WPIAL Football Semifinals and Quarterfinals Playoff Recaps

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 11, 2017 | 6:02 AM

Eight teams got their ticket punched for a trip to Heinz Field to play for district gold on Saturday. November 18th while eight others are halfway though the Road to RMU and are advancing to the district Final Four on Friday, November 17th. Here are recaps from the 16 WPIAL Football Playoff games from a frigid Friday in Western Pa.

A special thanks to Paul Paterra, Bob Orkwis, Tom Hays, Rob McKinney, Mark Uriah, Steve Nagler, Donny Chedrick, Jason Tennant, Bob Gregg, Josh Rowntree, Randy Gore, Brian Mroziak, Bob Barrickman, Bill Beckner, Sean Meyers, Kevin Zielmanski and Sean Saputo for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS 6-A Semifinals:

#1 Pine-Richland Rams  49  –  #5 North Allegheny Tigers  25
Pine-Richland clinched its sixth WPIAL title game appearance with a 49-25 victory over the North Allegheny Tigers on Friday night at Ambridge High School. The Rams rolled up 665 yards of offense in the WPIAL Class 6A semifinal contest and prevailed predominantly on the passing connection of Phil Jurkovec to Jason DiFrancisis. Jurkovec completed 18 of 20 passes for 432 yards and five touchdowns, with four of his scoring strikes going to DiFrancisis. Jurkovec also rushed for 107 yards and a score. The night began with a great display of solidarity between the two schools as the bands for North Allegheny and Pine-Richland unified to play the Star Spangled Banner before the contest. Once the game commenced, the Pine-Richland offense drove to the North Allegheny 26-yard line before their opening possession stalled. The Tigers quickly scored on their first drive of the game with a 2-yard touchdown run by Turner White for a 7-0 lead with 9:49 to play in the first quarter.  NA quarterback Luke Trueman set up the touchdown with a 72-yard run on the possession. The big-play Pine-Richland offense responded just 25 seconds later when Jurkovec hit DiFrancisis for a 52-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 7-7. Pine-Richland added touchdown runs by Jordan Crawford and Jurkovec in the first quarter to take a 21-7 lead. In the second quarter, North Allegheny managed to trim the deficit to 21-18 on the strength of a 38-yard touchdown pass from Trueman to Ben Maenza and a 32-yard field by Dom Falo with 2:34 remaining before halftime. Pine-Richland used up only 1:11 on its next drive and scored on a 17-yard connection between Jurkovec and DiFrancisis to give the Rams a 28-18 lead going into the locker room. The Tigers had the football first in the second half but their drive stalled with a turnover on downs at the PR 27-yard line. One play later, Jurkovec heaved a 73-yard touchdown pass to Crawford to increase the Rams advantage to 35-18. North Allegheny responded with a Trueman 5-yard touchdown pass to fullback Ryan Langdon to bring the score to 35-25, Rams, with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter. Pine-Richland pulled away over the final 15 minutes of the game with two more touchdown passes from Jurkovec to DiFrancisis from 25-yards and 46-yards out, respectively, for a 49-25 win.  DiFrancisis finished with nine receptions for 263 yards and four touchdowns. Pine-Richland improves to 12-0 on the season and advances to the WPIAL Class 6A championship game for a meeting with the Central Catholic Vikings. North Allegheny’s season ends with an 8-4 record.

#2 Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings  17  –  #6 Penn Hills Indians  8
In a game that featured seven turnovers and ineffective offenses for the majority of the night, two big passing plays catapulted the second-seed Vikings to the 17-8 semifinals victory against No. 6 Penn Hills at Fox Chapel High School. Central Catholic QB Troy Fisher connected with Corey Thomas on a 75-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and Gavin Thomson on a 66-yard strike in the third. That output was enough for the Vikings’ defense, which stifled the potent Indians’ passing attack. Penn Hills quarterback Hollis Mathis, who boasted more than 2,300 passing yards entering the game, was limited to just 14 of 26 passing for 107 yards. Moreover, the Indians’ running attack managed just 66 yards on 22 attempts. While the Vikings produced 309 yards of total offense, nearly half of that came courtesy of the two long scores. While Fisher completed only five passes, he did pace the Vikings with 94 yards rushing on 18 carries. Furthermore, sophomore Dontre Jones performed admirably in place of the injured Khalil Weathers, as he compiled 70 yards on the ground. Although Central Catholic held a 10-0 edge after Thomas’ TD and a 37-yard field goal by Jonathan Opalko, Penn Hills finally mounted a scoring drive late in the first half. On fourth down, Mathis connected with tight end Richard Martin on a 13-yard pass, and the Indians made the two-point conversion to trim their deficit to just two points at the intermission. Each team fumbled away its first possession of the second half, and after Fisher connected with Thomson on the Vikings’ second drive, Penn Hills turned the ball over on downs in Vikings’ territory. With Penn Hills clinging to a glimmer of hope in the fourth quarter, Mathis was intercepted by Thomson, effectively sealing the outcome. Central Catholic will now aim to capture its third-consecutive WPIAL title next Saturday at Heinz Field, but top-seed and undefeated Pine-Richland stands in the Vikings path.

WPIAL CLASS 5-A Semifinals:

#1 Penn-Trafford Warriors  35  –  #4 Upper St. Clair Panthers  14
After a close call in the quarterfinals, Penn-Trafford took ownership of the semifinals with a performance that was as efficient as it was dominant. And now it’s back to the Mustard Bowl for the top-seeded Warriors. Sophomore Caleb Lisbon scored three touchdowns, the running and passing games worked in tandem and the Warriors’ defense held Upper St. Clair to two first downs well into the second half as Penn-Trafford rolled past No. 4 Upper St. Clair, 35-14, on a frigid Friday night at West Mifflin’s Titan Stadium. The Warrriors (11-1) will meet rival Gateway (9-2) in the WPIAL Class 5A championship next Saturday at Heinz Field. Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane is a teacher at Gateway. The Warriors blanked the Gators, 28-0, earlier in the season. Penn-Trafford will make its third trip to the finals in school history and second in three years and will try to bring home its first WPIAL title. Upper St. Clair finished 8-4. “We were balanced tonight. Our offensive line was the difference. They did a great job and picked up blitzes left and right,” Ruane said. “There were a couple home runs that we hit were picked-up blitzes. Our defense was tremendous again. We were close to shutting them out.” To say that Penn-Trafford dominated the first half would be an understatement. On their opening drive, the Warriors went 84 yards in 15 plays in 7 minutes, 7 seconds to take a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Cam Laffoon scored from the 1. “We were focused tonight, but it starts up front,” Laffoon said. A 68-yard drive followed with speedster Lisbon dashing up the middle for 24 yards and a score to make it 14-0. “We came out with our ‘A’ game and played hard,” Lisbon said. “Those big drives and stops on defense really made a big difference.” After a bad punt by the Panthers, the Warriors drove to the 1 but were stopped on downs. But that was about the only negative in the opening half. Cam Suman stepped in front of an off-thrown ball by USC quarterback Jack Hansberry and returned it 32 yards to keep the Warriors in command with a 21-0 lead at the half. “We said on the sidelines we wanted to score on defense and kind of change the game a little bit,” Suman said. “That kind of sparked everything for our defense. It’s a crazy feeling to know we’re going back (to Heinz Field).” The Warriors were 5 for 5 on third downs in the opening half. Lisbon capped Penn-Trafford’s opening drive of the second half with an 8-yard touchdown catch. Lisbon ran for 108 yards, and Laffoon finished 9 of 12 for 118 yards and ran for 62 yards. John Gay IV added 60 yards rushing. Suman caught three passes for 53 yards. “Hats off to them,” Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render said. “They’re big. They’re fast, and they’re well-coached. It’s very hard to find a weakness.” There was one miscue for the Warriors. A bad snap bounced past punter Nick Tarabrella, and the Panthers recovered at the 1. Hansberry scored on the next play to cut the deficit to 28-7 with 5:14 left. “We had the goal-line stand and started to move the ball,” Render said. “There were a few positives, but at the end of the day, they were a better football team.” Lisbon raced 35 yards for a score to increase the advantage to 35-7. Hansberry connected to Colin McLinden for a 29-yard score with 2:42 to go. “I hope people realize how hard these kids work,” Ruane said. “They sacrifice and work their butts off. They have an unmatchable work ethic. This group of seniors were sophomores the last time we made it down there. They want to go and finish it.” Lineman Logan Hawkins, an Akron recruit, wore No. 44 for the Warriors and played halfback. The move was to fortify perimeter blocking.

