Published: October 12, 2008 12:08 am            

Bishop Carroll pulls away from Somerset

LORETTO — For the better part of three quarters, it was a toss up between Laurel Highlands foes Bishop Carroll and Somerset.

Back and forth they went until Brendan Julock, behind a powerful front five, ran for three touchdowns and lifted the Huskies to a 42-20 Section II victory on Saturday night at DeGol Field.

Julock, held to nearly 40 yards in the first half, exploded with 10 carries for 82 yards in the second half as the Huskies corps of seniors exerted their strength on the line.

“We had the big guys up front doing what they needed to do and it resulted in a victory,” said quarterback Chad Panick, who was 4 of 7 passing for 93 yards. He also added a reception for 30 yards.

After trading scores with Somerset through the early stages of the third quarter, Bishop Carroll was able to limit its second-half mistakes and found room to run against a stingy Golden Eagles defense that produced two interceptions, including a 29-yard return by Chase Dykstra. Trevor Niemiec had the other interception of Panick.

Niemiec also provided the game’s biggest play, on a botched punt attempt early in the third quarter. With the line of scrimmage at the Somerset 45, Niemiec fielded a low snap, sprinted to his right, turned up the field and came all the way back across.

Eluding several would-be Huskies tacklers, Niemiec raced ahead of a quickly closing Matt Repko and dove into the end zone, bringing the Golden Eagles within a point at 21-20.

After that though, it was all Bishop Carroll (3-3), which improved its playoff positioning with the victory over Class AA Somerset.

The Golden Eagles (1-6) host Bishop Guilfoyle on Friday while the Huskies meet one-loss Forest Hills.

“We talked to our kids before the game about being responsible about where they were supposed to be,” Bishop Carroll coach Craig Sponsky said. “We wanted to make them make decisions quick and we brought a lot of pressure.”

Panick kept the Huskies rolling early in this one, completing a touchdown pass to Derek Semetosky from 29 yards with a little less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The scoring strike was a bit of redemption for the Huskies, who had two touchdowns on that drive negated by holding penalties. Karl Yauneridge kicked the first of his six extra points to put Bishop Carroll ahead.

But Somerset battled back, riding a 39-yard pass from Niemiec to Adam Jones to get positioning in the Bishop Carroll red zone and Ryan Fisher scored a few plays later from a yard out to make it 7-6.

Repko pushed the Huskies back in front with a 10-yard touchdown run that was answered by Dykstra’s interception return with 3:18 left in the first half. After Niemiec carried in the two-point conversion, it appeared that the game would be tied at the half.

Repko and Panick had other ideas though, and the seniors combined on a 49-yard touchdown strike to give the Huskies a 21-14 lead.

Niemiec’s run closed the gap with less than two minutes gone in the third quarter.

“We were happy with where we were at the half,” Somerset coach Steve Costea said. “We obviously made some mistakes in the first half, but we were in the ball game, where we wanted to be.

“We came out in the second half and made some mistakes, and didn’t play a good second half.”

        

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