South Fayette uses strong second half to defeat Blackhawk
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Friday, September 28, 2018 | 10:39 PM
The South Fayette Lions were looking to take over first place in the Class 4A Northwest 8 conference Friday night when they hosted first-place Blackhawk.
The Lions did just that as they defeated the Cougars, 21-0.
The game was scoreless at halftime as South Fayette quarterback Jamie Diven was just 2 of 9 for 38 yards passing.
In the second half, he rallied to finish with 200 yards and two touchdowns, capping off a 238-yard performance in the win.
“As the quarterback you have a short memory; he kept his composure and made the throws he needed to make,” South Fayette coach Joe Rossi said.
The Cougars’ run-heavy offense was held to 166 yards on 44 attempts as the Lions defense never allowed Blackhawk to reach the red zone.
The scoring opened up in the third quarter. After a Blackhawk punt, South Fayette’s first play of the drive was a 47-yard touchdown pass from Diven to wide receiver Mike Trimbur, giving the Lions a 7-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, South Fayette was lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1 but made the Cougars’ defense jump offside to earn a first and goal on the 4.
On the next play, Trimbur fumbled an end around jet sweep that the Cougars recovered.
On the ensuing possession, the Cougars gave the ball back when Kenneth Gawley had the ball knocked loose and it was recovered by the Lions. A minute and a half later, Diven completed his second touchdown of the game to Trimbur for 37 yards, extending the lead 14-0.
The Lions put the game away with a 4-yard rushing touchdown from running back Andrew Franklin, making it 21-0 with 1:15 to play.
South Fayette made the adjustments they needed to offensively in the second half, but the Cougars were kept off the scoreboard all night.
“They controlled the tempo,” Blackhawk coach Zack Haward said. “That was a big thing for us. We wanted to control the tempo and we wanted to play our style. In the second half, they played their style. With their high-powered offense, they have a lot of weapons on the field.”
Blackhawk was led by junior running back Marques Watson-Trent, who ran 19 times for 88 yards.
South Fayette (5-1, 3-0) travels to Knoch next Friday, and Blackhawk (5-1, 4-1) hosts New Castle.
Greg Finley is a freelance writer.
Tags: Blackhawk, South Fayette
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