Gateway holds off Penn-Trafford to win ‘Battle of the Bell’

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, October 6, 2023 | 11:25 PM

Those looking for the Gateway and Penn-Trafford offenses to light up the scoreboard had to wait a while Friday night.

The Class 5A Big East Conference rivals traded touchdowns in the final minutes and combined for 24 fourth-quarter points as Gateway beat Penn-Trafford, 31-27, in the “Battle of the Bell.”

Penn-Trafford (3-4, 2-1) scored a touchdown with four seconds left in the game on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Jonny Lovre to junior wideout Jessie Lisbon. Tasso Whipple converted the 2-point try, but the Warriors ran out of time.

Gateway (4-3, 4-0) got the ball at 9:49 of the fourth quarter and used up 5:16 of the game clock driving for a score, settling for a Blake Marsh 40-yard field goal to extend its lead to 24-13.

After to the Gateway drive, Whipple pounded his way in for a 3-yard touchdown but failed to make the 2-point conversion as the Warriors cut Gateway’s advantage to 24-19 with 1:30 to go.

On the ensuing onside kick attempt, sophomore wideout Tristan Huston picked up the ball for the Gators and went 50 yards for what turned out to be the game-winning score.

“We started to run in the beginning of the game, but nothing was being executed well at all,” Lovre said. “We were forced to throw it and we just didn’t get the job done tonight.”

Lovre finished the game 13 of 26 for 253 yards and a touchdown.

Penn-Trafford’s running game was held in check in the first half. Whipple shouldered the load as Ben Grabowski could get nothing going in Penn-Trafford’s wildcat offense.

Whipple finished with 179 yards rushing on 25 carries and two touchdowns and caught a pass for 73 yards and a score.

Penn-Trafford took an early 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game as Whipple rattled off a long gain of 48 yards and capped the 86-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown.

The Warriors’ defense was able to keep Gateway off the scoreboard in the first quarter, holding quarterback Brad Birch to 53 yards passing.

Birch found his groove later on and finished 16 for 29 for 196 yards and also ran for 55 yards.

“They knew what we were going to come out doing, just based on the previous games,” Birch said. “Our run game was big in this game, which helped open our passing game later.”

Gateway put together a good mix of run and pass on a 67-yard drive on its second possession of the second quarter. Jaquon Reynolds finished the drive with a physical 8-yard run.

“We spread teams out and we’re going to make you make a decision defensively,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “Their choice was to stay on top of everything and not give up the big plays. We did a lot of good things to counteract that.”

Penn-Trafford tried keeping Gateway honest by mixing in some passes throughout the first half but was only successful on one for a huge gain.

Lovre found Whipple coming out of the backfield and tossed him the ball for a 73-yard touchdown, which opened the scoring for the Warriors.

Penn-Trafford surprised the Gators on the ensuing kickoff with an onside kick recovered by tight end Tommy Cheplick. The Warriors were unable to capitalize, though, with the Gators forcing them to punt.

The Gators’ passing attack finished the first half with 100 yards, but there were multiple missed opportunities.

Birch tried hooking up with a wide-open Kenny Lewis on what would have been a 70-yard touchdown as there was no defender within 15 yards of him. However, Lewis could not corral the pass.

Gateway tried getting some points before the half and failed as Marsh missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.

“We told the players at halftime that there were a lot of plays we left on the field,” Holl said.

The Gators opened the second half scoring on a 46-yard drive where Birch found Lewis for 8 yards and Reynolds for a long 19-yard gain through the air.

Reynolds then ran the ball the rest of the way for the Gators with a 16-yard gain and three straight 1-yard gains inside the 3-yard line to put Gateway up 14-13.

After Penn-Trafford’s next drive stalled, Gateway took just five plays to expand its lead to 21-13 as Birch found Lewis for a 37-yard touchdown pass.

Next week, Gateway faces McKeesport at home and Penn-Trafford travels to Plum.

Tags: Gateway, Penn-Trafford