scoring twice in a 56-second span in the final 1:30 of the first half en route to collecting a 29-6 victory over Pittsburgh City League champions Westinghouse at Sharon Tigers' Stadium.
Clinging to a 7-6 lead, Greenville took possession of the ball at the Bulldogs' 49 with 1:34 remaining in the half. On first- down, Trojan quarterback Andy Mason found tight end Josh Pearce wide open between the hashes at about the 40 and Pearce did the rest, rambling in for the score and a 14-6 lead at the 1:24 mark.
``That was obviously a key play,'' said Greenville coach Bob Stone. ``Josh did a great job. I didn't realize he had that much speed.''
Westinghouse safety Lamaas Bey had a shot a Pearce at the 10, but attempted to strip the ball out of the 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior's hands and Pearce blasted through him for the touchdown.
``That was a totally missed assignment,'' added Bulldogs coach George Webb. ``There's no way in the world he's supposed to be that wide open, but our guy blew the coverage.''
Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, the Trojans were in business again when strong safety John Isacco picked off an Andy Blackwell aerial at the Westinghouse 46.
A 33-yard rainbow from Mason to Tim Strausser, who tipped the ball two times before eventually gaining control while lying on his back on the ground, put Greenville at the 13.
Mason then hit Strausser for a 12- yard reception before super back Joe Korcinsky capped the 56-second scoring explosion with a 1-yard run with 30 seconds left in the half. Isacco's third kick made it 21-6.
``The one huge play was the great catch that Strausser made laying on his back that got us down in there so we could get another one in,'' Stone said.
That opportunity only came, perhaps, when the Bulldogs (10-2), trailing 7-6, elected to put the ball in the air deep in their own territory on back-to- back possessions near the end of the half. The first began at the 'House 16 with 2:39 left; the second at the 'House 34 with 1:24 left.®MDBO’
®MDNM’``We play to win, we were not trying to run the clock down,'' Webb said, defending his strategy. ``We felt there was some things we could do to get the ball into the end zone, but it just didn't happen.''
It did for Greenville, but only after the Trojans fell behind 6-0 on a 4-yard pass from Blackwell to Robert Cash with 17 seconds left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, which began at the Greenville 22, Korcinsky carried all six plays, capping the drive with a spectacular 52-yard touchdown run. On the play Korcinsky appeared stopped for a short gain in the middle of the pile, but executed a 360-degree spin move to break outside and then went untouched down the right sideline.
Korcinsky finished the game with 157 yards on 23 carries to up his season total to 2,028 yards, breaking Andy Blatt's school mark of 1,993 yards set in 1991. Korcinsky became only the sixth back in Mercer County annals to crack the 2,000-yard barrier in a single season.
He trails only: Sharon's Marko Jackson (2,380), Sharon's Mike Archie (2,334) Reynolds' Ron Park (2,174), Hickory's Andre Coleman (2,173) and Sharon's J.D. Harden (2,042) on the county list.®MDBO’
®MDNM’In addition, Korcinsky, only a junior, upped his career mark to 3,011 yards, becoming only the 11th county-area back to do so.
``He's a good back, obviously, a very good back,'' Stone said. ``But of course there's 11 people on the field. Joe's one of them and the rest of them do a good job at what they're supposed to be doing, too. And that's why Joe's able to do the good job that he does with what he's supposed to be doing.''
Also doing what he was supposed to be doing was Kirk Shimshock, who kept the Trojans rolling by returning the second-half kickoff 53 yards to the Westinghouse 24. Two plays later Korcinsky scampered 23 yards for his third score of the game and a Korcinsky conversion run closed the scoring at 29- 6 only 57 seconds into the second half.
``Overall we had to be happy,'' said Stone. ``We won and the kids played well. But one thing that bothers me was at least two, maybe three times we had them third and real long and they picked it up. You can't allow that. We have to be a little sharper.''
On this day the Trojans were sharp enough.
On consecutive possessions following Greenville's final score, the Bulldogs marched to the Greenville 15, 14 and 12. A Nate Williams' interception stopped the first march; the second was stopped on downs; while a Korcinsky interception halted the third drive.
``We were inside their 20 I don't how many times and we just couldn't convert,'' Webb said. ``But they played good football. Greenville is a good football team and they made good on their opportunities. We made some mistakes that just killed us.''
In addition to the pick, the 5-foot-9 Williams effectively shut down, at least on deep routes, Westinghouse's 6-foot- 3 receiver Jason Freeman much of the afternoon and proved to be one of the Trojans' unsung heroes.®MDBO’
``I think he did a very, very good job; a great job,'' Stone said. ``As a matter of fact, Nate Williams has played very, very well the last half of the season; not that he played poorly the first half. But he's played exceptionally well the second half.''
Notes:
Greenville is scheduled to face Lock Haven, a 28-14 winner over Martinsburg Central, in a quarterfinal clash next week. Site, time and day will be determined. ... Mason finished a solid 5-of-9 for 118 yards with no interceptions. ... After yielding 78 yards and five first downs in the first quarter, the Greenville defense limited the Bulldogs to 13 yards and one first down in the key second frame. ... Korcinsky upped his season scoring total to 37 touchdowns, which, along with four 2-point conversions, now places him second all- time in county single-season annals with 230 points. He moved past Hickory's Coleman (37 TDs, 224 points) and trails only Blatt's 1991 mark of 44 scores and 264 points . ... Ryan Nicklin also had an interception for Greenville. ... Westinghouse's Blackwell hit 9-of- 27 passes for 110 yards with four interceptions. ... Bey, who entered the contest with 1,340 yards, led the Bulldogs with 61 yards on 17 totes, while Robert Dixon finished his season with 1,011 yards after piling up 51 yards on 11 carries. ... The Bulldogs lost their fourth 1st-round game in the last five years. City League teams haven't won a state playoff game since 1989.
PIAA Class AAA First Round
WESTINGHOUSE 6 0 0 0 6
GREENVILLE 0 21 8 0 29
Scoring plays
W _ Cash 4 pass from Blackwell (kick failed) G _ Korcinsky 52 run (Isacco kick) G _ Pearce 49 pass from Mason (Isacco kick) G _ Korcinsky 1 run (Isacco kick) G _ Korcinsky 23 run (Korcinsky run)
Team stats
WESTINGHOUSE GREENVILLE
16 First downs 13
123 Rushing yards 199
110 Passing yards 118
27-9-4 Att-comp-int 9-5-0
0-0 Sacks-yards lost 0-0
233 Total yards 317
0-0 Fumbles-lost 0-0
1-2 Penalties-yards lost 2-30
Individual stats
Rushing: WESTINGHOUSE _ Bey 17- 61, Dixon 11-51, Blackwell 7-19, Freeman 1-(- 8); GREENVILLE _ Korcinsky 23-157, Milford 3-21, K. Shimshock 5-8, Guthrie 1-5, Wilson 1-5, Turpack 1-2, Isacco 2-1. Passing: WESTINGHOUSE _ Blackwell 27-9-4-110; GREENVILLE _ Mason 9-5-0- 118. Receiving: WESTINGHOUSE _ Freeman 4-36, Coles 2-31, Dixon 1-20, Bey 1-19, Cash 1-4; GREENVILLE _ Strausser 2-45, Milford 2-24, Pearce 1-49.
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Updated Nov. 17, 1996.