Sports
CRUNCH: Frontier storms past Niagara Falls
NIAGARA FALLS — Only the weather had a greater impact on Friday night’s football game at Sal Maglie Stadium than Mark Schuster.
The Frontier fullback rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, setting the foundation for the Falcons’ 28-7 win over Niagara Falls in a Class AA crossover contest.
“I’m glad it was a non-league game,” Wolverines coach Don Bass said. “I thought we showed area’s of improvement over where we were last year. But we just didn’t tackle. We made that fullback look all-world.”
The Wolverines (0-1) looked sharp early, forcing Frontier (1-0) into a three-and-out on the game’s first series.
Marquise Watkins scored on a 7-yard run with 7:52 remaining in the first quarter, capping a six-play, 32-yard scoring drive that featured two first down passes by Josh Salada. Oraine Allen kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
Then Schuster took over. After gaining nothing on first down, he drove through the middle of the line on the next play and sprinted 75 yards for Frontier’s first score. Niagara Falls preserved its lead by blocking the point after try.
After the Wolverines got the ball back, Salada rushed for 22 yards on the first play, but Niagara Falls couldn’t gain another first down. As it began to downpour, Frontier took the lead with a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive capped by Schuster’s two-yard run.
Frontier got the ball back in less than a minute, and Schuster ran 73 yards on the final play of the first quarter. That would be Schuster’s last carry, as he sat out the second quarter because of dehydration, a Frontier assistant said. He was not on the sidelines for the second half.
Travis Sipos scored two plays later from four yards out, allowing the Falcons to go up 21-7.
The Wolverines turned the ball over on three of the final four first-half possession. One interception was returned 42 yards for a touchdown by Frontier’s Cody Burns. Bass said the heavy rain prevented the Wolverines from running their spread offense they way they wanted to.
“I though Josh did a good job, but he didn’t check down enough,” Bass said. “I kept telling him, in weather like this, you can’t throw deep.”
The Falcons had the ball when lightning struck at 9:16 p.m., forcing a 30-minute delay. When play resumed, most of the dirt on the converted baseball field at Sal Maglie was underneath puddles.
Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein 282-2311, ext. 2258.
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