Kaufman, Somerset stop Richland

Score one for Jordan Kaufman.

Actually, score four.

In a meeting of premier quarterbacks in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, Kaufman used his legs and his teammates to down Marco Pecora and the Rams 41-26 on homecoming night at Herlinger Field in Richland.

Kaufman threw three touchdown passes – two to Garrett Breen – and ran for another as the Golden Eagles followed a landmark victory over Johnstown a week ago with an all-around solid performance against the Section II foe Rams.

Kaufman totaled 109 yards through the air and added another 124 on the ground for Somerset (4-2 overall, 3-1 Section II), which won its first road game of the year.

Senior fullback Vince Corden, a converted wide receiver from a year ago, used shiftiness and flat-out speed to score on touchdown runs of 75 and 72 yards, and racked up 166 yards on six carries.

Pecora, meanwhile, did everything he could, scoring twice on the ground and connecting with Joe Rizzo and Nate Adam for two more.

The versatile senior, who entered the night with an area-best 896 yards, completed 20 passes for 268 yards, good enough to move him past Richland coach Brandon Bailey – a former all-state quarterback at Forest Hills – and into the 26th spot for career passing yardage in the state.

Adam was the primary beneficiary of Pecora’s arm, catching seven passes for a little more than 100 yards. Dan Fenton added six grabs for nearly 100 yards.

But the night belonged to Kaufman and the Golden Eagles, who got a marvelous performance from a defense that had given up more than 32 points in each of its past four games.

Content to allow short gains from the Rams (4-2, 2-2), the Golden Eagles stayed disciplined and forced Pecora into difficult situations that the senior wasn’t able to escape.

Somerset recorded five sacks, and the secondary stayed with a talented receiving corps.

“Our secondary worked real hard this week and we put in a lot of time this week,” Corden said. “The secondary played well. It was all the secondary tonight.”

And while the secondary was standing tall, the offense was going to town, racing out to a 21-0 first-half lead on two Breen touchdown catches sandwiched around a spectacular, one-handed, 47-yard touchdown grab from Josh Walters.

For Breen, it was his second two-touchdown game, matching the season opener against Bedford.

“We give it to the guy that’s open,” Somerset coach Steve Costea said. “We never know who’s getting the ball, where it’s going or how it’s getting there. We have to move it up the field, and that’s what were doing. It’s unselfish football. Guys are stepping up, blocking when they have to, running when they have to. The offense is clicking.”

The triple-option run by the Golden Eagles seemed to cross up the Rams at nearly every turn and has led to a nearly 30 points a game average.

“It’s all coming together now,” Corden said. “We’ve worked on this option for three years – since I was a sophomore – and now it’s kicking. We put up mad points every game and that’s how it’s going.”

The Rams cut into the lead just before the half, when Rizzo took a swing pass 7 yards for Richland’s first score. The extra point was blocked, giving the Golden Eagles a 21-6 halftime lead.

Corden rebuilt the Somerset cushion by blasting through the line and splitting the safeties en route to a crucial 75-yard touchdown run and a 27-6 lead.

“We knew they were going to be good,” Bailey said. “We knew it’d be a tough game for us. You can’t let them out to a 27-6 lead. For whatever reason, we weren’t very good in the first half. They got a big lead and we fought back. The kids played hard, but Somerset was the better team (Friday night).”

A Pecora touchdown run midway through the third quarter, and a subsequent 46-yard scoring pass to Adam brought the game within 27-20. But Corden repeated his earlier run with a little less than nine minutes left in the final frame – from 72 yards – and Kaufman scored on a 6-yard scamper with 2:46 to go.

Pecora closed the scoring in the final seconds, and Somerset capped the night with its second blocked extra point.