Published Saturday, Nov. 30, 1996 From a statistical standpoint, Greenville bettered Blackhawk: Offensive plays from scrimmage (51-39), total yards (192-147, including a 142-79 margin on the ground), and first downs (14-7).
But Blackhawk, just as did during its 9-6 triumph over the Trojans in the '93 Western Regional final, made a handful of pivotal plays while coercing Greenville into an uncharacteristic multiple number of turnovers, converting one into a touchdown.
That the two losses to Blackhawk so closely paralleled one other was not lost on veteran Greenville mentor Bob Stone, but he related,
``Every loss is painful, and to be very honest with you, I feel bad for the kids. They really put in a lot of effort and this is a great football team and I hate to see it end like this. But I'm very proud of them. They played very well.''
En route to 13 consecutive victories, Greenville's ``Trojan Horse'' had been junior tailback Joe Korcinsky, who ran for 2,203 yards and 40 touchdown, averaging 8-plus yards/carry. And although he posted a 127-yard performance and tallied the lone Trojans' TD against Blackhawk, he paid dearly for every one of his 38 carries, managing only 3.3 per attempt.
``It was a little tough truckin' tonight for Joe, 'cause Blackhawk played well,'' Stone acknowledged with a wry grin.
For the most part, however, Blackhawk's defense contained not only Korcinsky, but the entire Greenville offense that entered the contest averaging 346.3 yards/game. The Cougars did it by making timely plays, particularly in the first half when they intercepted quarterback Andy Mason twice. In 90 attempts entering the game, Mason had been picked off just once.
The game's opening sequence was almost an instant-replay of the '93 affair when the Cougars scored on a fumble return.
This time Blackhawk went 3-and-out on its initial series and punted. But on Greenville's ensuing possession, Mason's 2nd-and-12 slant pass intended for Tim Strausser was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Mark Cokain and intercepted by Bryan Lodovico who returned it to the Trojans' 25-yard line.
Three plays later, fullback Adam Smith, on a 3rd-and-2 play, rambled around left end at the 6:12 juncture of the first frame for a 6-0 Blackhawk lead.
From that point, Greenville's remaining first-half possessions began, respectively, from the its own 20-yard line, then from the Cougars' 49, 48 and _ following a shanked punt by Blackhawk's Dane Helsing _ 28. However, the latter three drives ended in a missed 24-yard field goal by John Isacco, an incompletion on a 4th-and-11 Mason-to-Strausser fade pattern in the left corner of the end zone, and Mason's second interception, this time by Nate Stewart at the 17-yard line with 55 seconds remaining until the intermission.
Greenville's (13-1) ground game, however, responded and controlled the third period.
Korcinsky returned the second half- opening kickoff 34 yards to Greenville's 48-yard line, from where Mason engineered a 12-play, 52-yard, 6-minute, 1- second drive, culminating in Korcinsky's 3-yard run over the left side. Isacco's conversion kick provided Greenville with a 7-6 margin with 5:47 left in the third quarter.
In spite of Korcinsky's 10-carry, 28- yard contribution during the drive, the highlight was Mason's 20-yard connection with Doug Straw _ the latter's first and only reception of the season _ on a 3rd-and-10 play from Blackhawk's 42-yard line.
The Cougars' ensuing possession was stymied by Scott Kaltenbaugh's sack of quarterback Mike Arbogast on a 2nd-and-10 play, but Blackhawk responded with its own sack of Mason, by Adam Veil on a 4th-and-5 situation from the Cougars' 29-yard line.
Blackhawk (13-0) immediately embarked on a 6-play, 65-yard game-winning scoring drive that required only 2:17.
Arbogast _ 0-for-2 during the first half and the Cougars' quarterback only by default when anticipated starter Aaron Slocum transferred to McDowell _ emerged with the game on the line.
He connected with Chad Marsilio for 17 yards to commence the drive, then clicked with Stewart on a 4th-and-5 play with 6:25 remaining for a critical first down. On the next play, a breakdown in Greenville's coverage resulted in Marsilio streaking down the middle and gathering Arbogast's pass in full stride to complete a 38-yard scoring strike. The same combination then collaborated for the 2-point conversion for a 14-7 Blackhawk lead with 5:55 left.
Although Greenville went 3-and-out on its ensuing series, the Trojans' defense throttled Blackhawk's final pair of possessions, providing the offense with two final series.
On the first, Mason's 4th-and-15 pass from Greenville's 28-yard line, intended for Korcinsky sprinting down the center of the field, skimmed off the latter's hands as he attempted to split double coverage.
On the second, an 8-yard Mason scramble and a 15-yard pass interference penalty assessed against Blackhawk provided Greenville with a first down at its own 43. But Mason was sacked by Bernie Gaigle for a 2-yard loss on first down and had to spike the ball with a scant second remaining as the Trojans had used all three times-out on their final defensive series.
Ultimately, Mason's jump-ball pass on a 3rd-and-10 play as time expired was intercepted by Justin Best.
Stone summarized his sentiments just outside the somber Greenville locker room. ``I just told 'em, `There's nothing you can say at this point that's gonna make 'em feel good about things.' I congratulated them. I'm very proud of them. They played well, they've done everything we've asked all year, they've been a great group of kids to be with.
``You tell 'em, `The sun'll come up tomorrow.' It might not be as bright as it might've been, but it'll come up tomorrow.''
Notes: Korcinsky ended with one of the finest single-season performances in Herald coverage-area annals, amassing 2,330 yards rushing (third best) and a second-best 41 TDs (254 points) on 312 carries ... Stone's 19-year record is 153-40-6, third-best in county annals ... ``It's exicting, obviously,'' Blackhawk mentor Joe Hamilton said of the prospect of returning to Altoona to take on the winner of the Eastern Regional finale between Berwick and Allentown Central Catholic. ``To get back there three times _ we haven't won any yet _ but to get there in itself is very satisfying. We're gonna try and win one for a change. We know our competition will be very tough. Our biggest job ahead of us this week is trying to get our team healthy.''
GREENVILLE 0 0 7 0 7 BLACKHAWK 6 0 0 8 14Scoring plays B _ Smith, 17 run (kick failed) G _ Korcinsky, 3 run (Isacco kick) B _ Marsilio 38 pass from Arbogast (Marsilio pass from Arbogast)
Team stats
14 First downs 7
141 Rushing yards 79
58 Passing yards 79
16-5-3 Att-comp-int 12-5-0
2-8 Sacks-yards lost 2-11
191 Total yards 147
1-0 Fumbles-lost 0-0
1-5 Penalties-yards lost 2-20
Rushing: GREENVILLE _ Korcinsky 38- 127, Milford 2-12, Shimshock 2-5, Mason 3-(- 3); BLACKHAWK _ Stewart 14-51, Smith 7- 30, Arbogast 1-1, Wissner 3-(-3).
Passing:GREENVILLE _ Mason 16-5-3- 58; BLACKHAWK _ Arbogast 12-5-0-79. Receiving: GREENVILLE _ Strausser 2- 13, Straw 1-20, Williams 1-19, Korcinsky 1-6; BLACKHAWK _ Marsilio 3-63, Cokain 1-11, Stewart 1-5.
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Updated Nov. 30, 1996.