Mohawk rides defense to win over Western Beaver

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 22, 2018 | 11:33 PM

For most of a chilly afternoon that made it truly feel like autumn football, the Mohawk defense bent but did not break.

Coming up big when they had to, the Warriors prevailed with a 14-7 win over host Western Beaver to keep Mohawk tied for first in the Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference.

“Any time you come to Beaver County to play football, it’s going to be a physical battle,” fourth-year Mohawk coach Tim McCutcheon said. “Credit to Western Beaver. They played us tough and made it difficult on us.”

The first quarter was scoreless as Mohawk struggled to find any sort of rhythm on offense. Western Beaver moved the ball only to come up empty, thus striking on a theme for the entire game.

The Golden Beavers’ first three drives ended inside the Mohawk 30 with one drive ending on downs, one on an interception and another on a fumble. Both turnovers came on fourth downs.

On their first drive of the second quarter, the Warriors mixed short passes with power running and quarterback Nicholas Wheeler scored the only points of the half with a 1-yard run on fourth and goal. McCutcheon went for 2, and Wheeler’s pass was knocked down to keep it 6-0.

It was more of the same to start the second half for the Golden Beaver as they drove into Warriors territory only to see the drive stall. A good punt by Zach Shank pinned Mohawk inside their 5. After a penalty and a loss of 1 put the ball at the 1, Wheeler and senior receiver Nathan McCutcheon hit on back-to-back big plays.

First, Wheeler connected with McCutcheon on a pass to the 15-yard line to give Mohawk a much-needed first down and some breathing room.

The two then hooked up on a quick slant that turned into an 83-yard touchdown when McCutcheon outraced the Golden Beaver secondary to the end zone. Braydon Cameron scored for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0 Warriors.

Wheeler threw for 152 yards but overthrew several open receivers throughout the game. However, his struggles were understandable after being under the weather all week.

“Nick is arguably one of the better quarterbacks in the WPIAL. Unfortunately he was off sick Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and came back (Friday),” McCutcheon said. “He had the flu, and this was certainly not his typical game.”

After coming up short time and time again, Western Beaver scored when freshman quarterback Thad Gray connected with his brother, junior Noah Gray, on a 44-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.

A blocked punt gave the Golden Beavers the ball near midfield, but they were stopped for the eighth time in nine drives in Mohawk territory.

The Warriors ran out the clock thanks to the power running of Cameron, who gained 121 yards on 25 carries.

“That’s how Braydon runs,” McCutcheon said. “Let’s face it: Everybody in the place knew he was getting the ball late. He runs hard every time, so that’s what you get from him.”

With the win, Mohawk improves to 3-1 in the MAC and climbs into a three-way tie for first place with Freedom and Riverside. The Warriors visit Riverside in two weeks.

Western Beaver falls to 1-2 and is sixth in the eight-team conference.

Last year, Mohawk ended an 11-year drought by making the WPIAL playoffs. This year’s team is talented enough to make McCutcheon think just making the playoffs isn’t good enough.

“We have much bigger goals,” he said. “We’re a senior-heavy team with a group of kids that are highly competitive and tough. We believe if we play well, we can do more than just make some noise.”

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can reach Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Mohawk