Conestoga pulls away from Owen J. Roberts in 31-13 season-opening win

BUCKTOWN >> After Owen J. Roberts scored to close to within four points early in the fourth quarter on Friday night, Conestoga did exactly what it needed and wanted to do.

The Pioneers put together an 81-yard touchdown drive that took seven minutes off the clock and went on to a 31-13 season-opening, non-league win at Wildcat Stadium.

Conestoga senior quarterback Peter Costigan connected on 10 of 18 pass attempts for 149 yards and two TD’s. The Pioneers also ran for 246 yards, including 111 by Jake Allred and 79 by Jon Quici.

Michael Reed passed for 157 yards for OJR, including TD passes of 37 and 12 yards to Danny Cashman.

The score was 0-0 after a quarter, Conestoga led 10-0 at the half and boosted the lead to 17-0 on a 24-yard scoring pass from Costigan to Jeremy Friend with 7:16 remaining in the third.

“We had some guys who were a little jittery,” said Pioneer coach Matt Diamond. “You could tell. But we got into the rhythm of the game and Peter Costigan really started to get confident. Then we started executing better.”

“We tried to run the ball early,” said Costigan. “We got Jeremy Friend on that big touchdown. We came together. We got some good runs downhill. Our line played off the charts.”

Roberts came back with a 65-yard drive on just five plays as Reed and Mason Miller connected for 43 yards and Cashman pulled in tosses of 10 and 12 yards to reach the end zone.

Then Conestoga drove to the OJR 13-yard line, but a bad snap on a field goal attempt forced a hurried pass and an interception by Raymond Bolger.
The Wildcats took advantage of that turnover – the only one of the night by either side – by marching 81 yards for another score with the 37-yard TD pass play making it 17-13 with 9:29 remaining in the contest.

But that’s when the Conestoga line, running backs and Costigan took over when they needed to for their time-consuming march that gave them a 24-13 advantage with 2:29 to play.

“That was the end of the game right there,” said Owen J. Roberts coach Rich Kolka. “They were able to run the ball when they wanted to and we could not.”

Conestoga averaged 5.5 yards on 45 carries on the night.

“With a good offense like that (OJR’s), you’ve got to keep them off the ball,” said Diamond. “Jake Allred did a phenomenal job, made some really good decisions.”

Conestoga’s key touchdown drive began with a 10-yard penalty back to its own 10.

“We had penalties, but our line got together in the huddle and said we’re not going to let them take the game from us,” said Costigan. “We know they’re a really good team. It’s never not going to be a close game against Owen J. Roberts.”

The Wildcats were held to 49 yards on the ground on 18 carries for the game and had just one first down in the first half.

“I’m very proud of our defense too,” said Diamond. “That’s a good offense.”

Last season, the Pioneers went 7-3 during the regular season to earn their first District 1 playoff berth in seven years.

“All off-season, the kids worked,” said Diamond. “We’re not resting on our laurels. You’ve got to build on the confidence.”

“They’re a very good team,” said Kolka. “I thought we would play a little bit better. But we practiced with no urgency and we came out without any urgency. I thought our defense was good in the first quarter. Offensively, we threw the ball pretty well in the second half. Those are some positives to build on.”