Zubick, Springfield run away with win

By Greg Gulas

NEW MIDDLETOWN – Jim Zubick has never pieced together a 100-yard rushing game, yet alone a 200-yard effort.

Fortunately for him, Springfield High football coach Sean Guerriero recognizes a hot hand when he sees one and Zubick just happened to be that back Friday against Youngstown Christian.

Zubick racked up 204 yards rushing on 23 carries, crossing the Eagles’ goal line three times (twice on the ground) as the Tigers (1-1) defeated the Eagles, 40-12 for their first win of the season.

“It’s very easy to talk about Jimmy [Zubick] because he works hard all the time. He’s a playmaker and just seems to make things happen,” Guerriero said.

With just 42 yards at halftime and his Tigers clinging to a slim 14-12 advantage, Zubick saved his best for the second half as he rushed for 162 yards on 13 carries. The Tigers’ defense held the Eagles’ running game to just 34 total yards (on 18 totes) on the night.

“Credit my offensive line because they opened holes for me all night; holes that seemed big enough to drive a semi through,” Zubick said. “We suffered a tough loss last week to McDonald and focused this week in practice on eliminating costly mistakes.

“Youngstown Christian is an excellent team with great athletes so to hold them to just 12 points on the night was quite an accomplishment.”

The Tigers got on the board first when quarterback Brad Ferraro scored on a 1-yard run at the 1:30 mark of the opening period.

The Eagles’ Victor Shaw then hauled in a John Pecchia pass from 47 yards away a little more than a minute into the second period, but a botched extra point attempt left the Tigers clinging to a 7-6 lead.

Pecchia then found Erik French from 20 yards out at the 9:07 mark for a 12-7 Eagles lead. Ferraro then connected with Zubick on the first of his three scores from 12 yards away at the 1:04 mark to make it 12-14 at halftime.

“We were able to get the ball to our playmakers and they responded by making big plays,” Guerriero said. “We’re just happy to be healthy and more productive on both sides of the ball tonight.”

Zubick picked up after intermission right where he left off in the first half as his 20-yard run at the 9:54 mark increased the Springfield (1-1) lead to 20-12 and when Ferraro hit paydirt from a yard out at 1:59 of the period, the Tigers increased that margin to 27-12 with just 12 minutes remaining.

Zubick’s 13 yard scamper at 10:55 and Tom Mastran’s tally from a yard away at 1:55 then put the game out of reach.

“We had a couple of bad breaks in the first half, but that doesn’t explain our poor effort in the second half,” said YCS coach Brian Marrow. “They [Springfield] are a good team and just took it to us after halftime. They outplayed and outcoached us.

“I know that our line is inexperienced, but we need to find more time for our quarterback, John Pecchia.”

The Tigers had 420 total offensive yards with all but 57 coming through the air.

Pecchia, who was 13 of 23 passing for 211 yards, helped the Eagles to 245 yards offensively.