PENNSYLVANIA Ruffo leads Big Red to second title in row

West Middlesex repeated as Mercer County Athletic Conference champion.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HERMITAGE -- Giani Ruffo rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown and West Middlesex High piled up 319 yards of offense, as the Big Red defeated the Kennedy Catholic Golden Eagles, 21-7, at Butala Memorial Stadium Saturday.
The win was the sixth straight for West Middlesex (6-2, 2-0) as they wrapped up their second straight Mercer County Athletic Conference title.
"This sure is a great feeling. I really don't know what to say right now," Big Red coach Rick Resatar said.
"Our line did an excellent job for us. We had a shaky start and after we failed to move the ball like we had hoped, I told the team we needed to get back to the basics. We needed to establish the run and then we could throw the football."
Rozenblad sparkles
Kennedy Catholic's (2-6, 0-1) Blair Rozenblad was the nemesis Big Red quarterback Bob Michaels didn't anticipate. Rozenblad picked off Michaels twice on West Middlesex's first two series, but the Golden Eagle offense sputtered and could not capitalize on the turnovers.
Michaels then connected with Jesse Polite on a 30-yard scoring strike with 34 seconds remaining in the opening quarter to give West Middlesex a 7-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles were held to minus-1 yard of offense in the first quarter.
"We didn't block well," Kennedy Catholic coach Mike Donato said. "The team that blocked better this afternoon won the game.
"Penalties hurt us as well. That's a mental mistake, not a physical one. I don't know if we were too keyed up or not keyed up enough but they were killers for us today."
Seven penalties
Kennedy Catholic was penalized seven times.
On the initial drive of the second half, Golden Eagle running back Ross Gargano was stopped short on a fourth-down attempt at the Kennedy Catholic 43-yard line. On the Big Red's first possession following the stop, wide receiver Paul Fair scored on a 4-yard run with 6:28 remaining as West Middlesex increased its lead to 14-0.
"I was just looking to create something for us," Donato noted about the fourth down attempt. "The play did not work out for us and definitely caused a shift in momentum."
Ruffo, who had 78 yards at halftime, then scored on an 11-yard run at 10:24 of the final quarter to increase the margin to 21-0.