By Nicholas Akimoto

The Steelers continued on in the Matua division playoffs after knocking out the Cowboys during a dusty Saturday afternoon at Raiders field. The Steelers backfield would prove to be more than enough for a high energy Cowboy’s defense, who would allow four rushing touchdowns to slip through their goal line defense, three of which, came from the explosive running from running back, Adin Lumba.

“We have to work on a lot of things: blocking, defense, running the ball, protecting the ball. This was just one game, and we need to stay focused looking forward.” said Lumba.

The Cowboys’ defense played hard and aggressively throughout the contest, but penalties and turnovers would put their backs up against their goal line, and the Steelers offense took advantage of it.

Game Recap

Both defenses came ready to play, as blitzes and tough linemen effort would prevent both teams from scoring off their first drives. It wouldn’t be until late in the fourth quarter that the Steelers would put the ball in the hands of Adin Lumba, who spun off of tacklers to bring the Steelers’ offense up to the two yard line, where Lumba would pound in the first score of the game.

The Steelers would then take advantage of a penalty to pin the Cowboys at their own 8-yard line. The Cowboys struggled to maneuver through the limited space, and were forced to punt the ball away. The Steelers capitalized off of their good field position and penalties when running back Danny Treltas ran the ball into the endzone for another Steelers’ touchdown.

The game would slow to a halt on the ensuing Cowboy’s drive after five consecutive calls would nullify plays and put the Cowboys in a 4th and very long situation, which they had to punt away. This compilation of penalties and the air of playoff competition resulted in high tensions, which resulted in multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties just before the referees signaled for the end of the half.

The Steelers would score once more at the beginning of the next half, taking advantage of a Cowboys’ turnover and multiple defensive penalties. Lumba would run it in once again after breaking through a determined Cowboys defense.

The Cowboys managed to find the endzone for the first time of the day, after a miraculous throw from Michael San Nicolas found the hands of Jerrey San Nicolas, who caught it even after a Steelers’ defender had tipped it backwards. Jerrey San Nicolas would then break away and into the endzone to cap off the 80 yard touchdown.

The Cowboys were now back in the contest and had found some momentum, but the Steelers would prevent the quarterback from throwing downfield to his receivers as they swarmed him in the backfield. The Cowboys attempted one more throw to put them in scoring distance, but it was picked off by Steelers safety, Irvin White Jr. IV, who returned it for 20 yards. The Steelers would build up their lead, led by the running abilities of Lumba, who ran in his third and final touchdown of the day.

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