#2 Gateway Gators  28  –  #6 McKeesport Tigers  21 
Gateway freshman Derrick Davis found the end zone on an 18-yard touchdown run with 2:15 left, helping advance the Gators to the WPIAL 5-A Championship Game by way of a 28-21 win over McKeesport on Friday night at Norwin High School. Davis’ winning score capped a wild second half in which the two teams combined for 42 points, just a year the Tigers pulled off a miraculous Hail Mary victory with the same stakes on the line. The first half was an offensive struggle for both sides, as McKeesport managed just 55 yards of offense and Gateway’s lone score came on a Brady Walker to Courtney Jackson 19-yard touchdown pass. On the Gators’ first drive after halftime, Walker led Gateway (11-1) on a 4-play scoring drive in which he found Jeremiah Josephs for a 17-yard score. Down 14-0 and with excellent field position following a Gateway celebration penalty, McKeesport (8-3) got on the board with a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback J.J. Harper. A botched extra point resulted in Harper throwing a two-point conversion pass to make the score 14-8. Tigers coach Matt Miller then dialed up an onside kick, which McKeesport recovered. On the ensuing play, Harper went 49 yards around the left end to tie the game 14-14 after a missed extra point. Two drives later, Walker amassed 56 rushing yards and found the end zone on a 2-yard dash. After a missed extra point of their own, Gateway led 20-14 with 0:29 left in the third. But McKeesport again had an answer, this time on a seven-play drive that Layton Jordan ended with a 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Tigers a 21-20 lead before Gateway’s winning drive. McKeesport, in a flashback to last year’s semifinal win, pulled off a hook-and-lateral play on 4th down that got the Tigers into scoring range, but Gateway’s defense held on another 4th down attempt. Walker, the WPIAL’s leading passer, finished 20-of-31 passing for 228 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while rushing for 75 yards and another score. Davis, a backup until last week when injury forced him into the starting tailback role, racked up 150 yards of total offense for the Gators, which will face rival Penn-Trafford in their first trip to Heinz Field since 2009. McKeesport, which finished 2-of-15 on third down conversions, was led by Harper, who completed 3-of-10 passes for 45 yards and rushed 20 times for 77 yards and two scores. Carlinos Acie totaled 108 yards rushing for the Tigers and Jordan scored once on 15 carries for 64 yards.

WPIAL CLASS 4-A Semifinals:

#4 Montour Spartans  35  –  #1 South Fayette Lions  27  
For the second consecutive week, the Montour Spartans overcame a large second-half deficit to win and stay alive in the 4-A WPIAL football playoffs.  Last week the Spartans came from twenty-one points down late in the third quarter to New Castle to win and this week Montour stunned top-seeded South Fayette by erasing a 13-point Lion lead after 3 quarters.  After relinquishing 27 first-half points, the Spartan defense forced three Drew Saxton interceptions in the second half while shutting out the Lions in the last 24 minutes of action.  Down 27-14, the Spartans scored three 4^th quarter TDs in the last 8+ minutes of the football game.  With 8:41 to go in the game, Kavon Morman scored on a 3-yard run to cut the Lion lead to 27-21.  Then, after a Mormon INT and return to the Lion’s 5 yard line, Brandon Lipford scored two plays later to give Montour a 28-27 lead.  Saxton drove South Fayette deep into Montour territory but would throw the 3^rd of three INTs as he underthrew a receiver and was picked off by Lipford, who ran the ball back to South Fayette’s 4 yard line.  Mormon would run the ball in on the next play to extend the lead to 35-27.  The Lions would still have over three minutes to get the tying TD and 2-point conversion, but they eventually turned the ball over on downs to Montour and Montour was able to salt away the rest of the time.  Mormon was the star of the game for Montour as he gained 122 yards on 23 carries and scored 3 TDs.  Mormon also completed 15/21 passes for 207 yards and an INT.  Both Lipford and Jake Tomas would score rushing TDs for the Spartans.  In the loss, Lions outstanding QB Drew Saxton completed 19/35 for 281 yards and 2 TDs.  With the win, Montour (9-2) will move on to Heinz Field to face Thomas Jefferson in the 4-A WPIAL football championship next weekend.

#3 Thomas Jefferson Jaguars  27  –  #2 Belle Vernon Leopards  0
Thomas Jefferson football usually means run the ball and control the clock. It was done to perfection Friday at Baldwin High School. The Jaguars (10-1) amassed 316 yards in victory and had two touchdown drives that took more than 8 minutes off the clock. The main cog in the Jaguar ground machine was Justin Vigna who carried the ball 44 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns. TJ’s defense also was quite dominant. Belle Vernon (10-1) had just 24 yards of offense and got its only first down with 4:32 to play in the fourth quarter. For the Jaguars, it was their sixth shutout of the year. 

