The Rams overwhelmed short-handed Lowellville 49-0.

By Greg Gulas

Vindicator Correspondent

LOWELLVILLE — For the better part of a quarter, the Lowellville Rockets looked like a team that would be able to stand up to Inter Tri-County League rival Mineral Ridge.

When the Rams finally decided to buckle down, the end result was 49 unanswered points in the final 36 minutes of play and a 49-0 whitewashing of the Rockets in the season lidlifter for both schools at the Frank Lellio Sports Complex last night.

The Rams, 6-4 a season ago under second-year head coach Dom Leone, rolled up 409 total offensive yards including 343 on the ground.

The stingy Ram defense held the Rockets to just 85 total yards on 45 plays, including minus-12 on 17 plays in the first half.

“You can give credit to our offensive line for those numbers tonight. All are seniors and they put the necessary time in the weight room to get to this point,” Leone stated.

“We used lots of guys tonight and they had plenty of touches, but make no mistake about it. We still have a long way to go. We adjusted well tonight and with 17 seniors, that is a sign of maturity.”

The Rams employed a fast tempo, which is Leone’s style.

“I hate to wait around,” he said. “I like to force the issue.”

Key starters missing

Lowellville, playing without 13 starters who were sidelined due to a violation of team policy, failed to score in head coach Mike Palumbo’s debut at the helm.

“We used a lot of young guys tonight and they got plenty of reps, but take nothing away from Mineral Ridge and Coach Leone because they controlled the line of scrimmage the entire game,” Palumbo said.

“To me, Mineral Ridge is a playoff caliber team. However, we can make some noise if we stay healthy once we get at full strength.”

Jon McRoberts got the Rams on the board first just 12 seconds into the second period on a 9-yard scamper and when A.J. Zitello added his score from eight yards out at 6:26 of the period, Mineral Ridge had built a 14-0 lead.

When Derek Gustovich hit paydirt from four yards out at 2:04, it allowed the Rams to increase their lead to 21-0 at intermission.

A McRoberts 8-yard run, his second of the night at 8:54 of the third period, and a Kyle Skiba 1-yard scamper at 2:33 gave the Rams a 35-0 lead with just 12 minutes remaining.

When Leone pulled the starters, backup Daniel Skiba seized the opportunity by scoring on runs of four and 66 yards, the latter coming with just 2:28 remaining on their only play of the drive to secure their 49-point margin of victory.

Kyle Skiba led all rushers with 105 yards while Zitello and Daniel Skiba added 90 and 77 respectively for the Rams.

Mineral Ridge’s Zachary Kiger, the second quarterback used by the Rams on the night, passed for 59 yards with Gustovich hauling in all three completions and 66 total yards to show for his effort.

Joe DePasquale had 48 yards on 13 carries for the Rockets.

The Rams held an 18-6 edge in first downs.