WPIAL Class 4A final notebook: Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak ties WPIAL title record

By: George Guido
Saturday, November 16, 2019 | 9:35 PM

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Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak continued to add to his incredible legacy Saturday.

Not only did he tie longtime West Allegheny and current Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko with his eighth WPIAL title, but he has 271 career wins and 46 losses. Cherpak passed Chuck Wagner for fifth on the all-time WPIAL victory list after his team defeated Belle Vernon, 41-7, at Heinz Field. Wagner coached Oakmont, Riverview, Fox Chapel and Springdale.

Nine is fine

Thomas Jefferson has nine WPIAL titles — eight under Cherpak and one under another legendary coach Bap Manzini in 1980.

The Jaguars tied Jeannette for the fourth most WPIAL titles.

The school is 63-22 all-time in WPIAL playoff games, 59-16 under Cherpak. The Jaguars are in the playoffs for the 25th consecutive season, a record the school owns with Aliquippa.

Jags ‘D’ rules

Not only did the Thomas Jefferson defense hold Belle Vernon to 13 net rushing yards, the Jaguars recorded eight tackles for losses, two by linebacker James Martines. It added up to 43 lost rushing yards for Belle Vernon.

The Leopards were 1 for 9 on third-down conversions and 1 for 4 on fourth-down conversion attempts.

Leopards lose at Heinz

Belle Vernon lost in its first title game appearance at Heinz Field.

The Leopards lost at Three Rivers Stadium to West Allegheny in 1999 and to Blackhawk in 1996.

Belle Vernon won it all in 1995, defeating Franklin Regional. That was the season where all four WPIAL title-winners had double-ll’s in their names: Belle Vernon, Penn Hills, Burrell and Farrell.

The Leopards have made the playoffs for 11 straight seasons. The school is now 18-28 all-time in WPIAL playoff games.

Before Belle Vernon came on the scene in 1965, two predecessor schools appeared in WPIAL title games. Rostraver tied Carmichaels in the 1962 Class AA title game, 0-0, at Uniontown Stadium and Marion lost to Bridgeville, 24-0, in the 1948 Class A championship game at Washington High School.

Coach Matt Humbert is 51-14 at Belle Vernon, 79-27 when his years at Ringgold are added.

Up next

Thomas Jefferson will face a recent nemesis in the PIAA playoffs Friday. The Jaguars face Erie’s Cathedral Prep at 7 p.m. at Martorelli Stadium in West View.

The Ramblers defeated TJ in the state playoffs from 2015-17.

Summary

Thomas Jefferson 41, Belle Vernon 7

Belle Vernon 0-0-7-0 — 7

Thomas Jefferson 13-22-0-6 — 41

How they scored:

TJ: Shane Stump 1 run (Dylan Sullivan kick)

TJ: Dylan Mallozzi 12 run (kick failed)

TJ: Mallozzi 4 run (Sullivan kick)

TJ: Mallozzi 16 run (Sullivan kick)

TJ: Stump 3 run (Mallozzi run)

BV: Nolan Labuda 5 pass from Jared Hartman (Cameron Guess kick)

TJ: Mallozzi 39 run (kick failed)

Team statistics

Belle Vernon Thomas Jefferson

First downs 8 19

Rushes-Yards 22-13 38-218

Passing yards 47 121

Passing Att-Comp-Int 19-7-1 16-5-0

Total offense Plays-yards 41-60 54-339

Punts (number-avg.) 3-35.7 1-39

Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 4-54 4-44

Possession time 21:14 26:46

Individual statistics:

Rushing: BV: Larry Callaway 7-24, Jared Hartman 8-10, Devin Whitlock 4-6, Nolan Labuda 1–minus 1, Dane Anden 1-minus 5, Cameron Guess 1-minus 21; TJ: Dylan Mallozzi 27-178-4, Shane Stump 10-40-2, Nathan Werderber 1-0.

Passing: BV: Jared Hartman 7-19-47-1INT-1TD; TJ: Shane Stump 5-16-121-0INT-0TD

Receiving: BV: Whitlock 2-19, Callaway 2-0, Hunter Ruokonen 1-13, Anden 1-10, Nolan Labuda 1-5-1; TJ: Daniel Deabner 3-83, Ian Hansen 1-27, James Martinis 1-11.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson