2003

BR	2003 Saccoccia	OPP
31	Cleveland John F. Kennedy	0
19	Youngstown Ursuline	16
28	@ Wheeling Park Wva.	0
34	@ Niles McKinley	0
32	Washington Dunbar DC	8
46	Brooke Wva.	7
36	@ Zanesville	6
55	Buffalo St. Joseph Collegiate Ny.	14
28	East Liverpool	0
42	Middletown	20
31	New Concord John Glenn	7
28	N Beaver Local	21
28	N Canal Fulton Northwest	0
7	N Cleveland Benedictine	47
445	13-1-0	146

 

Regional Quarter-final, Friday October 31st, 2003, Big Red (10-0) vs. New Concord John Glenn Muskies (8-2) at Death Valley.

In nature all fish can swim. In the confines of Harding Stadium, fish sink.
Just ask the John Glenn Muskies, who watched their postseason flounder, as the Big Red Machine rolled over the Muskies by the score of 31-7 Friday night in the opening round of the Ohio Division III playoffs. The Muskies could do little to stop Big Red, which made its way into the end zone on its first five possessions of the night. The fish fry began early.

After holding the Muskies to three and out, the AP Poll champs took possession of the ball for the first time of the game on their own 37. And on the first play of the possession made their way into the John Glenn end zone. Senior quarterback Steve Repella found Mike Abbott all alone down field and the two connected for a 63-yard touchdown pass at 9:39. Chris Ferroni split the uprights to make it a 7-0 Big Red ball game.

"We were hoping it would work, but we didn't expect that," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said of his team's big opening pass. "We were hoping for a first down or a maybe two-and-9 situation, but we didn't expect to score. The same goes for the next play."
After again holding the Muskies to four plays, Big Red made it a 14-0 game on just its second play of the night. This time it was all Nate Hubbard. Hubbard found a hole, evaded a few tackles, cut back and ran into the end from 71 yards out. Ferroni again came through on the extra point.
Big Red had racked up 14 points and 134 yards of total offense on just two plays and 24 seconds of possession. By the end of the first, Steubenville had tallied 193 total yards on just nine plays. "We've had some big plays lately and we had a couple tonight," Saccoccia said. "Tonight, things just worked out for us." Big Red would go to score on its next three possessions. The first of which started deep in Big Red territory at the Steubenville 17. A steady series of successful runs and three big passes (one to Dave Fatula for 23 yards, one to Thad Crosier for 15 and one to Kyle Filtz for 26) moved the ball into the Muskies' red zone, but a sack, delay of game penalty, and an incomplete pass brought up a fourth-and-20 for Big Red, which brought in Ferroni for a 37-yard field goal attempt. He split the uprights and made it a 17-0 game at 9:01 of the second quarter. On the ensuing kickoff return, the Muskies fumbled the football and Big Red's Michael Mort came up with it on the John Glenn 14. It took Steubenville just four plays to chew up the 14 yards and score for the fourth time. Hubbard took the handoff swept to the right and dove over the goal line. Ferroni came through on the PAT. Big Red scored for the fifth time in as many possessions on a 1-yard run from Kent Holmes at 1:45 of the second. Crosier caught a 13-yard pass and and Vein had a 14-yarder from Repella in the drive that began on the Big Red 35. Hubbard came up with a 12-yard run and then a 16-yard rush that put the ball on the 1-yard line and set up Holmes' score. Ferroni then hit his 39th extra point in 40 attempts on the season to give Big Red a 31-0 lead at the half.

The late first-half touchdown capped off the Big Red scoring. After that, the Muskies' defense figured out ways to keep Big Red out of the end zone. Big Red received the ball at the start of the second half, but was forced to punt the ball for the first time in the game, after Holmes failed to get a yard in a fourth-and-1 situation. The Muskies also took away Big Red's bid for its sixth shutout of the year at 8:35 of the fourth quarter. The drive, which began on Steubenville's 33 ended with Hunter Miller running in from 12 yards out. Tyler Randles had 10 yards rushing in the drive. Aaron Bates kicked the extra point to make it a 31-7 game.

"We played a great game in the first half, but didn't in the second," Saccoccia said. "Their offense worried me. I felt they were capable of moving the ball and they did. Their kids didn't give up and that shows what kind of kids they are. But our guys didn't give up either, and that shows what kind of kids we have."

Hubbard led all rushers with 145 yards on 17 carries. Repella finished 5-of-7 for 142 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Big Red held the Muskies to just 234 yards of total offense. Big Red now advances to meet unbeaten Beaver Local, which defeated Gallia Academy, 45-13, in the second round of the playoffs next Friday. The location of that game is yet to be decided.

 

Regional Semi-final, Friday November 7th, 2003, Big Red (11-0) vs. Lisbon Beaver Local Beavers (11-0) at Austintown Fitch's Falcon Stadium.

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times for the Big Red football team at Austintown's Falcon Field, Friday night, but after 48 minutes it was one of those times that can't be bought, bottled or recreated.

Undefeated Big Red churned out big plays, gave up ones equally as big and dropped Beaver Local's Jake Robinson at the Steubenville 1-yard line as time drained from the clock to hold off the Beavers and advance to the Region 11 final next Friday with a 28-21 victory.
"It was a great play. We stopped them on the 1-yard line. They thought they had the first down, but they started at the 9," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said of Steve Mercer's pass to Robinson in the final seconds. "But you know what, it was just a great game. Coach (Rich) Wright does a great job, his staff does a great job, but I'll tell you what our players stepped up, especially after how the game started."

The game started with previous unbeaten Beaver Local running all over the field. Big back Josh Pastore had collected 109 yards on just his four initial carries, including a 45-yard break to set up a Beaver touchdown early in the game. Fullback Adam Hoppel drove in from 5 yards out standing up to complete Beaver Local's 71-yard, six-play scoring drive at 4:42 of the first.
After holding Big Red to three and out, the Beavers continued to run the ball down Big Red's throat as Hoppel chewed up 48 more yards on the first play of the drive.
"The way it started out, it looked as if we were in for a long night," Saccoccia said. "But it ended up being good."

Big Red's luck changed on the next play as the Big Red defenders stripped the ball from Matt Vujaklya. Big Red recovered the football and punched it into the Beavers' end zone via a 1-yard quarterback keeper from Antonio Magnone at 10:26. On the point after attempt, Chris Ferroni, who was 38-of-39 heading into the game shanked a low kick and Mercer got a hand on it to block the kick.

Big Red went on to take the lead, after a shallow punt and a personal foul call on the Beavers gave Big Red its best field position of the night on the Beaver 42.
Now it was Hubbard's turn to show the packed house at Falcon Field his running ability. Hubbard broke out on a 16-yard run and a 19-yarder to drive the Big Red machine closer and closer to the lead and eventually put Big Red at second and goal on the 2. But a bobbled football and a series of penalties took the ball all the way back to the 11. Magnone then stepped up with an a 10-yard run to regain the lost yardage. He went on to sneak it in from a yard out for a 12-7 Big Red lead at 4:32. The conversion passed failed, but Big Red succeeded in heading to the locker room with a lead.
When both teams returned to the field defense was the name of the game. Halftime adjustments from both teams kept one another in check and it wasn't until late in the quarter that the Beavers' offense began to flow again. Jake Robinson, the Beavers' starting quarterback, caught Big Red off guard with a 61-yard bomb to 6-foot-4, 260-pound tight end Shawn Crane. Crane was brought down on the Big Red 27. The Beavers pushed the ball to the 5-yard line, but this time the penalty-bug bite the Beavers. A procedure call and delay of game backed up Beaver Local to the 13.
Then the Beavers' day went from bad to worse.

Michael Abbott hit Robinson hard enough to knock the ball loose as Robinson set up to pass. Scott Kennedy jumped on the ball on the Big Red 16. Robinson argued that it was a incomplete pass and not a fumble, but the plea fell on deaf ears and the ball returned to the hands of Big Red.
Like the first, Steubenville also took advantage of this Beaver turnover, when Dave Fatula caught a pass from Steve Repella and weaved his way 40 yards down field through Beaver Local defenders. He dove into the end zone to put Big Red up with an official 54 yard scoring pass from Repella at 11:00.

The Big Red side of Falcon Field erupted, but the Beavers were about to stage a comeback. On the possession following Fatula's score, Beaver Local rediscovered its powerful running game and returned to eating up yards. Big strides from the strong Hoppel brought Beaver Local all the way to the 1 yard line. Robinson then ran it in at 6:50. The PAT made it a 20-13 game.
The Beavers took the lead just over a minute later, when Hubbard lost the ball on the Big Red 47. Hobbel picked up the pigskin and took it to the house. The extra-point gave the Beavers' a 21-20 edge with 5:34 remaining.
"The turnover we had was a big one and the three they had were three big ones," Saccoccia said. "But we came right back."
That they did.

Abbott came up with a return that put Big Red on the Beavers' 47. Repeal came up with a big 23-yard run to put Big Red into the Beaver Local red zone and Hubbard took it in from 11 out to take the lead. On the two-point conversion attempt, Repella, who was on his way down to the ground, pitched the ball to Hubbard to make it a seven-point ball game.
The Beavers' came back fighting, but fell 1-yard short of a possible win.
"Our philosophy is 'if you're going to die, die slow.' and they would move the ball, move the ball, move the ball," Saccoccia said. "But we weren't going away. We were dying slow and ended up with the win."

The Beavers ended up with their first loss of the 2003 campaign, despite impressive games from Robinson, Hoppel and Pastore. Pastore finished with 148 yards on 16 carries. The Beavers were 254 for 45 carries on the ground.
Big Red racked up 284 rushing yards on 36 carries. Hubbard led all rushers with 183 on 23 carries.

 

Regional Final, Friday November 14th, 2003, Big Red (12-0) vs. Canal Fulton Northwest Indians (12-0) at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Thirteen down, two to go. Mark down another win for Big Red.

After a rolling through the regular season, dominating John Glenn and edging out the Beavers, Big Red rolled on and rolled easily, blanking previously undefeated Canal Fulton Northwest, 28-0, at Paul Brown Stadium in Massillon Friday night. The win gives the Red its first regional title since 1994, sends Steubenville on to meet Cleveland Benedictine in the state semifinals and puts the Big Red Machine just two wins away from the coveted Ohio Division III state crown.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think. We're the regional champs. We're in the final four," Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said. "But as you can see, the kids want more and we have to go through a hell of football team to get it. But every once and a while, you have to do what you have to do."

Every once and a while? It's more like every week. Big Red cruised through the regular season, completely dominating all opponents (barring a well-fought game by Youngstown Ursuline) to finish undefeated in 10 weeks and becoming just the 13th team in the program's 103-year history to do so. The perfect campaign also gave Big Red the AP Division III state championship. From there, the Red continued to roll with a lopsided win over John Glenn in the first round of the playoffs. Then it was on to Austintown to do battle with the Beavers. Steubenville won that one, too, and in thrilling fashion by manufacturing big plays and containing Beaver Local's big backs just enough to win.

That brought Big Red to Week 13 and Week 13 brought back Big Red's old dominating ways. At first it looked promising for the Indians of Northwest. They managed to put together a nice drive that brought Northwest as close as the Big Red 37.
But penalties coupled with the tenacious Big Red defense wouldn't let the drive go any farther. Forced to punt on at fourth-and-17 on the Steubenville 49, Northwest was dealt its first crushing blow.

A bad snap flew over punter Jared Haslar's head. It rolled all the way back to the Northwest 32 before Haslar could scoop it up. And once he did scoop it up, Big Red's Mike Abbott was there to bring him to the ground.

Big Red then marched 32 yards into the Indian end zone to take the lead. The scoring drive was capped off by a 9-yard run by Nate Hubbard, who went on to finish with 121 yards on 14 carries to pace both teams. Ferroni nailed his 40th extra point of a year for a 7-0 game.
On Northwest's next drive, the Indians' sophomore tailback Scott Weber, who finished with 103 yards, found a few holes that led his team to the Big Red 27. But while Big Red allowed Northwest on the porch, the defenders of the Crimson and Black weren't about to let the Indians through the front door. Instead, Northwest punted away for the second time of the game.
"They (Northwest) let their big plays go, their 6-and-8-power pitch and their wraparound-draw, but we knew that was going to happen," Saccoccia said. "We were not going to let them get a big play to No. 12 (Vince Baiera) or one of their wide outs. We were not going to let that happen."
And Big Red didn't. Baiera came into Friday's game with over 1,100 receiving yards and had finished with 100 yards in his last five games. He managed just one catch for 25 yards against Steubenville.

