Published: November 07, 2009 12:24 am      

Johnstown clobbers host Central Cambria

EBENSBURG — The Johnstown Trojans are rolling into the District 6 playoffs.

Playing with a sophomore quarterback in the first half of a game with Central Cambria, the Trojans (7-3) charged out to a 28-3 lead on their way to a 41-3 victory.

“I said three weeks ago that you have to be on a roll going in, and the kids have picked it up,” Johnstown coach Kevin Marabito said. “I think that we’re playing well, and that’s what you have to be going into the playoffs.”

The Trojans played the first half without senior quarterback Jon Siciliano, who was disciplined by Marabito.

“It was just an internal thing,” Marabito said.

Sophomore quarterback Gervon Simon took advantage of

his opportunity to replace Siciliano.

On the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage, Simon faked a handoff inside and then sprinted for an 80-yard touchdown. The kick for the point-after-touchdown was blocked, but the Trojans had an early 6-0 advantage.

“Jervon is just a sophomore, and we knew all along that we could have gone with a senior,” Marabito said about his decision to play Simon, a third-stringer.

“But we felt that we were going to go with a sophomore, and I have all the confidence in Gervon. He’s only going to get better. He is waiting his turn, and he’s done a great job.”

Jordan Jefferson scored on a

1-yard sprint and Simon ran in for the PAT to raise that lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Central Cambria finally put points on the board when the Red Devils pounced on a Trojan fumble.

That led to a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Austin Crimmins to narrow the Johnstown advantage to 14-3.

Any momentum that the Red Devils gained was offset by a huge play by Johnstown senior LaQuin Stephens-Howling.

On the kickoff by Crimmins, Stephens-Howling had difficulty picking up the ball. The Red Devils defenders ran past him, and the Trojans speedster raced down the sidelines for a 75-yard score.

“Our kids are so explosive,” Marabito said. “The speed that we have is unreal.”

The kick for the PAT failed, but the Trojans had a 20-3 advantage.

They increased that to 28-3 when Howling scored his third touchdown on a 1-yard run, and with Jefferson’s run for the PAT, the Trojans had a 28-3 advantage at the break.

Central Cambria coach Ken Bussard, whose squad fell to 5-5, understood the situation in which his team found itself.

“Too much speed. We didn’t have athletes to match up with them,” Bussard said. “They made numerous mistakes, and we didn’t take advantage of them. The ball didn’t seem go our way. We needed those early in the game to hang with them. They’d put the ball on the ground and then pick it up and make big plays. That’s speed.”

Johnstown has earned the top seed in the District 6-AAA playoffs, and the Trojans will face Hollidaysburg at Mansion Park in Altoona on Nov. 20.

Central Cambria has earned a spot in the 6-AA playoffs, most likely as the eighth seed.

Bussard, whose team was the 6-AA runners-up the past two seasons, did not concern himself with the seed.

“We just have to regroup,” Bussard said. “We’ve been in situations like this before where we’ve gotten it handed to us in the last game of the year, and we’ve come off and made some noise in the playoffs. It’s a 0-0 season right now, and that’s how we approach it.”

Stephens-Howling scored from 38 yards out and Siciliano hit Richard Agurs with a 38-yard pass for a touchdown to set the final score.