Stormy
night
Tornado
capture wild opener from Red Hurricanes
NEW CASTLE — Penalties, turnovers and big plays by New Castle pushed Butler all
night.
But the Golden Tornado pushed back.
Cole Harvey's 5-yard touchdown pass to Brian Jendesky with 10:19 remaining in
the game broke a tie and Butler held on for a wild 28-21 football victory at Taggart
Stadium Friday night.
The win marked the first in second-year head coach Jeff McAnallen's tenure at
Butler — and it didn't come easily.
"We could have put a few more touchdowns on the board in the second half
and put this game away a lot earlier,"McAnallen admitted. "But these
kids hung together out there. They've been waiting for this for a long
time."
The game was tied at 21 at halftime and both teams used big plays either to
produce points or to set up scoring plays.
In the second half, the opportunities belonged to Butler. The Tornado drove
inside New Castle's 15-yard line four times, but scored only once as the Red
Hurricanes stayed in the game.
"Their line controlled ours up front. There was no doubt about
that,"New Castle coach Frank Bongivengo Jr. said.
Butler took the kickoff to begin the second half and promptly drove downfield.
On first-and-goal from the 'Canes 8-yard line, however, Tony Fudoli fumbled and
New Castle's Terrance McCaster recovered at the 6.
The Tornado drove to New Castle's 14 on their next possession, only to turn the
ball over on downs.
AJosh Reddick interception two plays later gave Butler possession at the
'Canes' 16. The pick was Reddick's second of the night. He opened the scoring
with a 25-yard return of a theft in the game's first minute.
"The first (interception)came on an out pattern. I have to thank the
coaches report for that one,"Reddick said. "I knew that route was
coming, so I jumped it.
"On the second one, a linebacker tipped the ball and I was able to jump it
again. We worked together there.
Despite suffering a holding penalty, the offense capitalized after Reddick's
second interception.
Harvey found Eli Christy for a 23-yard completion on a third-and-21 play, then
found Jendesky for the touchdown on the next play.
"We're going to put it in Cole's hands in situations like
that,"McAnallen said. "He can make plays."
When New Castle went three-and-out following the Tornado score, Butler appeared
primed to put the game away with a 70-yard drive on its next possession.
Fudoli broke loose for a 36-yard run to the New Castle 34-yard line. On
third-and-14 from the 25, Harvey scrambled for 15 yards. Fudoli then ran nine
yards to the 1, but a holding penalty moved the ball back to the 18.
Christy caught an 18-yard TDpass from Harvey, but the quarterback was ruled to
be across the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball. On second-and-goal from
the 23, Harvey handed off to Christy, who threw a 22-yard strike to Jared
Oesterling.
The receiver was ruled down at the 1-yard line. On third down, the Tornado
fumbled and Brandon Burley recovered at the 4-yard line with 4:03 remaining.
"It wasn't that hard, overcoming those mistakes as a team,"Harvey
said. "I'm never gonna quit on those guys and they're never gonna quit on
me.
"That's how an offense works. ... That's how a team works."
New Castle used a 19-yard run by Keith Keene and a 41-yard pass down the right
sideline to Ta'shan Jones to gain a first down at the Butler 16 with 1:28
remaining.
On fourth-and-10 from there, Bongivengo's screen pass was knocked down by
Christos Klutinoty and Butler had its first victory in two years.
"We got a lot of breaks tonight,"Coach Bongivengo said. "But
when you make mental mistakes and fail to execute, you lose games like
this."
Harvey rushed for 96 yards for Butler, with Fudoli adding 76 yards and Christy
70. Fudoli scored on a 1-yard run in the first half while Christy scored on a
30-yard scamper.
"We need three or four guys running the football and producing like they
did tonight,"McAnallen said. "That's the way our offense has to
work."
Keene had 106 yards rushing and two first-half touchdowns for the 'Canes,
including a 63-yard scoring run.
"I told the kids at halftime we were just making too many mistakes and
that we could beat this team,"McAnallen said. "I told them they (New
Castle) wouldn't score in the second half."
Notes:Butler scored more points Friday night than in any game last year.
... New Castle won only one home game last season. ... Along with his
interceptions, Reddick had a 43-yard kick return and a 26-yard punt return. He
was presented the game ball. ... In recognition of the return of the Butler-New
Castle rivalry, retired coaches Art Bernardi of Butler and Lindy Lauro of New
Castle served as honorary captains for the coin toss. Bernardi and Lauro
coached against each other 25 times and went 12-12-1 in those contests.