Lowellville battles past Southern 14-7

The Rockets have won three straight since opening with two losses.

By GREG GULAS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

LOWELLVILLE — The first two games of the season weren’t an accurate indicator as to the type of team the Lowellville Rockets would be this season.

Missing 13 starters due to a violation of team policy, they were outscored by a 98-14 count and limped to an inauspicious 0-2 start.

The last three weeks, however, have been a totally different story.

With the team at full strength, their play has been exactly what first-year coach Mike Palumbo anticipated and the end result is a three-game winning streak and a 2-0 start in league play.

Cody Whinery ran for 55 yards and both of his team’s touchdowns, while Vince Travaline added 73 yards on 12 carries as the Rockets outlasted Southern, 14-7, Friday night in an Inter Tri-County League Tier Two game at Paul Menichini Field.

“This was a huge win for us in that it was a league win, and that guarantees you points as you look toward the playoffs. We’re only taking it one game at a time, but the key to our victory tonight was the blocking of the offensive line which allowed us to run as hard as we could when we had an opening,” Travaline said.

Rockets score first

Lowellville (3-2, 2-0) scored first when they took the opening kick-off 75 yards in 11 plays, the drive culminating when Whinery penetrated the end zone from 3 yards out.

When the placement failed, the Rockets had to settle for the early 6-0 advantage after the first 12 minutes of play.

The Indians then put together a drive of their own when Darren Mills, who rushed for a team-high 72 yards, capped an 11-play, 38-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown gallop and when David Ramsey added the placement, Southern took a 7-6 lead at the intermission.

Palumbo challenged his team at halftime to kick their game up a notch.

“I am proud of this team because they never gave up. We challenged them at halftime to fight right to the end, making sure they understood that Southern was no pushover, as evidenced by their play in the first half,” he said.

“We had the ball just three times in the first half and weren’t able to make adjustments offensively.”

Game winning drive

After a scoreless third period, the Rockets mounted a 10-play, 81-yard drive that proved to be the game winner in the final stanza, capped by Whinery’s 4-yard touchdown run.

When Travaline added the two-point conversion, Lowellville built a 14-7 advantage.

“We’ve just had bad luck after bad luck this season. We’ve done the wrong things at the wrong times and have paid for it,” Southern (0-5, 0-2) coach Alex Albert said.

“We lost Andrew Diaz to an ankle injury early in the game and that really hurt us. This team gives its all, coming at you every play. We only lose four senior starters and while we didn’t want to play for next year, we’ll just forge ahead during the second half of the season,” Albert added.