Chaney vs East Blitz Party

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Chaney vs East

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Chaney vs East

Chaney vs East Blitz Party

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Chaney vs East Blitz Party

By Joe Scalzo

He threw for 200 yards and four TDs as the Panthers bullied the Cowboys, 44-7, at Stambaugh Stadium.

YOUNGSTOWN — With his interviews done and his teammates in the locker room, East senior Roncarlos Hilton started jogging off Dike Beede Field on Thursday night when his coach, Brian Shaner, grabbed him and hugged him.

Shaner wasn’t quite ready to let him go.

“This is the funnest team I’ve ever coached,” said Shaner following the Panthers’ 44-7 win over Chaney at Stambaugh Stadium. “When the season started, we knew we were young, we knew we were inexperienced but the team grew week by week.

“It’s like we’re hitting our peak now.”

Hilton, a three-year starter and a Division I recruit, played one of the best games of his career, completing 8 of 18 passes for 224 yards and four TDs for East (4-6). He also had a sack and a tackle for loss as the Panthers held Chaney to 17 net yards rushing.

“This game only comes once a year, so you’ve got to bring it,” Hilton said. “This is for bragging rights, for who owns the city.

“So far, the Panthers own it.”

The Panthers have won both meetings against the Cowboys, who also lost two straight to Rayen before merging into East last fall.

Hilton was a freshman when Rayen snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Cowboys.

“For us seniors to carry on that tradition is a great accomplishment,” Hilton said.

East, which was coming off a 15-14 loss to Warren Harding last week, was competitive in all but one game (a 49-12 loss to Fitch) this season and lost three games by a combined 10 points.

Not bad for a team that lost most of its top players from last year’s 8-2 season.

“The guys played with a lot of heart every week,” Shaner said. “And we’ve got a ton of guys coming back. It’s tough losing Roncarlos and Anthony Robinson, but we’ve got guys who can replace them.”

A few of those tried to steal the spotlight on Thursday. Junior defensive lineman Lilton Morris had two sacks, a tackle for a loss and recovered two fumbles. Junior wideout Tyruss Patterson only touched the ball four times, but he finished with 69 yards rushing and 106 receiving with two TDs. He also had an interception — one of three for the Panthers.

Then there’s junior speedster Michael Starkey, who turned a stretch handoff into a 57-yard TD run with 25 seconds left in the game. A few minutes earlier, Shaner inserted sophomore Shajehan Haywood into the game at quarterback, ran three pass plays out of the spread and turned it into a 56-yard TD reception by senior Ray’Mond Sims.

“I’m glad [Starkey] hit a long one,” Shaner said. “And [Haywood] is a sophomore quarterback and if I don’t put him in the game and see how he reacts, I don’t know how he’ll be next year.

“I’ve been on the other end. I’ve been beaten by Chaney 52-0 and 49-0. I don’t consider it running it up, just getting needed work. ”

Myke Parker was one of the few bright spots for Chaney (2-8), completing 7 of 12 passes for 144 yards, including a 45-yard TD pass to Anthony Cornwell that made it 18-7 midway through the third quarter. But the Cowboys couldn’t overcome seven turnovers.

“We made some strides this year,” said Chaney coach John Protopapa, whose team went 0-10 last fall in his first year at Chaney. “We played a lot of juniors. We had nine or 10 juniors on offense at some points, so the guys will be better prepared.”

When asked what they need to do to take the next step, Protopapa said, “To be honest, we’ve got to get tougher. And we’ve got to do what East does and play a lighter schedule instead of opening up with three Division Is [Fitch, Harding and Boardman].

“Then we’ve got to stay healthy the whole year and work harder, I guess.”

scalzo@vindy.com