By john rozum

sports@vindy.com

LOWELLVILLE

Youngstown Christian pulled away after a defensive-dominated first half to defeat Lowellville, 24-0, in a non-league football game on Friday night.

The first half that included four turnovers and one botched field-goal snap that kept the possessions constantly changing.

Overall there were 11 changes of possession through the first 24 minutes of play.

One of those turnovers was a Lowellville fumble, returned 22 yards for a touchdown by Kaevon Green of Youngstown Christian with 11:37 left in the second quarter.

Coach Brian Marrow of Youngstown Christian said, “Our defense was outstanding, they were amazing. And they kept us in the game in the first half, and even the second half as well.

“Coach [Dave] Gessler is our defensive coordinator and he’s done a great job getting those guys ready.”

For the game, the Eagles held the Rockets to only 87 yards on the ground, and 112 total, but the Lowellville was able to have some success on defense.

“You got to give Youngstown Christian a lot of credit, I really thought we’d be able to run the ball on them, and we struggled,” said Lowellville coach Jeff D’Altorio.

“Our defense did play very well, but just like anything else, you get a couple of bad breaks and the defense is on the field for so long, it’s difficult to win a game when your defense has to be out there the whole time.”

The third quarter was also a defensive struggle.

Lowellville received the second-half kickoff and began on their own 26-yard line, travelling to the Youngstown Christian 34, but the push stalled after nine plays.

The Eagles took over, converted two consecutive third-downs, but failed inside the red zone after 13 plays, giving the Rockets the ball on their own 8.

The fourth quarter however, opened up with a Lowellville punt that was returned 39 yards for a touchdown by Darien Townsend of Youngstown Christian.

“Special teams and offense, he is an amazing talent. People saw that last year as a freshman, he’s a playmaker. He’s a guy that you got to get a lot of touches to in the game, because he can make a big play anytime, anywhere” said Marrow of Townsend.