Curwensville – A somber Golden Tide fan base is an unusual sight, but somber best describes the fans as they left the newly refurbished Riverside Stadium Friday night after a 53-20 loss at the hands of Elk County Catholic.
A Ben McGary run into the end zone from 6 yards out, halfway though the first quarter had Tide fans forgetting about the week 1 loss to Coudy. But 13 seconds later ECC rallied to tie the score putting #33 Mastrogiacomo in the end zone. The Tide fumbled early in their next possession leaving ECC set to score from the Tide 30 yard line. Two plays later ECC was up on the the Tide by a touchdown and a 2 point conversion both at the hands of Mastrogiacomo.
Echoing last year\’s dogfight the Tide countered with 17 and 24 yard receptions by #80 Jesse Hoover and #21 Jed Greslick respectively. McGary followed taking the pigskin in from the 12 for his and the Tide\’s second touchdown of the night. A failed kick left the Tide still in the game at 14-12 with 2:52 left in the first quarter.
Second quarter play had ECC recovering a Tide fumble only to turn the ball back over to the Tide with an interception. This left the Tide to take over at their own 9 yard line. Fighting down the field the Tide turned the ball back ver with an interception near the ECC 30 yard line just past the half way point in the second
quarter.
Capitalizing on both an interception and a blocked punt ECC\’s Mastrogiacomo and #37 Jovenetti respectively put the Tide behind by 16 points at half time 28-12. A strong Tide defensive effort at the beginning of the second half temporarily lowed ECC progress. Eventually the combination of Tide errors and Mastrogiacomo and Jovenetti\’s speed put the ball in the end one 4 more times leaving the Tide down 53-12 with one more possession.
Finishing the last quarter with a 60 yard Greslick touchdown and a McGary 2 point conversion the Tide finished the night with a crowd quieting 53-20 loss to ECC.
The Curwensville Golden Tide go back on the road next Friday as they travel to Brockway to take on the Rovers. Kick off is scheduled for 7:30.