Green Carries Cougars to 42-20 Win Over Northwest

When Quince Orchard's starting quarterback, Billy Plante, was ruled out for Friday night's game against Northwest due to injury, Cougars coach Dave Mencarini was asked if this would then put added pressure on running back Mark Green to carry the load.

"Not necessarily," Mencarini quickly quipped earlier this week.

Whether he was asked to or not and whether the sloppy field conditions played a part, Quince Orchard's senior running back stepped up in a big way Friday night. Green carried the ball 30 times and rushed for 208 yards and four touchdowns as the visiting Cougars earned their fourth win of the season in a 42-20 defeat of the Northwest Jaguars.

"The guy's a machine," Mencarini said after the game. "Mark's a warrior. We felt he was going have a big game with these kinds of field conditions because of the kind of runner he is. He's a workhorse and he's a real special player."

Green scored touchdowns on runs of 24, 5, 50 and 6 yards, respectively, in the game. Meanwhile, it was Northwest's passing game that kept it close for the Jaguars when it looked like the Cougars were in full control.

After leading at the break, 28-7, Green scored on the opening drive of the third quarter (his 50-yard score) to give the Cougars a 35-7 advantage and it appeared as though Quince Orchard (4-0) was going to put it out of reach. But after nearly 11 minutes of back-and-forth possessions and no scoring, Callahan went to work.

First, he connected with Tyler Ambush from 63 yards out to make it 35-14 with nine seconds left in the third. Later in the fourth quarter, on a drive that featured five Callahan pass completions, he connected with Josh Gills from 2 yards out to make it 35-20 with just over nine minates to play.  

On Quince Orchard's ensuing possession, Northwest forced a punt and just when it looked as though momentum might be shifting with 8:01 left, Northwest fumbled the punt return and Quince Orchard recovered. Green found the end zone from 15 yards out on the next possession to seal it for the Cougars.

“That was huge,” Mencarini said of the fumble recovery. “They started to make things interesting but that was a big play. Special teams always play a huge role for us in every game and that was big, no doubt.”

Quince Orchard’s quarterback Lucas Bogart was 7-for-16 with 46 yards while Callahan ended up with 281 yards passing, going 17-for-31 with one interception. He finished with three touchdown passes, including a 67-yarder to Ryan Markush in the first quarter.

Quince Orchard also had touchdowns from Kenny Lang, who scored on a 53-yard run in the first half and a defensive touchdown, after Marcus Newby returned a fumble 33 yards for a score in the first quarter that gave the Cougars a 14-0 lead. 

While Mencarini said he was pleased with the way his team started the game, he felt that the second half left room for improvement.

"I think the one thing we learned here tonight is you can't take your foot of the pedal," Mencarini said. "We had a big lead but Northwest kept fighting and kept battling until the last whistle. Our guys learned tonight that we have to do the same thing."

Despite the loss, Northwest coach Mike Neubeiser is proud of the way his quarterback played, especially given that he wasn’t 100 percent.

“He only practiced one day this week because of a tweaked back,” Neubeiser said. “So, he had a really gutsy performance. I am really proud of him. He took a lot of shots from the defense but he continued to get up and fight. He did a great job.”

Northwest travels to Clarksburg Friday night while Quince Orchard hosts the undefeated Seneca Valley Screamin’ Eagles.