Latrobe, Wetzel punish West Allegheny in playoffs
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Friday, November 3, 2023 | 11:08 PM
Latrobe’s John Wetzel runs against West Allegheny in the first half in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
West Allegheny quarterback Brody Malatak on his knees after a strip-sack against Latrobe in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Ben Bigi kicks his third extra-point of the first half against West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s John Wetzel cruises into the end zone against West Allegheny for his second second-quarter touchdown in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Ben Statton pulls in a second-quarter catch against West Allegheny’s Roman Police in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Cody Krall celebrates with John Wetzel after Wetzel’s second-quarter touchdown run against West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Ja’Tawn Williams pulls in a catch past West Allegheny’s Scott Macher in the first quarter in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe quarterback John Wetzel races down the sideline to set up a first-quarter touchdown in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe coach Ron Prady celebrates a second-quarter John Wetzel touchdown against West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s John Wetzel cruises into the end zone against West Allegheny for his second second-quarter touchdown in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch gets a block on West Allegheny’s Teagan Tomei for quarterback John Wetzel on a first-quarter run in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Chris Cochran takes down West Allegheny’s Brody Malstak in the second quarter in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Ja’Tawn Williams pulls in a catch past West Allegheny’s Scott Macher in the first quarter in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch celebrates with John Wetzel after Wetzel’s second-quarter touchdown run against West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch takes down West Allegheny’s Roman Police in the first quarter in the WPIAL Class 4A first round Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at West Allegheny High School.
West Allegheny teammates look on as quarterback Brody Malatak is carted off the field on a back brace and stretcher Friday.
West Allegheny quarterback Brody Malatak gives a thumbs-up as he is carted off the field Friday.
Maybe the WPIAL committee gave the Parkway Conference too much credit and not enough to the Big Seven.
No. 9 Latrobe (8-3) showed the committee what the Big Seven is all about as it took it to the Parkway Conference fourth-place team, No. 8 West Allegheny, on Friday in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.
Wildcats junior quarterback John Wetzel scored four times and rushed for 244 yards in the Wildcats’ 39-7 rout at Joe P. DeMichela Stadium. Latrobe will travel to No. 1 Aliquippa on Nov. 10.
“I’ve always said that they play great football over here in Allegheny and Beaver Counties,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said. “But we play good football in Westmoreland County too.
“I wish people of the football committee would get out and watch football instead of sitting on their couch and going off reputation. I don’t know if any of those guys saw us play. We know we have huge challenge next week. We just have to prepare as well as we can and play hard and see what happens.””
The Wildcats outmuscled the Indians (6-5), pushing them around on the field, and Wetzel played quarterback like a linebacker. Wetzel punished West Allegheny tacklers, running them over at times.
“He’s not the type that will step out of bounds,” Prady said. “We can tell him a thousand times to step out of bound, and he won’t do it. He’s a physical kid. He enjoys the contact, and he enjoys it on defense, too.”
Wetzel scored on runs of 5, 42, 22 and 3 yards. He also had a 47-yard run and turned a busted play in the third quarter into a 23-yard run. He completed 4 of 8 passes for 61 yards, and his 44-yard toss to Ja’Tawn Williams on third-and-8 on the third play of the first drive set up the first score.
His 47-yard run on the Wildcats’ second possession set up Ben Bigi’s 25-yard field goal.
“It was as physical and dominant first half of defense that I’ve seen in a long time, and I’ve coached on some pretty good staffs and good defenses,” Prady said. “Our guys were prepared and excited to play regardless of the ride or seed. We didn’t feel any of that mattered. We came here to play hard — play hard and be physical.”
West Allegheny, which had its top two quarterbacks — Brock Cornell and Brody Malatak — knocked by physical hits, was held to 7 yards rushing and 37 yards passing in the first half.
“They said they were going to beat us 42-7, and we were upset about that,” Wetzel said. “We came here and didn’t let that happen. Our game plan was to hit them and hit them, and we did.”
Wetzel scored on runs of 42 and 22 yards to push the lead to 24-0 by halftime.
The Wildcats rushed for 220 yards and added 61 through the air in the first half.
West Allegheny was down 10-0 in the second quarter when linebacker Derek Curry and Cornell left the game with injuries. Curry returned in the second half; Cornell did not.
“It was a tough night for us,” West Allegheny coach Dave Schoppe said. “Latrobe was well prepared for us, and they gave us trouble on the offensive side. They were able to move the ball and take advantage of some of the breakdowns we had.
“We knew 10 was an athlete and was a guy we had to focus on and stop. He was able to make some plays. When Brock went down, it was a big hurt for us. The team goes as Brock goes.”
West Allegheny missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt on its first possession of the second half, but it couldn’t stop the Wildcats’ offense.
Wetzel made it 32-0 with 2 seconds left in the third quarter on a 3-yard run, and junior Brady Prohovic made it 39-0 in the fourth quarter. His 47-yard run set up the score. Prohovic finished with 81 yards.
Latrobe rushed for 356 yards.
West Allegheny got on the board late in the game when Michael Woodson scored on a 10-yard run.
“They were better than we thought,” Schoppe said. “I felt if could have kept the ball away from them more and controlled the tempo a little more we would have been in a good game.”
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Latrobe, West Allegheny
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