Pine-Richland knocks off Seneca Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 20, 2018 | 12:00 AM

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Pine-Richland remained perfect in WPIAL play as it defeated Seneca Valley, 21-7, on Friday night in a Class 6A showdown.

The Rams (8-1, 7-0) dominated the pace of play and controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

“This could have been their last home game if we didn’t take care of business, but we took care of business tonight,” said sixth-year coach Eric Kasperowicz.

The two-headed monster of Luke Meckler and Cole Spencer combined to rush for more than 300 yards.

The game started slowly until late in the first quarter when Meckler broke free for a 92-yard rushing touchdown. The junior running back carried the load all evening for Pine-Richland, tallying 24 carries for 205 yards. Sophomore quarterback Cole Spencer added a 2-yard rushing score just before halftime, and a 1-yard rushing score in the third quarter.

Spencer finished with 16 carries for 108 yards. It was a lighter workload than what he usually gets.

“That’s just how it went,” Kasperowicz said. “A lot of it is based on the decisions Cole makes and can see, and he did a great job tonight.”

Seneca Valley (6-3, 4-3) had multiple offensive opportunities to get back into the game. It seemed like the Raiders would hit for a big play to set themselves up, and the offense would stall, or the defense would get a stop, or a penalty would get in the way.

With just over three minutes left in the first half, Seneca Valley forced a stop to bring up a fourth-and-6 in Rams’ territory. The Rams punted, but a running into the kicker penalty made it a fourth-and-1. The Rams went for it, converted, and marched down the field to score just before halftime.

“It’s frustrating that in Week 9 of the season there are mistakes that cost us points,” Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle said. “That’s something we need to clean up in order to make some movement in the playoffs.”

Gabe Lawson started the game at quarterback but the Pine-Ridhcland defense made it tough for him to get anything going.

The Raiders’ only score came late in the game when backup quarterback Caden Smithco, on his only passing attempt, connected with Josh McLean from 44 yards out. Seneca Valley tried an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but the kick rolled out of bounds, and Pine-Richland ran for a few first downs to seal the victory.

Seneca Valley will finish the regular season at Norwin next week with a chance to lock into a fourth place.

Pine Richland travels to Wexford where it will take on rival North Allegheny for the conference title.

Cory Campano is a freelance writer.

Tags: Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley