Levi Carrico pulled off a painful daily double Friday in Clay-Battelle’s come-from-behind 21-14 victory against Calhoun County.
In a game that featured several key defensive plays, Carrico, a 6-foot-2 quarterback/defensive end, just may have been part of the two biggest hits of the night.
He was on the receiving end of one and then dished out another, a sort of dream and nightmare for any defender and quarterback.
“Levi has a lot of heart,” said Clay-Battelle linebacker Daniel Gorbey, who played through the pain of a separated shoulder in the win. “We all have the knowledge that he is going to go out there and do everything he can to not let us down.”
Carrico, who doubles with teammate Seth Casino as rotating quarterbacks for the Cee-Bees (3-2) took a crushing sack late in the second quarter while taking a deep drop to set up a longer route for his receivers.
Calhoun County linebacker Adam Parsons, who also doubles as the Red Devils quarterback on offense, came right up the middle and smacked Carrico to the ground for a 13-yard loss.
“Honestly, I know I was down for a little bit, but then I got back over to the sideline and I didn’t really know what happened,” Carrico said.
Casino came into the game and led the Cee-Bees to their first touchdown, a 5-yard pass to Sean Hays on the final play of the first half to cut the Red Devils’ lead, 14-7.
Carrico, who completed 6-of-11 passes for 100 yards, evened the score with Parsons in the third quarter.
With the Red Devils driving for what could have been an attempt to tie the game at 21, Parsons dropped back to pass only to have Carrico come off the edge to deliver a blow just as Parsons was releasing the ball.
The play was ruled an incomplete pass.
“I guess that was a little karma there,” Carrico said. “I was definitely trying to send a message.”
On the next play, Gorbey came up with another quarterback sack that forced a turnover on downs.
No comment: John Kelley doesn’t flag refs
University High coach John Kelley was careful with his words following the Hawks’ 13-12 loss at Albert Gallatin when it came to the officiating.
Perhaps the most controversial call came near the end of the game — UHS scored a touchdown on a Chase Edwards’ pass to Andrew Myers, but the 2-point conversion failed with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing onside kick, Jaeden Hammack recovered for the Hawks (2-4), but the ball had only traveled nine yards of the required 10.
However, the UHS coaching staff thought the ball touched an Albert Gallatin player first, making it a live ball. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association officials disagreed and gave the ball to the Colonials, who ran out the clock the rest of the way.
That call made the most significant impact, but there were other calls throughout the game that were disputed.
But as always, Kelley didn’t want to say too much.
“I can’t comment on the officials, so I won’t,” he said.
Donald Brandel injured
Following the onside kick ruling, as UHS was trying to make one last stop, linebacker Donald Brandel went down with an apparent arm injury.
After being down for several minutes, surrounded by coaches, trainers and administrators, Brandel got up holding his right elbow. He left the facility with his arm in a sling.
Following the game, UHS football’s Facebook page posted, “Prayers for #7. You are loved Donald Brandel.”
Trinity young guys ‘still need developing’
Although falling to Madonna (5-1) 32-6 in the first game back after three weeks off, Marcus Law isn’t downtrodden.
“We’re going to keep teaching (them),” Law said. “We’re not going to give up on these kids … There’s a lot of young guys in there that still need developing.
“I’m proud (of their success). A lot of teams that are in their first year don’t win … (We’re) just (going to) keep that momentum going.”
Shedding the rust and back in the weekly mix, Law and his coaching staff are going to hit practice hard this week in preparation for Bridgeport (Ohio).
Three big issues plagued the Warriors Friday night: Tackling, penalties and a spread coverage that allowed 386 passing yards — 135 grabbed by Lucky Pulice alone.
The 12 penalties called on Trinity accounted for 95 yards and took away momentum from the Warriors on plenty of their drives that made it into Madonnna territory. The Warriors also had a hard time bringing down ball carriers, but that was mostly due to a size differential between the two teams.
Predictably, Law and his offensive coordinator will work with freshman quarterback Drew Boczek who gave up two interceptions against a towering Blue Dons secondary. Boczek was 50 percent from the pocket (10-20) and was held to 119 yards. Davon Eldridge, a weekly star for the Warriors, was key in the revived second-half offense. The freshman accounted for 95 yards and would have had over 100 if it wasn’t for a stingy Blue Dons defense in the first quarter. The tall, strong back will continue to see plenty of touches going forward.
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