High school football notebook: Jeannette to ‘let the pads do the talking’

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 16, 2017 | 1:42 PM

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Jeannette football coach Roy Hall admits his team's lack of success against Clairton is just as much mental as it is physical. Maybe moreso.

He thinks the Jayhawks' chance at snapping a six-game losing streak against the Bears Friday night in the WPIAL Class A semifinals at Elizabeth Forward comes down to … ear plugs?

Jeannette (11-1) is used to the pressure of the semifinals, having been there three years in a row. But this is Clairton (9-2), which turns up the volume on any game. Literally.

“Not so much that, it's like when you go to church on Sundays and preach: It's all mental. That's what we're preaching,” Hall said. “Clairton plays a good game, but they also talk a good game. They like to talk but we have to tune that out, ignore them and get over them psychologically. Let the pads do the talking.”

Been there, done that

Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane is headed to his sixth WPIAL final Saturday, four with Gateway and two with the Warriors.

From preparation to atmosphere, he picked up on the nuances of Heinz Field and can pass the knowledge on to the Warriors, although this year's seniors were sophomores when the team last made the title game.

He wants his team to be ready for the game day routine at Heinz, where warm-up sessions are shorter and the atmosphere can be daunting.

Coaches who have been to the finals often mention “the rushed routine.”

“The goal is to tune all of that out, and focus on the 120-yard field and our opponent, and that's it,” Ruane said. “Down at Heinz Field a lot of different things can happen. You have to get the kids glued into the atmosphere; it's just another football game. You can't be looking around the stadium, at the scoreboard and things like that. We're going to be focused.”

Ruane's daughter, Danica, was born just after the final in 2015.

“She waited,” Ruane said. “I was nervous the whole game thinking about her being born. My wife was due at any time.”

Hawkins moves

Penn-Trafford put a new jersey with a new number on senior Logan Hawkins last week — and changed his position with it.

Hawkins, a 6-foot-2, 270-pound lineman who recently returned from a leg injury, switched to No. 44 instead of his usual No. 66.

“Bubba” became a blocker. He played some H-back and tight end for the Warriors in a 35-14 victory over Upper St. Clair. He helped block for an offense that rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns, sealing blocks to the outside.

“We like to use a lot of double-tight sets and when Nico Rosso got hurt, we just happened to have a pretty darn good lineman who we thought we could get into the run game a little bit,” Ruane said. “This guy can actually go out and catch some passes, believe it or not. Why not put your best players on the field?”

Cramer returns

Jeannette's defense is benefitting from the return of linebacker Justin Cramer. A torn meniscus in the sophomore's right knee sidelined him for five games.

Cramer came back four weeks after surgery and made an impact in last week's 30-26 come-from-behind win over Rochester in the quarterfinals.

“We didn't rush him back,” Hall said. “We eased him back into it. He's our leader on defense. We never had a freshman start at linebacker (last year). He calls all the signals.”

Cramer led Jeannette in tackles last season.

“It's a blessing to be back,” Cramer said. “Sitting on the sidelines, it (stunk). It's one of those things; ‘It won't happen to me.' It has made be appreciate the game more.”

Tough-luck Gators

Gateway has seemed snake-bitten in its four trips to Heinz Field, in 2004, ‘07, ‘08 and ‘09. The trips home were quiet after tough losses.

The Gators have not won a WPIAL title since 1986 but get another shot Saturday against Penn-Trafford.

“I don't feel bad for myself or my coaching staff, but I feel bad for my kids,” former coach Terry Smith said in a 2010 interview. “For whatever reason, we've had bad luck at the stadium.”

On the tube

The Penn-Trafford-Gateway WPIAL Class 5A championship game will be shown on tape-delay Saturday night on AT&T SportsNet, formerly Root Sports, after the Penguins game.

The first two games at Heinz Field (Class 3A and 6A) will be aired live.

State of mind

Many believe Ligonier Valley, a District 6 school, could compete in the WPIAL — at least with the teams they have fielded this season and last.

But the Rams (12-0) would have to get to the state final to meet a WPIAL team. They could have to go through the team that beat them last year to get there.

After tearing through another regular season and the Heritage Conference, the Rams are set to defend their District 6 title Saturday night against Bishop McCort (10-2) at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona.

The game also serves as the first round of the PIAA 2A playoffs.

The same blueprint to Hershey could lie ahead for the Rams. They also played Bishop McCort last year in the “first round,” then faced Dunmore (12-0), which could play Ligonier Valley again in the quarterfinals.

Two more wins would put the Rams back in the state semifinals, where they could see Southern Columbia (12-0) again. Ligonier Valley fell to Southern Columbia last year, 31-27.

Rams coach Roger Beitel said he has no issues keeping his team focused and not looking ahead.

“We trust in our ‘process' and that means that we prepare every single week like we are playing for the state championship,” Beitel said. “We have prepared the same way since Week Zero: Break down our opponent, try to take away their strength, and exploit any area of weakness. Our kids have worked to get back to this spot the week after we lost to Southern Columbia. Our immediate focus is winning our second district championship in a row.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Clairton, Jeannette, Ligonier Valley, Penn-Trafford