Greensburg Salem caps season with victory over Uniontown

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 27, 2017 | 11:33 PM

In their regular-season finale Friday at Greensburg Salem's Offutt Field, the Golden Lions closed their season on a positive note, defeating Uniontown, 42-13, in a WPIAL Class 4A Big 9 Conference game.

After spotting the Red Raiders a 7-0 lead at 7:46 of the opening quarter, the Golden Lions scored on four consecutive possessions spanning the first and second quarters to take a 28-7 lead into halftime.

Uniontown scored on its opening possession when Nick Gibson connected with Brian Harris on a 32-yard scoring pass. Gibson and Harris finished the scoring for the night, connecting on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute remaining in the game.

After the Red Raiders' initial touchdown, it was all Greensburg Salem in the first half as the Golden Lions racked up 204 yards rushing and 69 passing prior to halftime, compared to 44 yards on the ground and 32 passing for Uniontown.

Following the Uniontown touchdown, Greensburg Salem's Dajuan Hertzog scored his first of two first-quarter touchdowns on a 7-yard run at 6:01 of the quarter, and followed with a 27-yard touchdown reception from Trent Patrick at 1:51 of the quarter.

Joey Williams' 64-yard touchdown run at 11:31 of the second quarter upped the Golden Lions lead, and Patrick's 5-yard run at 7:56 of the quarter finished the first half scoring. Williams rushed for 85 yards on four first-half carries to lead Greensburg Salem, and took team rushing honors with 102 yards on eight carries. Patrick added 68 yards rushing on six first-half attempts.

Even though there was no postseason WPIAL playoff berth on the line, Uniontown and Greensburg Salem entered the game with similar thoughts.

“We have a good group, and this has been a disappointing season,” Greensburg Salem coach Dave Keefer said. “This game means closure for the seniors and the end of their careers. We've been focused all week and took advantage of scoring opportunities to at least finish 4-6 overall, 4-4 in the conference.”

Greensburg Salem's first-half scoring drives were for 58 yards (6 plays), 51 yards (3 plays), 77 yards (2 plays) and 43 yards (4 plays).

Red Raiders (0-10, 0-8) first-year coach Cedric Lloyd reflected in similar fashion: “It's been a somber last week for the seniors. It's their last game, their last season. It's been a season of not making the plays, of not finishing the drives. We've seen positive changes and we have to transfer that positive energy to the field. Ahmad Hooper ran well for us tonight but after the first possession, we were unable to sustain any offense.”

After the Red Raiders' touchdown, Uniontown followed with a punt on eight consecutive possessions before scoring near the end of the game. Uniontown finished with 155 yards rushing, 111 in the second half, and Hooper took game rushing honors with 103 yards on 20 carries.

Leading 28-7 at the half, Greensburg Salem's Patrick and Williams scored on 1- and 3-yard runs to cap the Golden Lions scoring in the fourth quarter.

“We have an excellent offensive effort tonight from Trent and Joey, and our defense came up big in the first half,” Keefer added.

Les Harvath is a freelance writer.

Tags: Greensburg Salem, Uniontown