As for Big Red's playmaker, he got the chance to demonstrate his skills. Hubbard, Steubenville's second all-time leading rusher, broke open the game with a 52-yard scoring run just before the end of the first half. The touchdown was set up when Jeremy Presley came up with a Northwest fumble on the Steubenville 39. Northwest almost held Big Red after the turnover, but on fourth-and-1 and with the ball on the Big Red 48, Magnone pitched the ball to Hubbard, who went right and found an outside route all the way to the end zone.
"We felt that play was there with short yardage, but when you give Nate an error, Nate's going to make a move," Saccoccia said.

Hubbard's move and Ferroni's PAT gave Big Red a 14-0 lead at 2:23 of the second.
With Steubenville's offense putting up the points in the first half and its defense holding off what was a high-scoring Indian squad, it was Big Red's special teams turn to wow the packed house. Their turn came seconds into the third when Presley took the second-half kickoff to the house. The 75-yard kick-off return and another extra point from Ferroni put Big Red up by three touchdowns.
"Our special teams had a great game tonight. Our offense held on. Our defense played well and our special teams helped win the game," Saccoccia said.

Northwest continued to move the ball, but just couldn't move it far enough. The Indians responded to Presley's kick-off return by driving down to Steubenville's 36. But Ed Littlejohn stopped Weber before he could get the first down yardage and Big Red took over at the 30.
Big Red's blockers continued to open holes and Hubbard put Big Red back in scoring position. Hubbard's runs included a 27-yard run that opened up thanks to a key block from fullback Sam Vein. The 3-yard run scoring from Hubbard, that capped off the drive and Big Red's scoring, came after Ryan Witkowki cleared the way.

Big Red's line paved the way for 239 rushing yards against a much-bigger Northwest defensive front. Meanwhile, Big Red's defense allowed 173 yards on the ground and just 51 in the air.
The victory gives Big Red 637 all-time wins and makes Big Red the third winningest program in the state of Ohio. Big Red is now tied with Fostoria for third in Ohio in all-time wins.
As for Saccoccia, he recorded his 204th career win, but he's ready to add to that.
"I feel like I'm ready for next week," Saccoccia said. "I think I have one more left in me."
Hopefully, he means two.

State Semi-final, Friday November 21st 2003, Big Red (13-0) vs. Cleveland Benedictine Bengals (12-1), at Massillon's Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The 2003 season came to a heart breaking end for the Big Red of Steubenville High School as they were overwhelmed by the Bengals of Cleveland Benedictine 47-7 in the Division III Semi-final game. The Big Red closes out the season with a 13-1 record while the Bennies will take the same record into next week's Division III State Championship game against Kenton High School. Benedictine took the lead early on a long punt return and then added another score to make it 14-0 in the 1st quarter. The Big Red then marched down the field using 11 plays capped off by Sophomore Cory Lyons 6 yard run to cut the lead in half at 14-7. It took Bendictine just 2 plays to answer that score and a late first half field goal made it 24-7. Despite a gallant and hard fought effort, Steubenville was unable to get anything going in the second half as the Bengals added to their lead and the 47-7 final.

Despite the disappointing ending, the Big Red of 2003 had a tremendous season with many outstanding performances and record setting accomplishments. The most notable went to Head Coach Reno Saccoccia who completed his 21st season as the Red's leader and attained his 200th Career win as head coach in the the season's 9th game, a 28-0 defeat of East Liverpool. Reno's overall record now stands at 204 wins and only 44 losses. The 2003 team was his 7th undefeated team and the 13th in the 103 years of Big Red Football. The Big Red were also voted the Associated Press State Champions for Division III, the 3rd AP title in the school's history all coming under Saccoccia. Big Red also won their 9th Regional Championship and the 13 wins ties the school record for wins in a season with the 1984 State Championship team and 1988's 13-1 squad. The Big Red offense had a very impressive year, their 445 points and 4,945 yards were both the second best ever in the school's history. The 3,545 rushing yards is just behind the 1999 team and the 1,400 passing yards was the 4th best ever. The 62 touchdowns was also good for a number 4 spot all time. When you look at individual efforts, Senior running back Nate Hubbard set the standard for the modern history. Nate rushed for 1,783 yards in 2003 on 279 attempts. For his career he finishes second all-time behind the legendary Puck Burgwin. Hubbard totaled 4,366 yards in his three seasons while scoring 47 touchdowns and 292 points. He is only the 3rd player to score at least 100 points in two different seasons scoring 130 this year on 21 Tds. Senior Quarterback Steve Repella will go down as the most accurate passer at Big Red hitting on 59% of his 80 passes completing 47 for 725 yards including 7 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Junior Antonio Magnone who shared the QB chores with Repella completed 26 passes for 620 yards. The quarterbacks did a good job of spreading the ball around as 4 receivers had at least 10 catches and 237 yards. Seniors Thad Crosier had 17 catches for 291 yards and a score and Michael Abbott had 15 for 253 and 2 TDs while juniors David Fatula had 12 for 292 yards and a touchdown and Chad Bauman had 11 catches for 237 yards and 3 scores. None of these records would have happen without the men up front, the offensive line led by seniors Dave Dicicco, Steve Criss, Scott Kennedy, Aaron Patterson, Ryan Witkowski and David Ross. Underclassman included Ralph Petrella, Quinton Nelson and Kyle Filtz. Also kicker Chris Ferroni had a great season hitting on 43 of 45 extra points and 4 field goals. His PATs are the 3rd most for a season his career total of 78 are 4th best.

