WPIAL Football Semifinals Recaps 2016

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 19, 2016 | 11:44 PM

The new high school football postseason format has some strange twists that will take some time getting used to. Usually after the four games in one day marathon at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, district high school football fans usually can unwind for another week prior to the WPIAL winners entering the PIAA playoffs. However less than 24 hours after the 6-A, 5-A, 4-A and 3-A champions were crowned at the big house on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, the 2-A and 1-A playoffs continued with the Semifinals, setting the stage for next Saturdays completion of The Road to RMU. Here are the summaries of those four high school football Semifinals games.

A special thanks to Bob Gregg, Steve Nagler, Bob Barrickman and Jimmy Lee Santorella for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS 2-A Semifinals:

Steel Valley Ironmen 42 – Riverside Panthers 0 
Steel Valley invoked the mercy rule against each of its first 11 opponents of the football season and game number 12 proved to be no different as the Ironmen crushed Riverside in the WPIAL 2A semifinals Saturday night, 42-0.  Running back DeWayne Murray gained 142 yards and scored four touchdowns in the contest played at North Allegheny High’s Newman Stadium in Wexford.  He also eclipsed the 6,000 yard rushing mark for his career.  Murray scored on runs of 32 and two yards to go along with an 8-yard touchdown reception in the first half.  Receiver Trevon Adams made a spectacular grab in the end zone covering 27 yards to give the unbeaten Ironmen a 28-0 halftime lead.  The mercy rule kicked in when Murray took the ball in from the two with 9:27 left in the third quarter.  Receiver Zai’Quan Henderson closed the scoring with a 7-yard catch at the 3:52 mark of the third period.  Victimized by poor field position throughout the game in stiff winds, the Panthers only viable chance to score was in the fourth quarter when a snap went over Ironmen quarterback Ryan Harper’s head and was recovered by Riverside’s Noah Harris at the Steel Valley 18.  But, the Panthers were denied when their possession ended at the winners’ 5-yard line.  Riverside ended its season at 9-3 after reaching the semifinals for the first time in nine years.  Steel Valley improved to 12-0 and will advance to its first WPIAL title game since winning the crown in 1989.  The Ironmen will face Neshannock on Saturday evening at Robert Morris University’s Joe Walton Stadium.

Neshannock Lancers 27 – Washington Little Prexies 7
Frank Antuono ran for the opening score, then threw three touchdowns passes to lead Neshannock to a 27-7 win over Washington and a berth in the WPIAL Class 2-A championship game next weekend.  The senior quarterback capped the Lancers’ opening drive with a seven-yard scoring run, finishing off the 80-yard, nine-play possession the first time they had the ball.  Tristan Tuck’s successful PAT put Neshannock (12-1) in front, 7-0, with 5:45 to play in the opening quarter.  The teams traded possessions through the end of the quarter.  Danny Welker’s 16-yard punt return set up the Lancers in the mid-field with a little over eight minutes to play in the half.  Antuono, Sean Doran and Chris Scott combined for 29 yards on seven carries before Antuono found a wide-open Seth Fehrs along the left sideline, setting up first-and-goal at the seven.  Two plays later, Antuono’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage but caught by Welker in the endzone to make it 14-0 with 2:53 remaining in the half.  Neshannock’s kickoff hit a front-line Washington player and was recovered by Ty Sear at the Neshannock 49-yard line.  Welker took a handoff then pulled up and found Scott on the right sideline for 28 yards and a first down.  Six plays later, the Lancers faced fourth-and-goal at the three.  Antuono rolled right, found Scott at the end line, and Neshannock took the 21-0 lead to the lockerroom.  Washington (11-1) got two defensive stops in the third quarter, then finally got going on offense, putting up a 65-yard, 11-play drive to get on the board with 29 seconds left in the third.  Zyan Wallace scored from five yards out.  Another quick three-and-out for the Lancers gave the Little Prexies hope, down by two scores with nearly a full quarter to go.  That hope quickly vanished as Washington was called for offensive interference on the first play and never recovered, having to punt.  The teams traded turnovers, Antuono fumbling away a running play and Connor Bedillion was picked off by Fehrs. The Lancers closed the scoring on Antuono’s pass to Welker, good for 72 yards and a score when two WHS defenders collided trying to tackle Welker inside the 30-yard line. Neshannock put up 357 yards total offense (142 rush, 215 pass) while holding Washington to 121 total (84 run, 37 pass).  Antuono ran 17 times for 83 yards and one score and hit on 10-of-16 passes for 187 yards and three more touchdowns. Welked caught four passes for 115 yards.  Wallace had seven carries for 21 yards to lead the Washington ground game.  Bedillion was just 3-for-8 for 37 yards and one interception.

