South Allegheny edges Apollo-Ridge in season finale

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 28, 2017 | 12:36 AM

Neither South Allegheny nor Apollo-Ridge qualified for playoffs, but one was hoping to finish the season on a high note.

It was South Allegheny who put a final “W” on the season with a 29-26 win over host Apollo-Ridge Friday at Owens Field.

“We've been trying to put (games) away all year long,” South Allegheny coach Mike Crown said. “We usually gave teams 10 or 20 points in the first quarter, then come back. It's nice to see we finally persevered in the fourth quarter and put it away.”

The South Allegheny defense stood tall in the fourth quarter, allowing no points after a 33-yard field goal from senior Jared Brysh gave the Gladiators the lead for good with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left in the third quarter.

Apollo-Ridge (4-6) got on the scoreboard first, taking the opening drive 60 yards on 10 plays. Junior Alex Gamble finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Two drives later, the Vikings extended the lead with a 7-yard scoring run from senior Ryan Bias.

The drive was set up by a blocked punt, recovered by Apollo-Ridge at South Allegheny's 23-yard line.

South Allegheny refused to roll over, scoring the next 26 points of the contest.

Junior quarterback Brandon Nolder hit senior Derek Lockhart for a 63-yard scoring pass. Junior Juwan Mitchell intercepted a tipped pass from Apollo-Ridge quarterback Klay Fitzroy, before punching the ball in from 1 yard on the ensuing drive. A Cameron Territo kick gave South Allegheny a 13-12 lead.

Nolder connected with Mitchell on a 30-yard pass play 6 seconds before the half to extend South Allegheny's lead to 20-12.

Nolder finished with 9-of-19 passing for 197 yards, and Lockhart had four catches for 101 yards.

The Gladiators added to the lead as Antonio Epps took the opening kickoff of the second half 75 yards for a score and a 26-12 lead.

Apollo-Ridge quickly answered as Fitzroy called his own number, going 80 yards for a score.

“I didn't know he could run that fast,” Apollo-Ridge coach John Skiba said. “He hit that thing and went.”

Klay Fitzroy added a 1-yard score later in the quarter before hitting Kyle Fitzroy for a conversion, tying the game at 26.

Klay Fitzroy had 20 rushes for 149 yards.

“It's very typical of what we do. We battle every week,” Skiba said. “We might be depleted, we might be down on numbers, but we're going to battle. You have to love the way they battle, too. Some of these young kids sell out. They're only 14 years old, and they're battling their tails off.”

South Allegheny took over the battle, not allowing Apollo-Ridge an opportunity to score again in the final frame.

After Fitzroy's tally, the Gladiators marched 50 yards over 12 plays to set up Brysh's winning kick.

“I think the kids understand what's expected of them.” Crown said. “Today, I think they got more comfortable. All year we reinforced that. They were so comfortable that they put this one away.”

Dave Yohe is a freelance writer.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, South Allegheny