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Yappi.com writer ALLIANCE—This much can be said about the Alliance Aviators. They are not the Aviators of old, when football at Mount Union Stadium wasn’t fun as the program struggled through countless losses and diminished numbers. The Aviators of new play to win and they took a major step towards claiming a second league championship in three years with a 31-7 throttling of Canton South in a battle of unbeaten teams in the NBC. In 2004, in their only affiliation in the MAC conference, the Aviators won the league title and advanced to the regional semifinals before a dismal 4-6 finish in 2005. Now at the midway point of the season, they are 4-1, 2-0 in the NBC and no one is more pleased than head coach Ron Kuceyeski, a 1972 graduate of Alliance High School and the team’s head football coach. “It’s a nice feeling to be on top right now in our conference and now our goal is to win the rest of our games,” he said. “We have to take it one game at a time.” The Aviators never let Canton South into the game. While on their way to a wire-to-wire victory, the Aviators also shut down the dangerous Wildcat running game. Stopping running backs Devon and Devoe Torrence, also followed by powerful fullback J’Keem Waters was the mission of the Aviator defense. Except for Devoe Torrence’s 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, the potent Wildcats running game never materialized as they could only muster only 86 yards on the ground. “I can’t say enough about the defense tonight. That was the key to keep the ball out of the hands of the Torrences and we were very good on defense,” Kuceyeski said. “We took them out of the game and we kept the ball out of their hands. When they did have it, we were able to shut them down.” The Aviators were led by four-year quarterback Charles Babb, who threw for four touchdowns and ran for one more to lead the Aviators. While completing two touchdowns each to Chris Bivins and Jon Andrews, he completed 12 passes out of 20 attempts for 236 yards while not turning the ball over. Babb’s play won the praise of Kuceyeski. “Babb has been with us for four years and I think he is the toughest quarterback in the state,” he said. “It’s all about hard work and a lot of team chemistry. It’s about everyone competing for an opportunity to get back to the playoffs,” Babb said. “Kuceyeski has confidence in all of us. He’s a graduate of the school and we all like him.” Canton South, coming off a win over Marlington last week saw their record dip to 3-2, 1-1 in the NBC. After allowing Alliance to storm to an 18-0 lead after one half, the Wildcats felt they were ready to get back into the game after Torrence’s 48-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. But Alliance responded with a nine-play drive spanning 76 yards while consuming 4:35 off the clock, which ended with Babb throwing his second touchdown to Andrews. The momentum South had gained was gone instantly. “I really felt we were ready to get back into the game. Our kids never quit but the turning point of the game was spotting them three touchdowns early and that was the difference,” a subdued Moe Daniska said. “They made plays in the first half and we didn’t.” Alliance scored on their second and third possessions. On the Aviators second possession, Babb found a wide open Bivins for the first touchdown that spanned 39 yards as there wasn’t a single defender in the area code. The third possession was highlighted by Babb’s 55-yard run all the way to the Canton South 24 yard line. The drive concluded with Babb’s touchdown pass to Andrews and the Aviators were up and flying with a 12-0 lead after the first quarter. The second drive was the deciding factor into the Aviators second straight win. And it was an extensive one that saw the Aviators obtain four third downs and once again the catalyst of the Aviators offense led his team to another score as Babb found Bivins in the end zone against three Canton South defenders. Bivins incredible catch gave the hosts a commanding 18-0 lead and while they were on their way to a victory, Daniska could not help but praise Babb’s performance. But at the same time, he vowed his team would bounce back. “Babb is a heck of a quarterback,” Daniska said. “But our goal now is to win the rest of our games and I still believe we can do that. Our kids will be back.” This much can be said. These are not the Alliance Aviators of old. These are the Alliance Aviators of today, where winning games counts. |
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