Sampson bedevils YCS as McDonald wins 43-20

By Greg Gulas

The running back rushed for 146 yards and five TDs.

CANFIELD — According to the on-line information source Wikipedia, the SAMPSON is a multi-function radar system described as being a world-beating air defense system which is able to detect all types of targets out to a distance of 400 kilometers.

Saturday afternoon, the Youngstown Christian football team’s radar wasn’t honed in on Alex Sampson as the latter rushed for 146 yards and five touchdowns to pace McDonald High to a 43-20 win in the season opener at Canfield High.

“I cannot say enough about my offensive line and their play today,” Sampson said. “They opened quite a few holes and that was the key to my getting into the end zone.

“We were a little sloppy defensively, giving up some big plays so that is just an area of our game that we will have to work on prior to our next outing,” Sampson said.

Sampson’s 5-yard run at the 9:20 mark of the opening period gave the Blue Devils the early 6-0 lead.

Youngstown Christian tied the game when John Pecchia hooked up with Pat Durkin on a 74-yard scoring strike. Durkin’s extra-point kick put the Eagles ahead, 7-6, their only lead.

Sampson scored twice in the second quarter. The first was a 3-yard run and the second a 1-yard run.

Pecchia and Durkin hooked up again, this time from 43-yards away with just 22 seconds remaining to cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 21-14 at halftime.

McDonald’s rushing advantage — 169 yards to 17 — dominated the first half. The Eagles ruled the air, outgaining the Blue Devils 160-24.

“We shot ourselves in the foot early in the game with penalties that allowed Youngstown Christian multiple opportunities at third-down conversions,” McDonald coach Dan Williams said. “Alex [Sampson] didn’t carry the ball a lot during our scrimmages, but we got him the ball today and what a game he had.

“I’m not happy with the three big pass plays that we allowed defensively, so that is an area that we will work on this week in practice,” Williams said.

Sampson’s two-yard run at 9:41 of the third quarter increased McDonald’s lead to 29-14.

The Eagles’ Tolu Oshonowo hauled in a 9-yard scoring strike from Pecchia five seconds into the final frame, reducing the Blue Devils lead to 29-20.

Sampson’s fifth touchdown was scord from 10 yards out. David John hauled in a 10-yard pass in the end zone from Nick Accordino for McDonald’s other score.

“We knew that they were a big, physical team and while the heat took a bit of a toll, turnovers proved costly for us,” Eagles head coach Brian Marrow said. “If we can play the rest of the year like we did today, then we should be all right.”

McDonald piled up 355 yards of total offense with 301 coming on the ground.

The Eagles registered 268 yards offensively with all but 28 coming via the air route.

McDonald held a 21-8 first down advantage.

“This was our first Saturday game in who knows how long and with the weather as hot as it was, we kept stressing to the players to keep pumping fluids into their body,” Williams said.