Mandagelo, Rice lead Conneaut over Titusville
Oct. 17—CONNEAUT — Senior quarterback Kiefer Mandagelo completed three passes Saturday, and each of them went for a score as the Conneaut Spartans cruised to a 49-14 win against the Titusville Rockets in Division 10 conference action on senior recognition day at Joslin Field.
Mandagelo finished the game with five touchdowns and went 3-for-7 for 123 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also added an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, plus he rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
Junior running back Zack Rice led the Spartans ground attack with 174 yards on 19 carries and added two rushing touchdowns. Rice also caught one pass for a 44-yard touchdown.
Conneaut improved to 4-5 with the win, while Titusville dropped to 2-4 on the season. The Spartans had 413 yards of offense including 253 yards rushing, while the defense held the Rockets to 221 yards.
Conneaut coach Rocco Dobran was proud of his team's running game and credited the offensive line — especially his seniors — for allowing the team to move the ball effectively.
"We knew we could run the ball and that's what we wanted to do, and we thought we had the advantage up front on the line of scrimmage," Dobran said. "We did an outstanding job of controlling the line of scrimmage. Zack had a nice day. We didn't need a lot of big runs — just kept pounding and moving the chains."
Senior quarterback Garrett Knapp led the Rockets with 14-for-28 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Mandagelo got the Spartans on the board with a 2-yard-run up the middle to give Conneaut a 7-0 lead after senior Chase Carpenter converted the extra point with 6:38 in 1st quarter.
Titusville took over on the Spartans ;26-yard line after Mandagelo fumbled a snap on a punt attempt. On the first play of the drive, Titusville scored a touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Knapp to freshman running back Jaxon Covell. The extra point by senior kicker Clark Bromley was blocked as Conneaut kept the lead at 7-6 with 3:07 in first quarter.
The Spartans quickly answered with a 65-yard drive that concluded with Rice getting into the end zone on an 8-yard run. The extra point by Carpenter gave the Spartans a lead 14-6 with 1:00 left in the first quarter.
Conneaut successfully recovered the onside kick and went on a 53-yard drive that finished with senior tight end Robert Hagstrom scoring on 44-yard reception from Mandagelo. The extra point by Carpenter pushed the Spartans lead to 21-6 with 11:50 in the second quarter.
"I just had to beat my guy and I did," Hagstrom said. "I looked into his eyes and (Mandagelo) threw it right to me. It was my first (touchdown) on this field."
"Robert's had a great year, he has very soft hands and is one of the most unselfish kids and he's a great leader for us this year," Dobran said. "We're glad to be able to get him the ball and at the end of the season, he's had a couple of pretty big catches for us."
Conneaut continued to build its advantage when Carpenter scored on 35-yard reception down the middle of the field from Mandagelo and his extra point gave Conneaut a 28-6 lead with 6:22 left before halftime.
Titusville cut into the Spartans' lead when Knapp threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Brock Covell. Jaxon Covell converted the 2-point pass attempt as the Rockets narrowed the lead to 28-14 with 1:20 in 2nd quarter.
However, Conneaut immediately seized back momentum the Rockets might have had been building. The Spartans capitalized on an 85-yard kickoff return touchdown by Mandagelo to lead 35-14 after Carpenter's kick with 1:12 before halftime. The kickoff return touchdown was the second of the season for Mandagelo and Conneaut's third overall on the season.
"I used my speed and I saw a big hole and then I saw the kicker slow down so I used my speed again and it was good blocking all around for that play," Mandagelo said.
The Spartans then made a critical stop of the Rockets who chose to go for it on fourth down on their own 49-yard line with 26 seconds before halftime.
After a defensive offsides penalty on Titusville, the Conneaut offense made the Rockets pay for the decision not to punt. Mandagelo connected with Rice for a 44-yard touchdown with 18 seconds before halftime to extend the lead to 42-14 after the extra point.
Rice finished the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run with 7:56 left in the third quarter to give the Spartans a 49-14 lead and initiate a running clock after an extra point kick by senior Eric Woods.
Next up: Conneaut at Fort LeBoeuf on Oct. 22, Titusville at Fairview on Oct. 23.
