Westmoreland high school football notebook: Penn-Trafford peaks at right time

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, November 2, 2024 | 5:24 PM

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Penn-Trafford is playing winning football at the right time, and coach John Ruane credits preparation and an unheralded contribution from his backups for the consistency.

The Warriors (9-2) opened the WPIAL 5A playoffs with a 49-28 victory Friday night over South Fayette for their first postseason win since their great championship run in 2021.

The win was their seventh straight.

Penn-Trafford rolled up 312 rushing yards, led by senior Tasso Whipple, who ran for 158 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

Sophomore Ben Grabowski added 89 yards, and senior quarterback Derek Carr had 60 yards and three touchdowns.

“The whole 70-man roster gets better every week,” Ruane said. “The young guys at practice are really good. They work their butts off every day and push the older guys.

“The thing here is that we don’t change our routine. We look for progress in all the kids, not just the starting 22.”

Penn-Trafford started 2-2, falling to Norwin and Woodland Hills before running off seven in a row.

If that sounds familiar …

After starting 2-2 in 2021, the Warriors won 11 straight to earn their first WPIAL and PIAA championships.

“It’s good to get in (the playoffs), but you can’t just be happy to get in,” Ruane said. “You want to win playoff games.”

The current seniors were freshmen when the Warriors won titles, but only three of them were varsity players: Whipple, Jonny Lovre and Dom Smith.

Penn-Trafford lost in the quarterfinals the last two years — its playoff opener each time — so Friday marked a fresh start in the postseason.

“Our guys want to have new life and make their own run in the playoffs,” Ruane said.

Elite company

Whipple moved into third place on Penn-Trafford’s career rushing list. His 3,420 yards trail only all-timer Matt Gavrish (6,534) and Chris Schneider (3,963).

Whipple already had leapfrogged other big names, including Cade Yacamelli (2,755) and Manny Simpson (3,152), men with whom he is familiar.

“Great guys,” Whipple said. “Manny was my coach in midgets. Really good coach. And Cade, I watched him run and learned from him.”

Whipple also had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in Friday’s win.

Jeannette-GCC rematch

While it seemed like a longshot, the Jeannette-Greensburg Central Catholic rematch will take place next week in the quarterfinals.

The Eastern Conference and Westmoreland County rivals advanced, Jeannette more unexpectedly so.

No. 13 seed Jeannette (8-3) pulled a stunner with a sound, 23-7 upset of No. 4 Neshannock (9-2) in New Castle.

No. 5 GCC (8-2) won a shootout against visiting 12th-seeded Monessen (7-4), 54-38.

The rematch guarantees a local team will be in the semifinals.

Jeannette and GCC will play at 7 p.m. Friday at Norwin.

Jeannette coach Tommy Paulone called his team’s win an “execution blessing,” a perfect storm of preparation and belief in a game plan.

“Think about what our players did,” Paulone said. “They lost three straight. They won on the road at Brentwood. They drew the No. 13 seed and executed a game plan to pull an upset of a good football team.

“We get to use this game to show our players to stay the course and overcome adversity. We earned another week.”

GCC beat Jeannette, 44-27, on Oct. 4 in Carbon.

The teams have met in the playoffs only one other time, the 2006 WPIAL championship. Jeannette won 24-14 at then-Heinz Field to take the Class 2A title.

GCC is on a seven-game winning streak. Jeannette has won four in a row.

Panthers move on

No. 9 seed Franklin Regional (8-3) earned its first win in the playoffs since 2019 with a 17-16 victory over No. 8 North Hills (8-3) in the 5A bracket.

Credit the Devola brothers for some of the heavy lifting.

Cole Devola, who had one reception all season, pulled in a 12-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter on a fourth-down “pop pass” from Chase Lemke. Joey Bayne’s extra point made it 17-16.

With North Hills in desperation mode, the Panthers forced a fumble on a lateral, and Andrew Devola recovered to ice it.

Macallister Bresnahan had three sacks, Jude Gentile ran for a score and Jayvon Austin had a fumble recovery for the Panthers.

Bayne, who played in Saturday night’s WPIAL 3A boys soccer championship in Pittsburgh, had a 32-yard field goal.

Kyle Dupill, the Panthers’ standout running back and the second-leading rusher in the WPIAL, was limited because he has bruised ribs. He said he hopes to play next week.

Yards sale

Greensburg Central Catholic and Monessen had the shootout of the night Friday as GCC won 54-38 in the Class A first round.

The teams combined for 739 yards in a matchup that featured big plays from the quarterbacks.

Samir Crosby of GCC threw for 165 yards and four touchdowns and returned a kickoff 70 yards for a score. TyVaughn Kershaw, meantime, ran for 211 yards and two TDs on 31 carries and passed for 146 yards and two scores for the Greyhounds.

Chismar strong

Greensburg Salem probably won’t need to use two quarterbacks next year.

It looks like it has found its man.

Sophomore Brody Chismar was poised in his playoff debut Friday night as the Golden Lions fell to Avonworth, 43-27, in the 3A first round.

Chismar finished 14 of 20 for a career-high 259 yards and four touchdowns.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Penn-Trafford