SHARON, PA. Campbell registers sixth victory, 17-14

Quarterback Rick Quinn led the Red Devils past Kennedy Catholic.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SHARON, Pa. -- Rick Quinn threw two touchdown passes and the Campbell Memorial defense held Kennedy Catholic to just 27 passing yards, as the Red Devils won, 17-14, Saturday at Butala Memorial Stadium.
The Red Devils, winners of five straight, improved to 6-2, while the Golden Eagles fell to 2-5.
"We knew that Kennedy Catholic was one of the better two-win teams in the area," Campbell coach John Ryan said. "They play a tough schedule, it's a new staff and even their upperclass team members are new to this system.
"We knew they would run the football the majority of the time," he added. "They were a real challenge for us today, especially their freshman running back Ross Gargano."
Good running
All Gargano did was penetrate the Red Devil defense for 132 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.
"Ross is something special," Kennedy Catholic coach Mike Donato said. "We're just intent on getting better every week, but our youth shows at times."
The Red Devils, averaging 361/2 points per game during their four-game win streak, let their defense make a statement against Kennedy Catholic. While Gargano supplied almost 72 percent of the Golden Eagle offense, the Red Devil defense shut down their passing game to the tune of 27 yards.
Kennedy Catholic wasted a 12-play drive on its first possession that ended when quarterback Rob Homer was stopped by the Red Devil defense on fourth-and-5 at the Campbell 15-yard line.
Field goal
The Red Devils, on the other hand, used 17 plays and 7:25 on their first possession, with George Malactaris nailing a 20-yard field goal just 52 seconds into the second quarter to give Campbell a 3-0 advantage.
When Gargano scored from a yard out at 6:14, Kennedy Catholic took its only lead of the game at 7-3 after the Elijah Pearce placement.
After an offside penalty on the ensuing series against the Red Devils, Quinn found Will Simon on a 70-yard scoring strike for a 10-0 Campbell lead at intermission.
"Rick Quinn makes a lot of calls out there for us," Ryan said. "He makes good reads and adjusts well to the defensive alignments."
After a scoreless third quarter, Derrell Johnson's 5-yard scoring strike from Quinn just 43 seconds into the final stanza gave the Red Devils a 17-7 lead.
When the Golden Eagles' Jon Jennings scored on a 1-yard plunge at 7:20, the Campbell lead was cut to 17-14.
The Red Devil defense then stiffened as it held Kennedy Catholic on a fourth-and-9 at the Campbell 35 with 3:12 remaining.
Fumble recovery
On the first play of the next possession, the Red Devils' Anthony Zembillas fumbled and Blair Rozenblad of the Golden Eagles recovered on the Campbell 46-yard line.
The Red Devils' Tee Hymes then sacked Homer on fourth down at the Campbell 12-yard line to ice the game with 20 seconds remaining.
"We didn't think about kicking a field goal at the end," Donato said. "We wanted to win the game. We weren't satisfied with overtime."
The Red Devils rolled up 296 yards of total offense, 135 on the ground and 161 through the air, while Kennedy Catholic's 171 yards of offense included 144 rushing yards.