Mt. Lebanon football clinches playoff berth with win over Norwin

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 19, 2018 | 10:45 PM

Mt. Lebanon is back in the playoffs.

The Blue Devils defeated visiting Norwin, 34-28, on Friday to earn a WPIAL Class 6A playoff berth at Mt. Lebanon.

Mt. Lebanon (4-3, 4-5) snapped a two-game losing streak.

Norwin (2-5, 3-6) dropped its third straight and faces a challenging road to a playoff berth.

“We wanted to clinch that, and we knew what we were playing for tonight,” Mt. Lebanon coach Mike Melnyk said. “I told the kids that the playoffs start tonight, and we’re playing another playoff game next week against Central (Catholic). Every week, we’ve gotta treat it like it’s the last game.”

Mt. Lebanon quarterback Seth Morgan threw for a touchdown and rushed for another, and Everett Lefever and Drew Vaughn each rushed for touchdowns for the Blue Devils.

Norwin quarterback Jack Salopek found three receivers for his four touchdown passes, but the Knights’ comeback effort fell short. Salopek finished with more than 300 passing yards.

“I’m proud of the fact we battled through,” coach Dave Brozeski said. “The unfortunate thing is that little things make a big difference to the success of a team. We need all the success of the individuals (too). We had some breakdowns in some assignments and (were) not able to make some plays at critical times. Obviously in a close game, those things are magnified, but I was proud of the way the guys fought and battled all the way to the end.”

The Blue Devils led 27-7 at the half, but Norwin scored on its opening possession of the third quarter when Gianni Rizzo hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Salopek at 5 minutes, 40 seconds to cut the deficit to 27-14.

Mt. Lebanon responded with a Morgan 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal at 2:11 to push the lead to 34-14.

Salopek hooked up with Tanner Krevokuch for a pair of 8-yard touchdown passes in the final quarter, the second of which came with 11 seconds to play. The Blue Devils recovered the ensuing onside-kick attempt to seal the victory.

“They’ve got good players, too, and that quarterback is good and Rizzo is a good receiver,” Melnyk said. “They were kind of picking on us a little bit with those guys, and we were playing a little bit softer, working the clock and playing field position and things like that. He made some nice throws, and they made some nice catches. But we were playing the game and working the clock.”

The first half belonged to Mt. Lebanon.

The Blue Devils opened the scoring with a methodical 12-play, 59-yard drive that Vaughn capped with a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle for a 7-0 lead at 3:17 in the opening quarter. Mt. Lebanon attempted one pass on the drive.

The Blue Devils extended their lead with a pair of field goals from kicker Casey Sorsdal that went for 33 and 31 yards early in the second quarter. Lefever added a 10-yard touchdown run at 2:35, and Mason Vetrone broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown reception at 1:37 as Mt. Lebanon’s advantage swelled to 27-0.

Norwin did not cross midfield until its penultimate possession of the half, but the Knights finally broke through when Sean Pavlic caught a pass in space, broke a tackle and went 46 yards to cut Mt. Lebanon’s lead to 27-7 at the half.

To reach the playoffs, Norwin needs to defeat Seneca Valley in Week 9 and hope Butler defeats Canon-McMillan.

Jesse Geleynse is a freelance writer.

Tags: Mt. lebanon, Norwin