Belle Vernon loses quarterback to injury, defeats West Mifflin with run-heavy offense

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 12, 2018 | 10:54 PM

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As Belle Vernon quarterback Jared Hartman was stretchered off the field, tailback Mason Pascoe understood immediately what that meant for the offense.

He and his linemen had better be ready.

“He’s one of the leaders of our offense, one of the leaders of our team, and not having him really changes everything,” Pascoe said. “We had to rely more on the run game.”

Pascoe rushed 31 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns in an emotional 28-12 victory over Big Eight Conference host West Mifflin on Friday night. The 5-foot-7, 170-pound senior had touchdown runs of 4 and 6 yards behind an offensive line that held a significant size advantage over West Mifflin.

Pascoe’s first touchdown came one snap after Hartman was injured midway through the second quarter.

“When you have an injury like that with the kid who’s the leader of everything — he truly is our leader — you just need to cohesively gel together,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said. “That’s where you show your grit. That’s where you show your determination, so I was very proud to see those guys actually rise to the occasion. The whole thing was, get that win for that kid. And they were able to do that.”

The injury was believed to be a dislocated knee, said Humbert, who expected Hartman to return this season.

Belle Vernon’s offense is typically run-heavy, but the Leopards carried the football 41 times and passed it just twice after Hartman left.

The win puts third-ranked Belle Vernon (6-1, 5-1 WPIAL Class 4A Big Eight Conference) in position for a home game in the playoffs. The loss was the first for No. 5 West Mifflin (4-4, 4-1), leaving top-ranked Thomas Jefferson (7-0, 5-0) as the only team undefeated in the conference.

The three teams could finish in a first-place tie if West Mifflin defeats Thomas Jefferson in Week 9. Otherwise, Belle Vernon almost certainly will finish second. The Leopards have just one conference game left, against winless Ringgold.

Hartman was injured on a run up the middle with 4 minutes, 45 seconds left in the second quarter.

But he wasn’t the only player Belle Vernon lost to injury. The Leopards finished the game without center Eric Oblack, and Pascoe also sat out the fourth quarter.

Larry Callaway replaced Pascoe in the backfield and finished with 88 yards on 17 carries including a 5-yard touchdown with 1:51 left. Nolan Labuda, who replaced Hartman, guided Belle Vernon to three touchdowns and also intercepted two passes on defense.

“It was next man up, and I was proud of how the kids did that,” Humbert said. “That’s coach talk, and you can always say that, but it was truly the case tonight. Kids, when they stepped in, did a great job.”

Belle Vernon found some early success with Hartman and Pascoe running the read-option. Hartman had carried seven times for 58 yards and a touchdown before the injury. His 3-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter gave Belle Vernon a 7-0 lead.

Hartman was orchestrating another touchdown drive when he was injured. He’d just led the Leopards 44 yards in 11 plays. Labuda entered with third-and-goal at West Mifflin’s 4-yard line.

Pascoe scored on the next snap for a 14-0 lead.

West Mifflin scored in the final minute before halftime. Bryant Johnson caught a 16-yard touchdown from Matthew Schuster with 49 seconds left in the half.

The teams combined for only five first-half possessions as both mostly ran the football and tried to control the clock.

Belle Vernon led 14-6 at half.

Pascoe extended the Leopards’ lead to 21-6 with a 6-yard touchdown run in the third. He carried the football on six consecutive snaps, totaling 75 yards. He set up his short touchdown run with a 50-yard sprint.

West Mifflin answered early in the fourth with a quick 67-yard touchdown drive capped by a 3-yard scoring run by Parrish Parker. The four-play drive included 38- and 23-yard receptions by Johnson.

“We hit a couple of nice passes and managed to score,” West Mifflin coach Ray Braszo said. “But they had possession of the ball most of the time. Any time somebody beats you up front like that, you have to hope maybe they make some fumbles or something. They didn’t.”

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, West Mifflin