The Big Red defense played exceptional all season as they recorded 5 shutouts during the season as they limited the opponent to less than 10 points per game and only 200 yards of total offense per game. It wasn't until the 10th game of the season that the defense gave up points in the 1st quarter of a game. The swarming defensive style really shows when you look at the statistics as 10 players had at least 44 tackles for the season. Senior safety Jacob Seminara led the team with 80 stops including 7 for losses and he had 4 interceptions. Also among the leaders were linebacker David Fatula with 70 tackles, senior Mike Abbott with 67 including 9 for losses, safety Gary Stubbs with 61, senior linebacker Josh Schoonover had 55, 8 for losses despite missing 6 games with an injury. Senior defensive end Sam Woods had 53 tackles including team leading 15 for losses and 6 quarterback sacks and Scott Kennedy also had 53 tackles for the season. Seniors Ryan Witkowski had 50 tackles, Ed Littlejohn had 47 and Steve Criss had 44, 11 for losses. Senior cornerback Steve Repella led the team with 5 interceptions. For the season the Big Red defense had 28 sacks and caused 28 turnovers.

The 2003 Steubenville Big Red will be remembered as one of the best teams ever in the 103 year history of Big Red Football, with many record setting performances. The senior class made three appearances in the Ohio Playoffs, improving there finish every year and they finished with a record of 30 wins and 7 losses. They are now part of the tradition and legends of Big Red Football. The returning players for the 2004 season have only 38 weeks to get ready. Losing in the semi-finals shows them they must work a little harder, get a little stronger and a little quicker to return to that status and beyond for a shot at the State Championship. ROLL RED.....

 

2003~
Nate Hubbard db/tb
Brent Livingston de/rb
Josh Schoonover mlb/fb
Michael Abbott lb/wr
Steve Repella db/qb
Thad Crosier db/wr
Chad Bauman db/wr
Antonio Magnone db/qb
Nick Potenzini db/rec
Sam Busic db/qb
Darnell Longmire db/qb
Sam Woods de/tb
Chris Ferroni db/k
Kent Holmes de/fb
Gary Stubbs db/tb
Sam Vein lb/fb
Brandon Canestraro db/wr
Jeremy Presely lb/fb
Mike Conn lb/fb
Dave Fatula de/te
Darrell Longmire db/wr
Kyle Filtz lb/fb
Jeremiah Carmine db/rb
Andrew Smith db/qb
Maurice Watkins lb/rb
Corey Lyons db/tb
Demeatrus Benjamin lb/fb
Patrick Thurman lb/fb
Ron Delatorre db/wr
Jacob Seminara db/wr
Sean McKitrick db/wr
Mike Mort lb/c
Westley Bowling db/wr
David Ross de/c
Angelo Magnone de/t
Keith Carter de/g/p
Eric Gilmore dt/t
Steve Criss de/g
Dave DiCicco nt/g
Terry Snyder de/g
Garrett Dalton dt/t
Robert Antinone dt/t
James Beach de/g
John Smogonovich dt/g
Joe Pasquarella dt/c
Quentin Nelson nt/t
Ryan Witkowski dt/t
Scott Kennedy dt/g
Ralph Petrella dt/g
John Irwin de/g
Terry Mason lb/c
Mike Snyder dt/t
Randy Ralston db/wr
Mike Taylor db/wr
Kyle Solomon db/wr
Dawand Smith db/wr
Ed Littlejohn lb/wr
Mukuria Gathago db/wr
Eugene Hicks db/wr