Lowellville cruises against Springfield

The Rockets won their seventh straight game, 38-14, and sole possession of the ICL lead.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LOWELLVILLE -- Two years ago, the Lowellville High football team lost to Springfield Local 51-0 in John Protopapa's first year as head coach of the Rockets.
Friday, Lowellville (7-0, 4-0) got a measure of revenge with an impressive 38-14 victory over the Tigers.
The win give the Rockets sole possession of first place in the Inter-County League and plenty of playoff points.
Lowellville is ranked sixth in Division VI of this week's Associated Press state poll and the number two team in Region 21 of the computer playoff ratings.
"This game was a measuring stick for how far our program has come in three years," Protopapa said. "Our kids were really motivated to come out here and play well tonight."
Peterson stars
The Rockets rebounded from some early miscues behind the stellar play of tailback Andy Peterson to dominate a strong Springfield (4-3, 3-1) team. Springfield entered the game as the number four team in Div. V Region 17.
Peterson rushed for 229 yards on 23 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead the Rockets.
The 6-2, 198 senior also keyed a defense that forced Springfield into eight turnovers.
Peterson recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and recorded 10 tackles from his safety position.
"Andy is a great football player," Protopapa said. "I've coached at a lot of places over the years and he is the best player I've ever coached."
Peterson said that the Rockets were extra pumped up for the matchup with the Tigers.
"This was our title game," Peterson said. "They've beaten us the last two years and the seniors weren't about to lose again.
"We still have some league games to play, but to beat teams like South Range and Springfield back-to-back is something special."
Tigers not ready to play
Springfield coach John Smith said his team didn't come to Lowellville ready to play.
"I'm disappointed," Smith said. "Lowellville is a great team but we just didn't play well. You can't commit eight turnovers and expect to be competitive."
The Tigers were the team that first took advantage of the inclement weather to force a turnover and score the first points of the game.
Lineman Tim Kawecki intercepted a pitch from Lowellville quarterback Mike Palumbo to Peterson and raced 27 yards for a score.
On the Rockets' next possession, Peterson fumbled on the Tigers 22 to kill a potential scoring drive.
But the Tigers quickly turned the ball back over the Rockets and the rout was on. Peterson scored on a 6 yard run and Palumbo followed with a 1-yard tally.
Peterson scored two more times in the second quarter on runs of 3 and 7 yards before Springfield rallied late in the first half to score on an 8-yard TD pass from quarterback Dan Schuler to Jeff Mershimer.
In control at halftime
At halftime, Lowellville was in control 26-14.
The Rockets solidified the win by controlling the football on offense for most of the second half as the defense pitched a shutout.
Peterson scored on a 5-yard run in the third quarter following a 15-play, 87-yard drive.
The Rockets scored the final tally on Jeff Peterson's 3-yard run.
"Our defense was outstanding especially in the second half," Protopapa said. "I think our schemes confused their quarterback and that caused their offense some problems."
Overall, Lowellville gained 367 yards all on the ground, to just 161 total yards for the Tigers.