Defending state champ Jeannette overcomes sluggish start, beats East Allegheny

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, August 24, 2018 | 10:51 PM

Heading into the season, Jeannette had concerns on the type of team it had with several key pieces gone from their WPIAL and PIAA championship team.

It took the Class A No. 1 Jayhawks a half to work out the kinks against East Allegheny in Friday’s opener.

Jeannette scored 26 unanswered points in the second half and defeated the Wildcats, 32-12, in a nonconference game at Jeannette’s McKee Stadium.

At halftime, the game was tied 6-6. But the second half belonged to Jeannette.

“A win is a win,” Jeannette coach Roy Hall said. “I’ll take the win. We were doing a lot of grass chewing. We weren’t coming off the ball, we weren’t blocking and we weren’t playing Jayhawk football.”

“We came out the second half, and we started playing. We still have a lot of work to do. But the one positive thing out of it was they came out the second half and started playing ball.”

The Jayhawks took the opening kick in the second half deep into Wildcats territory. Two plays later, junior running back Imani Sanders scampered for an 8-yard touchdown to give Jeannette a 12-6 lead.

Sanders was the lone player to reach 100 yards, finishing with 102 on 15 carries.

After forcing a turnover on downs, the Jayhawks scored on their next possession when senior quarterback Seth Howard scored on a 22-yard keeper up the middle, making it 18-6.

The Jayhawks then forced a fumble and took over deep in East Allegheny territory. Jeannette extended the lead to 24-6 on a 7-yard jet sweep by senior wide receiver Isaiah Winters.

East Allegheny senior quarterback Daniel Kasmier suffered from cramps while trying to make the tackle on the turnover. He suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the half and was held out after that for precautionary reasons.

“They just out-toughed us in the second half,” East Allegheny coach Dom Pecora said. “We’re young. We’re very young. I have the best freshman class I’ve ever had.

“We’re young, and we weren’t ready to play. They were ready for toughness for four quarters, and we only played it for two-and-a-half.”

Howard started the scoring on a 26-yard run with just under seven minutes remaining in the first quarter.

For the rest of the first half, each defense held the opposition in check.

It looked like Jeannette was going to hold a six-point lead going into halftime until East Allegheny senior Khyree Marshall picked off Howard.

With less than a minute remaining, the Wildcats dialed up a trick play and executed the hook and lateral to perfection.

Kasmier connected with senior wide receiver Ronnie McGill, who lateraled to junior Tyler Padezan down the right side for a 40-yard touchdown.

With Kasmier on the sideline, junior backup quarterback Johnny Moritz connected with sophomore wide receiver Kiyon Delts for a 26-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: East Allegheny, Jeannette