Herald staff
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Coach Jason McElhaney’s West Middlesex High Big Reds rolled past Moniteau on Saturday night, 27-8, in West Middlesex.
WM rumbled for 330 yards in total offense while limiting the defending District 9 Class AA champs to only 64 yards.
The Big Reds went up 6-0 on a 2-yard fumble return by Eric Lucich in the 2nd quarter and Trey Staunch booted the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
Just prior to halftime, WM went up 14-0 on a 45-yard TD run by Luke Patten and Staunch’s extra-point.
The Big Reds extended their lead to 20-0 in the 3rd quarter on a 1-yard QB sneak by Staunch. The PAT failed.
Moniteau finally scored early in the 4th quarter on a 16-yard TD pass from Denny Pry to Beachman. The Warriors went for the 2-point conversion and successfully converted to cut the lead to 20-8.
Staunch added a 3-yard TD run and booted the PAT to give West Middlesex the 27-8 lead.
Patten had 20 carries for 132 yards and Staunch was 5-of-14 for 112 yards passing. Sage Pope hauled in 2 catches for 84 yards.
“We’ll take it,” said McElhaney. “It was a sloppy win. We’ve got a lot of work to do going forward and into region play. Too many penalties, no rhythm. It just didn’t feel good, but I’d rather walk out of here with a win than an L(oss).”
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MONITEAU 0 0 0 8 8
MIDDLESEX 0 14 6 6 27
Scoring plays
WM — Lucich, 2 fumble return (Staunch kick)
WM — Patten, 45 run (Staunch kick)
WM — Staunch, 1 run (kick failed)
M — Beachman, 16 pass from Pry (2-point catch good)
WM — Staunch, 3 run (Staunch kick)
Team stats
MONITEAU MIDDLESEX
3 First downs 10
17 Rushing yards 218
47 Passing yards 112
12-4-1 Att-comp-int 14-5-0
64 Total yards 330
2-1 Fumbles-lost 1-1
3-35 Penalties-yards lost 9-70
Individual stats
Rushing: MONITEAU — Geagan 13-33, Schmoll 5-8, Pry 13-(-24); WEST MIDDLESEX — Patten 20-132, Staunch 11-42, Trippy 3-14, Lucich 3-13, Mirizio 3-3.
Passing: MONITEAU — Pry 12-4-1-47; WEST MIDDLESEX — Staunch 14-5-0-112.
Receiving: MONITEAU — Yekel 2-19, Beachman 1-16, Skibar 1-12; WEST MIDDLESEX — Pope 2-84, Jancso 2-10, Patten 1-18.
