Monroeville overwhelmed by Calvert

MONROEVILLE — Mental and discipline mistakes. Monroeville fell to a tough Calvert team 35-21 on Friday at home in non-conference play. "We gave up that first quarter score," Monroeville coach Tylor Nestor said. "It was mental and discipline mistakes that got us." The first half seemed plagued with problems for the Eagles (1-1). As soon as Calvert (1-1) received the ball, Charlie Palm connected with AJ Shoemaker for a 62-yard touchdown as Shoemaker ran it up the middle. That was within the first minute of the game, but the point after was no good. "Credit to coach Nestor and the football program," Calvert coach Mike Lento said. "They are physical, they are talented and we knew it would be tough." Monroeville got the ball and turned it over on fourth-and-four from the 46. Connor Bores was sacked for a yard, which gave the Senecas great field position. But, Monroeville made a big play defensively as Thomas Platte intercepted Palm. The Eagles seized the opportunity as Conor Bores scored on a three-yard carry. The point after was good from Maverick Myers. "You know, it's on me," Nestor said. "That's on me to prepare the team. We have to look at the film, evaluate, and see where we need to make some adjustments." The second quarter was all Calvert. Palm scored on a four-yard carry and the extra point from Cameron Lucius was good. Monroeville turned the ball over on their first possession of the second quarter and Calvert capitalized on it. Facing fourth down, Lucius nailed a 46-yard field goal. That gave the Senecas a 16-7 lead. "Hats off to Coach Lento and their program," Nestor said. "It's all about consistency. We knew coming into this game that they were a tough opponent. We knew they were tough and physical up front. We just didn't get the job done tonight." The Eagles punted on their next drive, but Logan DeMoss made a big play for Calvert. He returned the punt 77 yards for the touchdown. "We put our foot on the gas pedal and turned the intensity up," Lento said. "It was about opportunities and it was nice to see that everything you have been working on all week finally comes to fruition." Monroeville made a run at it early in the third quarter. The Eagles strung a drive together, capped on a three-yard score from Bores. The two-point conversion pass from Colton Koch to Clark was good, cutting the deficit to 23-15. Calvert answered back immediately. The Senecas pushed the lead back up when Palm hit DeMoss for a 28-yard score. The extra point was blocked, but Monroeville was down 29-15. Bores added a 14-yard touchdown for Monroeville in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. Bores had 25 rushes for 114 yards. Clark completed 4 of 7 passes for 42 yards while running seven times for 46 yards. Monroeville travels to Seneca East next week. "The word of the week this week was trust," Nestor said. "We have to trust the process. We have to look deep in ourselves, and trust the film too. We are going into another playoff type atmosphere and next week is no different. We just have to get better in a couple of areas."