WARREN DiFiore tosses three TD passes in 47-15 romp over Campbell

The Red Devils had to beat Warren JFK to keep their playoff hopes alive.
By DAVE DEVEREUX
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WARREN -- The biggest game on the schedule for Warren JFK, according to head coach Tony Napolet, will be their Week 10 trip to Howland.
Friday at Mollenkopf Stadium, Campbell Memorial ran into a JFK squad that wasn't about to be caught looking ahead.
"We're always anxious to play Howland," JFK senior quarterback John DiFiore said. "But we knew we had tonight to take care of first."
DiFiore tossed three first-half touchdowns -- all to senior tight end Jimmy Kokrak -- and ran for another, as the Eagles throttled Campbell, 47-15.
Sophomore tailback Anthony Elzy rushed 17 times for 106 yards. He scored twice on the ground in the second half for the Eagles (8-1), who have won seven straight games.
Early passes helped
"We're happy with the win," Napolet said. "We're happy for the seniors, coaches, team, school -- we expected to be challenged a lot more by their defense, but we were on offensively. We hit some big passes early."
Campbell and Warren JFK -- former members of the Mahoning Valley Conference, which disbanded in 1993 -- entered the game with playoff aspirations.
But what figured at the outset to be a hard-fought battle between past league rivals, turned into an all-around dominating performance by JFK.
For the second straight week, the Eagles jumped out to a big first-half lead, thanks to stifling defense and a balanced offensive attack.
"We played a great first half offensively," Napolet said. "And defensively that's not too bad either when you can shut them out.
"I just hope we didn't waste some points," added Napolet, whose team was ranked second in the Division V, Region 17 playoff rankings this week.
Campbell, despite a 6-2 mark coming in, was ranked No. 16 in the Division IV, Region 13 rankings. The Red Devils had to beat Warren JFK to keep their playoff hopes alive.
"We knew we had to jump on top," Campbell coach John Ryan said. "With their record and the type of players they have, when they're on top they just play even better."
For the game, DiFiore completed 9-of-15 passes for 128 yards. Senior Mike Witherow caught three passes for 52 yards for the Eagles.
Campbell scored two second-half touchdowns. Darrell Johnson, who ran for 42 yards in the game, scored on an 11-yard scamper. Will Simon added a 6-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
Simon led the Red Devils, rushing nine times for 53 yards.
Campbell senior quarterback Rick Quinn left the game at halftime with a shoulder injury.