WPIAL CLASS 1-A Semifinals:

Clairton Bears 34 – Northgate Flames 18
The Clairton Bears overcame the loss of QB Noah Hamlin, a very slow start, and bouts of winter weather to win a 37th consecutive WPIAL game and head to another WPIAL Championship game by defeating the Northgate Flames on Saturday night at Chartiers-Houston High School.  The Bears lacked fire early in the first quarter as they misfired on their first three offensive possessions and then fumbled on their 4th possession which led to Northgate points.  Lamont Wade fumbled the snap deep in his own territory and the ball was recovered and returned for a 15-yard TD by Kaveh Bowie to give the Flames a 6-0 lead.  But, that seemed to light a fire under the Bears’ offense as they went on to score touchdowns on their next three possessions, getting a 3-yd TD run by Wade and two TD runs by Tre Howard (7, 50) to take a 22-6 halftime lead.  But, the Flames would start the 2nd half by getting a 3-and-out on defense and scoring on their first offensive possession and drew to within 22-12 with 6:16 to go in the 3rd QTR on a 1-yd TD run by Surron Adams.  Adams finished with 81 yards on 23 carries.  The Flames would draw even closer, scoring with 3:38 left in the game, on a 5-yd run by Stefon Adams, cutting the lead to 22-18.  But, Wade would extinguish the Flames by scampering 57 yards with 2:24 remaining.  Wade would then pick off a Surron Adams pass on the next play from scrimmage and ran it back 53 yards for another score to salt away the win for Clairton.  Wade would finish the game with 21 carries for 224 rushing yards and two TDs.  In his previous two playoff games, Wade has rushed the ball 36 times for 449 yards and 5 TDs.  He’s also run two interceptions back for TDs (101, 53) as well.  With the win, the Clairton Bears will vie for their 10th WPIAL Championship and their ninth in the last eleven years.  They will face familiar foe, the Jeannette Jayhawks, in the championship game.  The Bears defeated the Jayhawks 40-0 in 2015 to win WPIAL gold.

Jeannette Jayhawks 30 – Rochester Rams 20
There are eight WPIAL titles apiece for these two teams, Jeannette and Rochester, but tonight was the first time they met on the football field and it was in the WPIAL semi-finals.  Rochester controlling both sides of the line for most of the first half scoring in their second possession with a six yard touchdown run by Caleb Collins taking a 6-0 lead.  Rochester was still leading 6-3 with a minute to go to in the first half when they faced a big turning point in the game. Fourth down and four from the the Jayhawks 44 when Rochester’s Coach Gene Matsook went for it rather than punting.  They go with the sweep to Caleb Collins when Jeannette’s Jeannette’s Justin Cramer dropped him for a four yard loss. Rochester turning it over on downs and Jeannette answered with a deep pass to the 23 followed by a Gio Vonne Sanders fade route to Tre Cunningham for a 9 yard touchdown with seven seconds to go and Jeannette taking a 10-6 lead into the half.  The Jayhawks took the second half kickoff four plays, 67 yards finishing with a Gio Vonne Sanders 34 yard touchdown run put the Jayhawks up 17-6. Less than two minutes later the Ram’s  Ian Kouba was stripped by Jeannette’s Tremain Briston, Robert Kennedy scooped it up and turned on the burners racing 55 yards for a Jayhawk touchdown and making it 24-6. Then a Kareem Hall touchdown run completed 30 unanswered points and that made it 30-6. Rochester drew to 30-20 when when Caleb Collins ran it in from four yards after a Gio Vonne Sanders fumble with 7:45 to go in the game.  But on the 2 point conversion, Jeannette’s Ryan Swinton kept it a two score game breaking up an Ian Kouba’s pass in the end zone.  Jeannette’s defense shut it down from there and despite gaining only 216 yards, in fact, Rochester out gaining Jeannette 243 to 216 yards, they were able to rely on Gio Vonne Sanders for two touchdown passes and one touchdown on the ground, as the Jayhawks move on to their second straight Single A championship game against Clairton next Saturday at Robert Morris University. Final score Jeannette 30, Rochester 20 as the Rams undefeated season comes to an end.