With Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly watching, Pine-Richland dominant again in win over No. 3 Bethel Park

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 23, 2017 | 1:06 AM

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There will be a close contest somewhere down the road, predicted Pine-Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec, whose teammates have WPIAL- and state-title aspirations.

That’s why, with 91 seconds left until halftime, his Rams called a timeout to set up one more touchdown drive in a 54-20 victory at No. 3 Bethel Park on Friday night.

Not to taunt, but to test themselves.

After two plays, 56 yards and a remarkable full-extension catch by Raymond Falcone, No. 1-ranked Pine-Richland (5-0) headed to the locker room with its eighth first-half touchdown.

“In the first half, no matter what the score is, we’re just going to keep playing,” Jurkovec said. “We weren’t trying to embarrass them or run the score up or anything. We were just trying to prepare ourselves for games that are going to be very tight, where we have to go down and score in a minute.”

So far, no team has come within three touchdowns.

With Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly in the stadium, Jurkovec threw two touchdowns and rushed for three more. Jordan Crawford added two touchdown runs, but Pine-Richland did most of its damage in the air.

Jurkovec was nearly perfect as a passer, completing 19 of 23 attempts for 355 yards — all in the first half.

“I didn’t want to do anything crazy, just take what the defense was giving me,” said Jurkovec, who targeted soft spots in Bethel’s zone defense. “Our coaches did a great job of preparing us. We just exposed their weaknesses. They’re a very good team, it’s just that we prepared extremely well for them and our coaches put us in the right situations.”

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Pine-Richland outscored Bethel Park, 40-0, in the second quarter and led 54-7 at half. The Rams pulled their starters at halftime and took knees in the fourth quarter to avoid another score.

Kelly, who departed at halftime, surely left impressed.

“Whenever I was a player and I knew a coach was coming, heck yeah that got me a little more tuned up and focused in,” Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “The other side of that coin is maybe kids get nervous? But Phil is a baller. He did his thing out here tonight.”

Pine-Richland leaned on its no-huddle offense, scored touchdowns on seven of its eight first-half possessions and also saw Luke Meckler return a punt 59 yards for another score.

“We came to play, our kids were flying around tonight,” said Kasperowicz, who noted that physical Bethel Park was a “different brand” of football than they’d seen from others this season.

This nonconference matchup could have been the Rams’ first strenuous test against a ball-control team. But Bethel Park’s offense couldn’t sustain drives, hurt by two turnovers, a failed fourth-down conversion and four first-half punts.

“We needed to keep the ball away from them, and we did not do that,” Bethel Park coach Jeff Metheny said. “They had a good plan and we didn’t have an answer for them.”

Bethel Park totaled just 164 yards from scrimmage in the first half, with 70 coming on one touchdown run by John Doleno. The Black Hawks didn’t complete a first-half pass until the final 12 seconds before halftime.

Pine-Richland had 430 yards from scrimmage by halftime. Falcone finished with four catches for 118 yards.

“They were tougher, they were more physical, they threw the ball well, we didn’t cover,” Metheny said. “In every aspect, they just whupped us.”

Pine-Richland opened with a no-huddle attack, marched 62 yards in nine plays and scored on a 1-yard run by Jurkovec.

Delone’s 70-yard touchdown run forced a 7-7 tie, but Pine-Richland then scored on its next six possessions.

Jurkovec’s first touchdown throw was a 19-yarder to Cameron Ballay. But the 37-yarder to Falcone was more spectacular if only because of the wideout’s effort with a six-touchdown lead.

“At the last second I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I just overthrew him and it’s a touchdown (chance).’ But then he laid out for it,” Jurkovec said. “That was a great catch. That was awesome.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Bethel Park, Pine-Richland