Clairton Wins 3rd Straight, 8th WPIAL 1-A Title in 9 Years

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 26, 2016 | 3:18 PM

For the ninth time in the last eleven years and the 13^th time overall, the Clairton Bears have captured WPIAL gold by defeating the Jeannette Jayhawks 26-6 at Joe Walton Stadium at Robert Morris University. 

Without their starting quarterback, Noah Hamlin, for the second straight game, the Bears relied heavily on running back Lamont Wade to lead the way for the victory. Wade rushed for 100 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns and salted away the victory with an 82-yard interception return for a third touchdown. The interception return was the dagger in what was Jeannette’s fifth loss to Clairton in the last two years. 

Clairton scored on their first possession at the 7:47 mark of the first quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by Lamont Wade. After a failed two-point conversion, the Bears had a 6-0 lead. The drive lasted five plays and spanned 64 yards.

The Jayhawks wouldn’t take long to tie the game as they would embark on a seven-play, 71-yard drive of their own. Gio Vonne Sanders connected with Michael Pompei on a nine-yard touchdown pass, as Sanders hit Pompei just inside the right pilon. The big play of the drive was a 47-yard pass from Sanders to Jackson Pruitt. Sanders hit Pruitt on a slant pass and Pruitt took the ball inside the Bears 15-yard line. Blaze Tran’s extra point was wide-right and the game was tied 6-6.

After a couple of failed drives by both teams, Clairton would re-take the lead on a 50-yard touchdown run by Tre Howard. It was a patented one-play drive for the Bears, as Howard took the hand-off on the jet sweep and broke a tackle en route to the end zone. Again, Lamont Wade was held out of the end zone on the two-point conversion and with 0:38 left in the first quarter, the Bears took a 12-6 lead, a lead they would never relinquish. 

The Bears’ halftime lead could have been worse, as Clairton had two touchdowns called back because of penalties. A 60-yard punt return by Tre Howard and a 70-yard touchdown run by Lamont Wade both got reversed by Clairton penalties.

Clairton would add to their lead late in the third quarter as Wade picked off a Sanders pass at his own 18-yard line and raced to the end zone. Jeannette was driving toward a tying touchdown, and in the midst of an 11-play, 7:13 minute drive when Wade turned the tables. Wade’s two-point pass attempt failed. It was a dagger to the heart of the Jayhawks as Clairton took an 18-6 lead.

The Bears would score one more time with 1:39 left in the game on a 54-yard touchdown run by Lamont Wade. Kijafe Fuqua’s two-point conversion was good, giving the Bears their final margin of victory, 26-6.

Jeannette’s Gio Vonne Sanders finished 11-of-25 for 90 yards and a touchdown. Sanders also ran for 39 yards on 19 carries.

With the win, the Clairton Bears advance to the PIAA semi-finals to face the Farrell Steelers, site and time to be determined.

Scoring Summary:

1^st QTR

7:47 CLAIRTON Lamont Wade 6-yd TD run (Wade rush failed), Clairton 6-0

5:01 JEANNETTE Michael Pompei 9-yd TD pass from Gio Vanne Sanders (Blaze Tran kick failed), 6-6

0:38 CLAIRTON Tre Howard 50-yd TD run (Wade rush failed), Clairton 12-6

2^nd QTR

No Scoring

3^rd QTR

1:30 CLAIRTON Lamont Wade 82-yd INT return (Wade pass failed), Clairton 18-6

4^th QTR

1:39 CLAIRTON Lamont Wade 54-yd TD run (Kijafi Fuqua rush), Clairton 26-6

Tags: Clairton, Jeannette