NEW MIDDLETOWN Springfield defeats Lowellville, 27-21, in key ICL game

Pat Birch accounted for 260 of Springfield's 309 offensive yards.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- Pat Birch threw for three touchdowns, rushed for another and accounted for 260 of his team's 309 total offensive yards as the Springfield Local High football team defeated Lowellville 27-21 in a key Inter-County League game Friday.
"We've had someone new step up for us every week and this week it was Pat Birch's turn," Tiger coach John Smith said. "This was his week to shine, and I must say he really picked a great night to do so."
Springfield (4-4, 4-1 ICL) used a Lowellville turnover and pass interference call to race out to a 13-0 first quarter lead.
Midway through the first period, Ryan Jones of the Tigers intercepted Lowellville quarterback Mike Palumbo's errant pass at the Rocket 40-yard line. On the next play, Birch scored the first touchdown, a 40-yard scamper that gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead.
Jones then caught the first of Birch's three touchdown passes, a 57-yard strike with 1:35 remaining in the opening period. When Dan Schuler added the placement, the Tigers led 13-0 after one period of play.
The Rockets (5-3, 3-2) cut the lead to 13-7 when Palumbo scored from a yard out just a little over two minutes into the second period.
The Tigers built the lead to 20-7 at the 7:27 mark of the second stanza when Birch found Dan Zitkovic from 60 yards out.
The Rockets, doing their best to keep the game close, kept pecking away at the Tiger lead as Andy Peterson, who had a game high 213 yards rushing on 28 carries, scored on a 47-yard run. When Nick Pope converted the second of his three placements, the Tigers held a 20-14 advantage.
Springfield then scored the final touchdown of the first half when Birch connected for his third scoring strike of the game. This time it was a 2-yard toss to sophomore Mike Paes with 2:51 remaining before the half, the Tigers taking a 27-14 lead into the locker room.
"Give credit to Coach [John] Protopapa and the Rockets as they made some key adjustments after intermission," Smith said. "We were fortunate to hold them off at the end for the win."
Productive: Both offenses had a productive first half. Lowellville had 226 yards of total offense (all but 4 coming on the ground and 157 of its 222 rushing yards coming from Peterson) to the Tigers' 230, a total of 456 yards by both combined.
The Rockets pitched a shutout in the second half, cutting the Tiger lead to 27-21 in the final period when Autumn Axel scored from 3 yards out.
The Tigers, however, held the Rockets twice with under three minutes to play deep in their own territory, once when Jim McLaughlin picked off a Palumbo pass that went array to seal the victory.
The Rockets won the statistical battle, rolling up 336 yards of total offense to the Tigers' 309. In addition to Peterson's 213 rushing yards, Palumbo had 70 ground yards on 15 carries as the Rockets rolled up 324 of their total offensive yards on the ground.
Birch threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns as he connected on 11-of-24 pass attempts. He also led the team in rushing with 65 yards on 11 carries, while Zitkovic added another 49 yards on 14 carries.