KANE — The Smethport Hubbers never knew what hit them as John English scored three first-quarter touchdowns to lead Kane High School to a 42-6 Allegheny Mountain League crossover victory at Paul R. Miller Stadium on Friday.
English crossed the goal line on runs of six yards, one yard and 11 yards, and also added a 19-yard TD run in the third quarter to finish with 164 yards on 21 carries.
“John (English) ran hard and finished his runs this week,” said Todd Silfies, Kane head coach. “He got in the end zone three times in the first quarter and four overall. He may be the hardest runner I’ve ever seen at Kane.”
After the 5-11, 190-pound senior registered his initial TD at the 7:51 mark of the opening stanza, Kane’s Tyler Rolick recovered an onside kick by Dillon Mattis at the Smethport 43 and the Wolves were back in business.
“We work on those (onside kicks) an awful lot,” Silfies declared.
“Dillon Mattis spends all day on goofy stuff like that and is always telling me what he can or can’t do. We took advantage of the opportunity.”
On the next snap quarterback Jack Kocjancic found Tyler Rolick down the left sideline for a 43-yard completion and two plays later English rumbled in from the 1. Mattis booted the extra point halfway to Twin Lakes and it was 14-0 Wolves at the 6:48 juncture.
On Smethport’s next possession linebacker James Lingenfelter registered a sack and also broke up a Dustin Zetwick pass on consecutive plays and the Hubs were forced to punt from their own 3.
Kane begana at the enemy 29 and five plays later English followed Lingenfelter into a huge hole on the right side for the 11-yard tally and a 21-0 bulge with 3:34 still remaining the first period.
“They (Wolves) came ready to play and we didn’t,” admitted Jim Berlin, Smethport head coach. “He (English) runs downhill and runs behind his pads, and that’s what you look for in a running back.”
It remained 21-zip until the 6:13 mark of the second quarter when Tyler Rolick fielded a punt at the Hubber 39, crossed over to the right side, avoided a tackle at the 19 and took it to the house for a 28-0 disparity.
“Tyler (Rolick) is a special athlete and we had guys throwing blocks all over the field,” Silfies recalled. “He had Erik Delong in front of him and was just patient, patient, patient.”
Then the defending AML champs guaranteed the second half would commence with the 35-point mercy when Kocjancic fired a perfect spiral to Tyler Weidenhoff for a 20-yard score with 1:23 left.
“He (Kocjancic) was right on the money and it was a great catch,” Silfies stated. “Tyler (Weidenhoff) has a great set of hands and good speed.”
After the intermission the Wolves drove from the Smethport 48 to the 19 where English raced around left end and dove to the pylon. Mattis drilled the PAT and it was 42-0 with an even eight minutes left in the third.
“He (English) can bounce a little bit as long as he gets vertical again,” Silfies noted. “We wanted to come out and get one good drive in the third quarter and John finished it off.”’
Then versus Kane’s second team defense, the Hubbers drove 80 yards in 13 plays capped by an 8-yard run by James Duffy with 9:42 left in the contest.
“I told the kids at halftime I wanted to see some effort and in the first two series they did that,” Berlin said. “That’s a step in the right direction.”
Following the ensuing kickoff, the Kane offense started in its own territory for the first time all game.
“We got backed up and that’s on us,” Berlin confessed. “The coaches and the players have to do a better job.”
The crossover action continues next week as Kane (2-0) hosts Sheffield on Friday and the Hubbers (0-2) travel to Elk County Catholic on Saturday.
By Quarters
Smethport 0 0 0 6 — 6
Kane 21 14 7 0 — 42
