Jeannette shuts out Riverview in final test before marquee matchup with rival Clairton

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 20, 2018 | 4:39 PM

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The top-ranked Class A defending champion Jeannette Jayhawks passed their final hurdle leading to Friday’s showdown with No. 2 Clairton.

Jeannette scored three touchdowns on short drives in the first quarter and rolled to a 43-0 shutout over Riverview at Oakmont’s Riverside Park.

Imani Sanders ran for 63 yards on seven carries and scored a pair of touchdowns as the Jayhawks’ defense held the Raiders to no first downs and 28 net offensive yards.

It was the 15th consecutive victory for the Jayhawks, now 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Eastern Conference. Clairton will sport an identical record when it visits McKee Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Jeannette has made the WPIAL playoffs 23 of the past 25 seasons.

There was no indication of the Jeannette players looking ahead to the last team it lost to a year ago.

Because of two short punts and a snap that went over Raiders punter Ben Blacksmith’s head, Jeannette was able to set up at the Riverview 35, the 10 and the 25, respectively.

The explosive Jayhawks needed just 11 offensive plays to go ahead 21-0.

“That was because of the great defense our guys play,” said Jeannette coach Roy Hall of his team’s favorable field position. “The thing I’m most proud about is the win, but also we only got three penalties. That just shows when they put their minds to it, they can do it.”

Imani Sanders scored on runs of 2 and 10 yards to open the scoring.

James Sanders then got in on the action with a 14-yard scoring run to make it 21-0 Jeannette with 3 minutes, 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

“When it rains it pours,” Raiders coach Todd Massack said. “When you’re playing Jeannette, you’ve got be perfect and not give them good field position. That was the story of the day.”

An Imani Sanders interception set up a 2-yard run by Seth Howard and another pick-off by Malik Gordon set up a 50-yard scamper by Gordon.

That put Jeannette in front 34-0 after it ran just 18 plays from scrimmage.

Zack Berginc recovered a Riverview fumble just as the Raiders entered Jeannette territory for the first time. Berginc got the call for 7-yard touchdown run.

Jeannette used its array of offensive weapons.

“I believe if I was a defensive coordinator and had to play us, we have multiple players and our coaches do a great job in spreading the ball around,” Hall said. “Our guys are all unselfish.”

Another snap over the punter’s head went out of the end zone for a safety and the Jayhawks concluded the scoring with 2:38 left in the half.

Both coaches agreed to shorten the third and fourth quarters to 10 minutes each with a running clock.

Riverview (2-6, 1-5) played without five starters.

“We challenged the kids at halftime not to give up,” Massack said. “I thought we battled and that’s what we wanted to see. We’re not going to make excuses, but it’s challenging. We’ve got to simplify things on both sides of the ball because we’re asking people to learn multiple positions. If one goes down, it’s a domino effect.”

Riverview would have gotten a first down on the final play of the game, but Ryan Aber had the ball smacked away as time expired.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Jeannette, Riverview