No. 1 Steel Valley shows off passing game in win over Valley

By: Alec Italiano
Friday, September 15, 2017 | 11:48 PM

Steel Valley had moments when it showed how good it can be. Other times, not so much.

The Ironmen, defending PIAA Class 2A champs and ranked No. 1 this year, pulled out to an early lead and pushed through for a 40-14 nonconference win Friday over visiting Valley.

Though the Ironmen (3-0) rolled up 450 yards of offense and led 27-0 at half, they also had three turnovers and had a pair of long touchdowns called back for penalties.

“We've got to get smarter. Between the ears, we're making mistakes,” Steel Valley coach Rod Steele said. “We had an opportunity to get the clock running and get off this field an hour (earlier), but based on our mental mistakes, we had to play to the end of the game.”

On the opposite side, Valley (0-3) produced a game effort in the second half, scoring on its first play of the third quarter and keeping the Ironmen from turning the game into a blowout.

“We went in at half, and I told the kids to look around. The guy you're talking to is your family, and he's got your back,” Valley coach Muzzy Colosimo said. “We came back, and I thought we did a good job the second half. We made a lot of good plays, but we always follow them with bad plays, and we have to figure out how to get rid of the bad plays.”

Valley opened the game with an eight-play, 63-yard drive, but it ended with one of the bad plays Colosimo referred to — a fumble at the 6-yard line.

Steel Valley didn't need long to show its offensive power, taking just three plays to go 86 yards as quarterback Trey Karfelt hit Trevon Adams for a 43-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline.

Karfelt finished 13 for 25 passing for 309 yards, throwing four touchdowns and two interceptions. Adams caught four passes for a team-high 123 yards, and Amonte Strothers hauled in five passes for 110 yards and three scores.

The Ironmen ran the ball effectively, too. Kameron Williams rushed for 112 yards on 16 carries, and both he and Todd Hill had rushing touchdowns.

“I think we're getting better and making progress, but as we get more experienced — we graduated 15 guys from a year ago — it will get rid of the dumb, mental mistakes,” Steele said. “You saw glimpses in the first half, and it could easily have been 21-0 or 28-0 in the first quarter. But give Valley credit. They did some good things and hung in there.”

Valley's defense forced a Steel Valley punt to begin the third quarter, and on the next play, Deonte Ross caught a deep ball from Tyler Green and took it 80 yards for the score.

Ross was the Vikings' biggest offensive weapon. He added a late 47-yard touchdown run to finish with 178 yards of offense (98 rushing, 80 receiving).

“We just don't know how to win, yet. We won six games last year, but now we're counting on all these younger kids,” Colosimo said. “We're hoping they just keep getting better and better, and now we start to play all our rivals. … We have to figure out how to get it done, but that's a real good team we played tonight.”

Matt Grubba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mgrubba@tribweb.com

Tags: Steel Valley, Valley