Sports

Owen Owns Baldwin, Leads Peters Township to 33-28 Victory

Both teams open their 2013 seasons with lots of late-game offense.

Cory Owen needed just four yards to put the game away. He ended up with 45.

Up 26-21 with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter and facing third-and-4 at the Baldwin High School 47-yard line, Peters Township High School's junior quarterback found a hole through the middle of the Highlanders' defensive line before veering left and outracing almost everyone to the Baldwin 2.


From there, it was Owen once more, diving into the purple and white end zone on another QB keeper with 52 seconds left. That capped an impressive 26-point fourth quarter for the Indians, who ended up with a 33-28 victory at Baldwin Stadium in both teams' 2013 season openers.

The WPIAL AAAA Southeastern Conference game also marked the first in Baldwin Head Coach Peter Wagner Jr.'s career. The new coach—formerly Baldwin's offensive coordinator—was impressed by Peters Township but said that the Highlanders didn't help their own cause.

"I think it was more so just missed assignments (on defense)," Wagner said. "We were in bad position, not ready to tackle. When it came time to make the plays and make the tackles, we didn't finish. We didn't wrap up. We didn't run our feet; we're lying on the ground."

To their credit, the Highlanders scored 21 points of their own in the fourth, including a 25-yard touchdown catch by senior utilityman Luke Smorey with 17 seconds left. That Smorey TD and the following point-after spelled the final score, as Baldwin's ensuing onside kick—its third of the quarter—ended up in the hands of an Indian.

That put the ball once more in the hands of Owen, who dropped to a knee to end the game. The fact that no one tackled Owen on the final play, either, was fitting, as the junior drove daggers into the hearts of the Highlanders throughout the game, especially during the final quarter.

Before his two-yard score, the junior also broke free for TD runs of 59 and 48 yards, respectively, in the fourth.

"It was all my (offensive) line," Owen said. "They made holes for me, and that's how I got my TDs. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have nearly as much yards rushing."

Needless to say, Peters Head Coach Rich Piccinini was pleased with his quarterback.

"Cory took over the game in the fourth quarter," Piccinini said. "He's a good athlete. He's a (NCAA) Division I quarterback we think. He's been recruited by some big schools. We rely on him to take it into his hands sometimes and dominate the game."

Owen was credited with 246 rushing yards and the three scores. He also completed five of 17 passes for 98 yards but was picked off three times by Baldwin's star of the game—Smorey.

In addition to the three picks, Smorey caught five passes from his own QB for 130 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 15 yards on four carries, made five tackles (all solo) and broke up a pass. But the senior was disappointed with the game's outcome.

"We weren't doing our job," Smorey said. "We can (bounce back from this loss), but it hurts."

Baldwin led, 7-0, at halftime on the strength of a 31-yard first-quarter TD run by senior running back Nick Barca, who finished with 68 yards on 15 carries, including two TDs. Barca also made six tackles (all solo).

Peters didn't answer the opening score until the third quarter when senior RB Mark Minjock scampered 10 yards into the end zone for the first of his two TDs. Minjock finished with 45 yards on 10 carries to go with teammate and fellow senior RB Marcus Ubinger's 102 yards on 15 carries.

Ubinger left the game on a stretcher after a big hit in the third quarter, but Piccinini said that the move was just precautionary.

Added Owen, "We just went up to him and said, 'You're gonna be alright; this is for you.' And we stepped up in the second half for him and won the game."

Despite the loss, Baldwin's junior QB Doug Altavilla completed 14 of 30 passes for 236 yards and two TDs to go with no interceptions.

"There's always positive things, but more so than not, there's gonna be more negatives in a situation like this," Wagner said. "How do we react? How do we respond? We're back to square one tomorrow and preparing for the next game."

Baldwin plays at Plum High School on Friday, Sept. 6, in another Southeastern Conference game. Peters will host Southeastern foe Penn Hills High School that night at 7:30.


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