Pine-Richland slams Bethel Park in playoff opener

By: Adam Lindner
Friday, November 3, 2023 | 11:48 PM

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Winners of four straight games and six of its last seven, Pine-Richland entered Friday evening’s home WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal matchup against Bethel Park looking to keep the good times rolling.

It did that and then some.

The reigning WPIAL and PIAA champions left no doubt in their postseason opener, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Led by senior running back Ethan Pillar and his 172 rushing yards, the third-seeded Rams annihilated No. 6 Bethel Park en route to a 51-6 final tally.

Pine-Richland, which held the Black Hawks to 55 yards of total offense in the first half, led by 38 points at halftime. A running clock helped to speed the game up following the halftime break, putting Bethel Park out of its misery.

“Defensively, things are coming together,” Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne said postgame. “We’re playing really good up front and establishing the line of scrimmage. We’re doing that on both sides of the ball.”

Pillar ran for four scores in the first half, then rested for the entire second frame. Speedy sophomore Maclane Miller spelled Pillar and enjoyed a strong game of his own, giving the Rams two dynamic threats out of the backfield. Miller finished with 108 rushing yards on 15 attempts.

“We got Mac Miller going a little bit today as another guy that can run the ball, so (we’re) just looking at other options to keep guys on their toes,” LeDonne said.

LeDonne said he was happy to keep Pillar out of the game’s second half, allowing his star tailback the opportunity to rest ahead of next week’s semifinal game against Penn Hills.

“It was, just, (let’s) keep some hits off his body,” LeDonne said. “People want to look at it, ‘Oh, rushing leader, go get stats’ — he could’ve probably came in the second half and got another 150 yards or so, but, you know, we don’t chase stats. We’re focused on a championship, and these guys do an awesome job understanding that.

“When we told (Pillar) at halftime he wasn’t coming back in, he was like, ‘Let Mac go eat!’ They’re very supportive with each other.”

Bethel Park quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer managed to connect with Ryan Petras for a 58-yard strike in the third quarter, but offense was otherwise difficult to come by for the Black Hawks.

“Quality team in Pine-Richland. Credit goes to them,” Bethel Park coach Phil Peckick said postgame. “We were down six starters here tonight. Coming into the game, we knew it was going to be a tough situation. We thought we had a solid plan in place, and credit to Pine-Richland.

“They capitalized and executed and took it to us a little bit there in the first half. And it got out of hand pretty quick.”

Pine-Richland will face second-seeded Penn Hills Nov. 10 in a semifinal matchup.

Penn Hills rolled over No. 7 Penn-Trafford, 63-28, in its quarterfinal bout.

LeDonne, now in his second season as coach at Pine-Richland, led the Penn Hills program from 2017-21 before departing for P-R.

“A lot of emotion is going to be in that game,” LeDonne said. “You know, when them guys were freshmen, we were telling them they were a championship team. So, it’s going to be all-hands-on-deck to stop what they do.”

Penn Hills beat Pine-Richland, 26-20, in a Sept. 8 meeting.

“We’re a completely different team than we were in September,” LeDonne said. “It’s gonna be a dogfight, there’s gonna be a lot of pads cracking, so it’s gonna be an exciting week to get ready for.”

Tags: Bethel Park, Pine-Richland