West Allegheny upsets No. 1 Gateway in WPIAL Class 5A semifinals

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 16, 2018 | 11:33 PM

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West Allegheny coach Bob Palko compared his coaching staff to a group of mad scientists in a laboratory, all trying to find the winning formula.

The concoction they created this week included a heavy dose of sophomore running back Nico Flati, a defense focused on stopping the run and one well-timed onside kick.

Facing long odds against a defending WPIAL champion, it worked.

Fifth-seeded West Allegheny scored the final 21 points Friday night to defeat No. 1 Gateway, 42-28, in a cold Class 5A semifinal at West Mifflin, earning Palko one final trip to a WPIAL championship game.

“It’s so cool to see those guys put that much time and effort into (the game plan) and the kids buy into it,” Palko said. “That’s what happens at playoff time. There’s just this magical thing that everybody believes.”

Flati scored four touchdowns, and Palko once again showed his risk-taker side that earned him his eight WPIAL titles. After tying the score 28-28, the Indians recovered an onside kick late in the third quarter and promptly scored again.

Now, the Indians can try to add a ninth title to Palko’s record haul. West Allegheny (10-2) will face No. 2 Penn Hills in the Class 5A championship Nov. 23 at Norwin.

“You can’t even make this stuff up,” said Palko, who revealed before the season that this would be his last. “It’s awesome.”

Gateway (12-1) had led late in the third quarter after a 56-yard touchdown catch by Derrick Davis, but the Gators went scoreless over the final 14 minutes, twice lost the ball on kickoffs and threw a costly fourth-quarter interception.

“They recovered two kicks and got two extra possessions out of it,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “Shame on us. Shame on me.”

The teams were tied 7-7, 14-14, 21-21 and 28-28 before West Allegheny stormed away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns by Flati. Facing fourth-and-2 with 10:24 left, Flati caught a go-ahead, 27-yard touchdown to lead 35-28.

The touchdown was one of three thrown by West A’s Kam Kruze, who completed 7 of 11 attempts for 144 yards. Flati added a 24-yard touchdown run with 3:40 left to clinch the win.

“If you play this team 10 times,” Palko said, “I don’t know if it’s this outcome.”

Flati finished with 133 yards on 20 carries, three touchdowns rushing and one receiving.

Mateo Vandamia and Drevon Baldwin also caught touchdowns for West A.

“I’m speechless,” Flati said. “Honestly, no one thought we could win except for us. That’s what coach Palko has been telling us.”

Gateway quarterback Brendan Majocha rushed for a touchdown and threw two others to Davis and Courtney Jackson. Majocha completed 21 of 31 attempts for 349 passing yards as he shouldered the offense, but the Gators as a team managed just 52 yards rushing.

Davis scored twice for the Gators, but the running back was held to 26 rushing yards.

Gateway played without Miami of Ohio recruit Jeremiah Josephs, a standout receiver and defensive back who was ejected from the team’s quarterfinal win for targeting.

“I want to give (West Allegheny) a lot of credit for playing a great game,” Holl said. “They did what they do better than we did what we do.”

West Allegheny’s key gamble came late in the third after Baldwin caught a 75-yard touchdown with 1:42 left in the quarter. Tied 28-28, West A kicked onside and the Indians’ Logan Malatak recovered. In the fourth, West A’s Logan Scheider recovered a pooch kickoff that Gateway couldn’t field cleanly.

“You’ve got to steal possessions against a team like this,” Palko said. “Our best chance was that, we thought, because they were returning the ball to the 50-yard line anyway.”

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

Tags: Gateway, West Allegheny