After crashing Class 5A title-game party, West Allegheny set to take on unbeaten Penn Hills

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 22, 2018 | 9:54 PM

No high school stadium could match the atmosphere of Heinz Field or old Three Rivers Stadium, venues where West Allegheny’s Bob Palko won his record eight WPIAL football titles.

But the WPIAL needed a new host for the Class 5A final.

“They had to play the game somewhere,” Palko said. “And what’s a better place to put Penn Hills and Gateway? Put them at Norwin.”

Until, of course, West A crashed their party.

Top-seeded Gateway and second-seeded Penn Hills were considered the WPIAL favorites since way back before the season started. Both went undefeated in the regular season and stayed that way until No. 5 seed West Allegheny (10-2) upset Gateway last week in the semifinals, setting up a championship matchup with Penn Hills (13-0) on Friday night at Norwin.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

This is the first time since 1985 that a WPIAL final will be played at a high school venue. Palko pokes fun at the distance from West A, but admits he would have made the same decision.

“Wouldn’t you?” he said. “If you’re looking at the teams and saying it’s probably going to be McKeesport or Gateway or Penn Hills or Penn-Trafford, let’s put it over at Norwin where we’ll get a gazillion people to watch the game.”

Just three weeks ago, few would have predicted that his team would be there.

West Allegheny won the WPIAL title two years ago but lost in the first round last season and squeaked out a bundle of close wins this year to make the playoffs. There were one-point wins over Bethel Park and Woodland Hills, a slim three-point victory over Baldwin and a 7-0 win over Moon in the regular-season finale — tight scores that dropped them from the championship conversation.

However, Penn Hills coach Jon LeDonne said he wasn’t terribly surprised that West A reached the WPIAL finals.

“Some people may have been surprised by that,” LeDonne said. “Any time you’ve got a Coach Palko team at West Allegheny, some people may think they’re an underdog, but they’re never an underdog with what he’s built there.”

This is Palko’s final season as West A’s coach after more than two decades. Before he leaves, he’ll have one more chance to add to his record eight WPIAL titles. His players said after last Friday’s improbable victory that they were determined to get him back to the finals once more, even if Palko downplays his impending exit himself.

“I don’t talk about it, I don’t hear about it, I don’t care about it,” Palko said. “As long as the kids care about each other, that’s all that counts to me.”

Palko seeks his ninth WPIAL title in 10 championship appearances. He decided before the season that this will be his last. Assistant coach Kim Niedbala will replace Palko next year.

But this also has been a special year for Penn Hills. LeDonne, in his second season, is trying to win that program its first WPIAL title since 1995.

The key is to avoid the miscues that doomed Gateway in a 42-28 loss last week. West Allegheny played mostly mistake-free football and capitalized whenever Gateway stumbled. West A recovered two kickoffs, intercepted a fourth-quarter pass and scored the final 21 points.

“Gateway had some costly turnovers and missed assignments,” LeDonne said. “In big-time games, you can’t do that. We’re hoping that we could eliminate any type of penalties or mistakes going into this week.”

The winner faces either Archbishop Wood of District 12 or Hollidaysburg of District 6 in a PIAA semifinal.

Penn Hills’ high-scoring offense is led by 2,300-yard passer Hollis Mathis and 1,400-yard rusher Terry “Tank” Smith. Both are seniors committed to Howard. Mathis has thrown for 34 touchdowns and Smith has rushed for 18.

Penn Hills averages 39.7 points but started slowly in its semifinals. The team trailed Peters Township, 14-0, before rallying in the fourth quarter. Dante Cephas caught two touchdowns from Mathis, and Smith scored the go-ahead points with 3:37 left.

“They’re just really crazy athletic,” Palko said. “They can run, they can throw, they can score anytime on the field. You hold your breath, hope you tackle and don’t give up the big plays.”

Against Gateway, West A’s defense focused on stopping the run. As a result, the Gators rushed for only 52 yards, making their offensive one-dimensional.

Penn Hills is well aware.

“We need to be able to run the ball effectively with Tank and get them in matchups that favor us,” LeDonne said.

After ties at 7-7, 14-14, 21-21 and 28-28, West Allegheny’s defense shut out Gateway in the fourth quarter last week. But in a shootout with one of the WPIAL’s top offenses, West A also showed its scoring ability with three touchdowns rushing touchdowns and three more receiving.

Sophomore running back Nico Flati rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, and also caught a touchdown. Junior quarterback Kam Kruze completed 7 of 11 attempts for 144 yards and three touchdowns.

The 42 points were the most West A scored all season.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Penn Hills, West Allegheny