By Rob Potter
ROSCOE — October 26, 2010 — An opportunistic defense helped the Livingston Manor/Roscoe Devilcats earn a win on Saturday afternoon.
LMR (6-2) forced five turnovers during its 26-7 victory over the James I. O’Neill Raiders in a non-league football game in Roscoe.
Devilcat defenders Troy Correa, Adam Hendrix, William Parker and Chad Rosario each intercepted a pass and Parker recovered a fumble to end drives by the Raiders.
LMR took a 6-0 lead when Correa threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Hendrix with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter.
But O’Neill (0-8) wasted little time in responding.
The Raiders forced the Devilcats into a fourth-and-25 situation on their first possession of the second quarter. Correa then punted the ball to O’Neill’s Derrike Shrieve, who caught the ball and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
David Vincent made the extra-point kick to give the Raiders a 7-6 lead with 7:29 left in the second quarter.
But the Devilcats regained the lead in the final seconds of the half. On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, LMR’s Brandon Smith carried the ball and was hit by a couple of defenders near the goal line. Before those Raider defenders could bring him down, Smith lateraled the ball to Correa, who ran into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.
O’Neill cornerback Barry Black deflected Correa’s two-point conversion pass intended for Hendrix, but the Devilcats held a 12-7 advantage at halftime.
Parker’s fumble recovery with 6:40 left in the third quarter set up LMR’s next touchdown. After Parker returned the fumble to the O’Neill 44, the Devilcats drove to paydirt in seven plays. They capped the drive with a 20-yard TD pass from Correa to Joe Fredenburg. Correa then completed the two-point conversion pass to Smith to give LMR a 20-7 lead with 2:58 to go in the quarter.
Correa scored LMR’s final touchdown of the afternoon on a 48-yard run with 8:25 remaining in the game.
Correa was the Devilcats’ leading rusher in the contest, carrying the ball 15 times for 118 yards.
Smith also carried the ball 15 times and gained 81 yards.
Also running the ball for LMR were Chad Rosario (13 carries, 12 yards) and Hendrix (two carries, 5 yards).
Correa completed 5 of 9 passes for 62 yards. Hendrix had one reception for 27 yards, Rosario made two catches for 15 yards and Fredenburg had the aforementioned 20-yard touchdown reception.
“It was a good win for us,” LMR Co-Coach Fred Ahart said. “We played well today.
“I think the key for us was coming back to get that touchdown before halftime after O’Neill took the 7-6 lead,” he added. “That gave us a 12-7 lead at halftime. In the second half, we were able to pull away.”
Ahart praised the Devilcats for the way they played in two areas of the game.
“Our defense played very well,” he commented. “Our defense stopped O’Neill and caused those five turnovers.
“And we were able to move the ball very well on offense because our offensive line did a fine job,” Ahart added.
The veteran coach also noted the performance by the Raiders.
“O’Neill played hard today,” Ahart said. “They competed the entire game. They came to play, which is to their credit.”
O’Neill Coach Anthony Finochio noted that turnovers were the key factor in the game.
“We had four interceptions and a fumble today,” he said. “You aren’t going to win many football games when you have five turnovers.”
But he also lauded his players.
“Our guys played hard the whole game,” Finochio said. “They didn’t quit once.”
Note: As was the case prior to the Devilcats’ home game against Eldred on Oct. 16 in Livingston Manor, the team’s five seniors and their parents were honored in a brief ceremony moments before the kickoff of Saturday’s game. Those seniors are: Willie Browne, Adam Hendrix, William Parker, Jeremy Rau and Brandon Smith.