Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Jeannette returns to big stage for matchup with Clairton

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 26, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Players ran the hill next to the bleachers at McKee Stadium to end a practice earlier this week, and coach Tom Paulone joined them on the steep and somewhat muddy ascent.

Jeannette has been on a steady climb all season. The Jayhawks (7-2, 4-1) have more wins than they had in the last two years combined (4-17) and are headed back to the WPIAL playoffs.

But senior quarterback Payton Molter said a win this week could truly stamp Jeannette’s return to prominence in WPIAL Class A.

Jeannette hosts first-place and No. 4-ranked Clairton (7-2, 5-0) in the Eastern Conference finale Friday night.

It will be one of the most important and anticipated games the Jayhawks have played in years.

“This one would really show it,” Molter said. “It’s for the conference championship. This could overtake everything.”

If Clairton wins, it gets the conference title outright. But if Jeannette can sideswipe the Bears with an upset, the teams could share the title.

Greensburg Central Catholic (6-3, 4-1) also can gain a piece of the conference if Clairton loses and the Centurions defeat Leechburg on the road, not an easy task in itself.

Playoff seedings could be affected greatly by the outcomes of both games. The conference champion and higher-seeded teams get home games in the first round.

Molter was a freshman when Jeannette last beat Clairton in the 2020 WPIAL championship at North Hills, 45-14.

“It’s a rivalry for us, but it’s different kind of rivalry,” he said. “It’s not like (Greensburg Central Catholic) where we don’t like each other. With (Clairton), it’s out of respect. Two good teams matching up.”

Clairton leads the all-time series 10-3-1 and has flattened the Jayhawks the last two years with back-to-back 43-0 wins.

“They have a great program,” Paulone said. “Coach (Wayne) Wade does a great job. He has over 100 wins.

“We aren’t doing anything different to prepare for them. We prepare the same every week because every week is a championship week. I can’t sleep thinking about teams in this conference.”

Jeannette will be without senior tight end/defensive end Lonnie Greene (knee). He was hurt when Jeannette played GCC two weeks ago and missed last week’s game against Springdale.

Kicker Austin Emery also won’t play because of a leg injury. McAlister Steele has filled in admirably. He was 7 for 7 on extra points last week at Springdale.

“He never kicked before,” Paulone said. “We’ve worked with him, and he picked it up. I was a holder in college, so I know a little bit.”

No rest

Latrobe (6-3) has secured a WPIAL playoff berth in Class 4A and, unlike most teams, has completed conference play.

But the Wildcats still have one game remaining Friday at Butler (2-7), which plays an independent schedule.

Wildcats coach Ron Prady knows the result of the final game won’t impact the standings, but he does not plan to sit any regular players and will treat the matchup like any other.

“We will not rest starters and will play everyone who is healthy,” Prady said. “We look forward to seeing how our guys respond to the loss to McKeesport and think it’s important to head into the playoffs with some momentum.”

A bit of history also is fueling the full-strength lineup.

“It’s been over 20 years since Latrobe has won seven regular-season games, and it’s an important feat for our program and something our guys want,” Prady said. “It’s rare to have a nonconference game in the 10th week. I don’t remember ever having this situation (at other coaching stops). Ideally, we want to play well and see what happens from there.”

Playoff pairings

The WPIAL won’t take the weekend to mull over what happens Friday night.

No, the league plans to release the playoff brackets Saturday afternoon. TribLive HSSN will carry a pairings show beginning at 11:55 a.m.

A few spots are up for grabs in Westmoreland County, with the winner of Penn-Trafford at Franklin Regional qualifying and taking second out of the Class 5A Big East. The loser will be alive for a wild-card spot.

Kiski Area can clinch in Class 4A with a win over Armstrong.

Monessen clinches in Class A with a win over Beth-Center and a Bentworth loss to California.

Westmoreland teams that have clinched playoff spots are Latrobe in 4A, Belle Vernon, Southmoreland and Mt. Pleasant in 3A, Derry and Burrell in 2A and Jeannette and GCC in Class A.

Just for kicks

A number of county kickers will experience double the fun in the WPIAL playoffs. Seven of them qualified for the postseason in football and soccer.

The kickers are Jayson Ireland (Burrell), Ben Bigi (Latrobe), Joey Bayne (Frankin Regional), Jarett Garn (Mt. Pleasant), McAlister Steele and Austin Emery (Jeannette) and Jake Reitler (Greensburg Central Catholic).

Emery is injured and did not play in the soccer team’s first-round loss to Quaker Valley.

Extra points

Norwin sophomore quarterback Tristyn Tavares needs 120 yards to break Jack Salopek’s single-season school record of 2,231 passing yards. … Norwin coach Mike Brown will go against his former Hempfield team Friday. He coached the Spartans for two years before coming to North Huntingdon. … Mt. Pleasant senior linebacker Jackson Hutter has an opportunity to play at Bowling Green. His sister, Katie, plays softball for the Falcons. … Who will win the county rushing title with one game left? Tasso Whipple of Penn-Trafford leads with 1,172 yards, Kyle Dupill of Franklin Regional (1,129) is second, Devin Beattie of Burrell is third (1,079), Da’sjon Craggette of Southmoreland fourth (1,024), and Noah Sanders of Jeannette fifth (1,016). Ahmad Ward of Derry is lurking with 966.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Kiski Area, Latrobe, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford