Armstrong leads Latrobe past Kiski Area

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 15, 2017 | 11:00 PM

It might not like seem much to many, but Latrobe has won two games in a row for the first time since 2011.

Senior quarterback/linebacker Jason Armstrong led the Wildcats with 246 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a keeper and returned an interception 33 yards as Latrobe knocked off Kiski Area, 37-21, at Vandergrift's Davis Field.

The Big East Conference victory came on the heels of a 48-26 nonconference win over Chartiers Valley last week.

While the Latrobe offense performed well, the Wildcats defense forced six Cavaliers turnovers and stopped Kiski Area three times inside the Latrobe 10.

“We had those turnovers, and we got into the end zone off those turnovers,” Wildcats coach Jason Marucco said. “What I love about this team is the resiliency we're showing on both sides of the ball when things get tough. We're stepping it up and making it hard on football teams.”

It was another frustrating night for Kiski Area (0-4, 0-3) and first-year coach Sam Albert.

“I thought each week we'd make less and less mistakes,” Albert said. “But we're making more and more mistakes. We practiced well all week, but if you don't do it in a game, there's nothing else I can do.”

Despite the loss, Kiski Area leads the all-time 30-9.

Armstrong came out firing, hitting Keith Torillo on a fourth-and-4 at the Cavaliers 42 for the game's opening score.

After Ross Greece ran the ensuing kickoff back 88 yards to tie the game, Latrobe answered with a 27-yard field goal by Nathan Clair, his first of three.

Greece scored on a 1-yard run to give Kiski Area what would be its only lead of the night, 13-10.

Zak Williams then hauled in an Armstrong pass for 37 yards, giving Latrobe the lead for good, 17-10, on the first play of the second quarter

Armstrong then scored on his interception, followed by a Trent Holler fumble recovery after Kiski Area had driven to the Wildcats 8.

“This feels great,” Armstrong said. “All the work we put in during the offseason is really paying off. I love these guys, and they're working their tails off every day. We knew Kiski's waggle plays would be hard to defend, but the defensive scheme we went with worked well.”

Senior Peyton Feathers had two interceptions.

“We felt we had some things in coverage against Kiski's defense, and we knew we'd have to hit some things down the field,” Marucco said. “To our credit, we were very aggressive on defense.”

Greece finished the night with 83 yards on 19 carries.

“I'm proud of how hard our kids played,” Albert said. “We thought we had a great game plan. We just didn't execute it. Hats off to them, they outplayed us in every aspect of the game.”

KIski Area lost the ball on downs twice after first-and-goal situations. But a 47-yard pass from Bryson Venanzio to Greece set up a 1-yard burst for Venanzio to conclude the scoring.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Kiski School, Latrobe