Potters shut out by Cowboys

CANFIELD East Liverpool saw its chances of snapping a 13-game losing streak sink into the turf at a soggy Bob Dove Field at Canfield High School Saturday.

In the midst of an equaling long winless stretch Youngstown Chaney spread the Potters thin to earn a 14-0 victory in the rain.

"It's been a long time in coming," Cowboys' coach John Protopapa said of the victory. "It just feels great to win a game and have the kids be excited again."

Quarterback Myke Parker did his best Terrell Pryor impression even wearing the same No. 2 on his red jersey while leading the winning charge for the Cowboys (1-3).

Doing a little of everything, the senior finished with 33 rush yards on 14 carries, four catches for 78 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion grab all while going 3-of-14 passing for 40 yards.

Protopapa was just happy to get Parker on the field after a tough loss to Boardman.

"He got hurt last week against Boardman and today he did the same thing," he said. "He had a real quality performance at quarterback. When we needed him to go to receiver, he went right to receiver.

"He did whatever we asked him to do; just a great job by him this week."

Parker notched two catches on the Cowboys opening drive. The first came on a 36-yard reception where he walked a tight rope down the home sidelines to make the grab.

Two plays later he caught a 38-yard scoring pass from Kenny Strong to put Chaney up 6-0 after a missed extra point.

"I found the open seam and he put it there and I took over and did the rest after that," Parker said of the touchdown.

Strong was perfect on the day in limited action in the Cowboy's spread offense, finishing the game with 90 yards, while going 6-of-6 passing with a score and a two-point conversion toss to Parker.

Despite Chaney's high flying first drive the remainder of the half played out in a deadhead, with both teams trading possessions to enter halftime with the score 6-0.

After a few adjustments at halftime Chaney took the field ready to play.

"We put it on them. It's time to step up," Protopapa said of the changes. "We challenged them. We said the defensive line, the offensive line has played well the last couple of weeks now it's time to challenge the receivers and the skill kids to actually step up and make plays.

"And they did in the second half. They played much better."

They got their first opportunity after a nine-play East Liverpool drive ended in a sack on Willie Leavell by Paris Bennett on fourth down.

Though they didn't put points on the board, Protopapa's offense embarked on a backbreaking 16-play, 7:57 push, that fell short of the goal line but managed to sap the Potter defense of its strength.

According to coach Pat McNicol, that became the problem down the stretch as the defense stayed on the field for 17:14 of the second half.

"Our whole challenge defensively at the end was being on the field too much," McNicol said. "Our defense was on the field too long that was the problem."

The special teams didn't do the unit any favors, allowing Chaney to set up shop in Potter territory five times, with its average starting field position at its own 48-yard line.

Working against five-wide receiver sets oftentimes with four-bunch looks the secondary was on slippery ground, while the Cowboys managed to find their footing in the rain.

It wasn't just the pass game that helped the Cowboys to a win, though.

Marching against a spent Potter defensive unit, Chaney put the definitive score on the board when junior Tyler Thompson found the endzone on a 7-yard run at the 9:06 mark of the final quarter.

After the two-point try the Cowboys went up 14-0 and the Potters were staring at loss number four of the season and 14 in the past two years.

While the Chaney offense found its grove over the final 24 minutes, McNicol's team continued to struggle recording just two first downs in the half and five total for the game.

Mired in the sadden turf, East Liverpool kept pounding the run to the tune of 25 yards on 10 carries over the final two quarters.

With Leavell under center the passing attack didn't fair much better, as the sophomore went 1-of-5 for 10 yards and a first half interception on a pass to Bryce Baker.

All the coach could say after the game was his staff needs to change things up on the offensive side of the ball.

"It wasn't clicking. They weren't blocking anybody," McNicol said. "I saw no offense. A lot of defense we obviously have to go back to the drawing board."

The lone bright spot came when the Potters recovered two pooch kicks, one to start the game and the other at the beginning of the second half.

But that's little consolation as McNicol stares at the possibility of a 15-game skid; he'll look to get his team back on track against Maple Heights at Patterson Field Friday.

Leavell led the Potters with 44 yards on 15 carries, while Preston Foster totaled 15 yards on 10 attempts.

East Liverpool rushed 35 times for 80 yards on the day, gaining just four firts downs.