WPIAL CLASS 3-A Semifinals:

#1 Aliquippa Quips  14  –  #5 Beaver Bobcats  7
After a hard fought 14-7 victory over the Beaver Bobcats the Aliquippa Quips are going back to Heinz Field for the 10th consecutive year. After Beaver’s Tyler Wallace intercepted Quip quarterback Wil Gipson , Will Connelly missed a 30 yard field goal for the Bobcats as both teams could not muster any offense until 3:11 left in the half when the Quips got on the board with a 3 yard TD run by Tariq Jones. This drive was set up by an interception by Aliquippa’s Kwantel Raines. The Quips missed the 2 point conversion and led it 6-0 at the half. Late in the 3rd quarter , the Aliquippa defense came up big with a goal line stand as Beaver missed another short field goal of 20 yards. With 10:41 left in the game Beaver took a 7-6 lead on a 27 yard TD reception by Harrison Pontoli. This was aided by a fumble by Beaver that was ruled an incomplete pass. Had it been ruled a fumble, Aliquippa’s MJ Devonshire more than likely would have scored on the play. MJ Devonshire came back and caused a Beaver fumble that the Quips recovered at the Beaver 22 yard line. On the very next play Xavier Harvey scored from 22 yards out and MJ Devonshire caught the 2 point conversion to give the Quips a 14-7 lead with 4:31 left in the game. Kwantel Raines sealed the Quip victory with another interception allowing the Quips to run out the clock. Aliquippa will face another Beaver Valley Conference foe in Quaker Valley in a rematch of a game the Quips won earlier 22-7.

#2 Quaker Valley Quakers  40  –  #3 Seton-LaSalle Rebels  7 
For the first time in school history, the Quaker Valley Quakers will be playing for a WPIAL Football Championship when they play #1 Aliquippa next Saturday at Heinz Field. The Quakers allowed no second-guessing Friday night when they dismantled the Seton La-Salle Rebels, 40-7 at Martorelli Field in the Class 3-A semifinals. Quaker Valley QB Ricky Guss scored from a yard out with 4:13 left in the 1st quarter after a long offensive possession to make the score 7-0 Quakers. The defenses would play stiff for the remainder of the first half, but QV would get another shot at the endzone with under two minutes to go in the half. With 1:34 left in the 2nd quarter, senior RB J.T. Taylor found the edge and took it in on a 10-yard rushing touchdown – the 2-point conversion would fail and the score was Quaker Valley 13-0 at the break. The second half would be all Quaker Valley. After turning the ball over three times in the first half, the offense for the Quakers cleaned things up and charged right down the field and ended a touchdown drive with a Ricky Guss TD pass to his 6’4″ WR, Joe Peduzzi from eight yards away. The successful 2-pt. conversion made it 21-0 with 5:33 left in the 3rd quarter. On the ensuing Seton La-Salle drive, Ethan Moore would pick off a pass and get the ball back for the Quakers. QV would strike quickly as Ricky Guss would scramble in on a 41-yard touchdown to make the score 27-0 with 4:21 left in the 3rd. After another 3-and-out for the Rebels’ offense, the Quakers took over again and found the endzone once more before the end of the 3rd. Guss found Isaiah McNair on a dime from 29 yards away to make the score 33-0 with 2:38 left in the quarter. Following three quarters, it was 33-0 Quaker Valley. The Quakers would add on to put the Mercy Rule into effect when Guss found Ryan Jackovic on a 23-yard score to make it 40-0 with just under 10 minutes in regulation. Seton La-Salle star RB, Lionel Deanes was shut down for majority of the night before saving the shutout and getting into the endzone with just over a minute to play in regulation, making the score 40-7. Time would run out from there and Quaker Valley would celebrate its first WPIAL Champioship berth. Quaker Valley senior QB, Ricky Guss finished with five total touchdowns with three passing and two rushing. The Quakers will meet #1 Aliquippa in the WPIAL Class 3-A Football Championship Game at Heinz Field next Saturday. The Quips bested the Quakers 22-7 earlier this season.

WPIAL CLASS 2-A Quarterfinals:

#1 Steel Valley Ironmen  42  –  #9 Burgettstown Blue Devils  0 
Steel Valley’s winning streak is now at 25 at the Ironmen defeated Burgettstown 42-0 in the AA WPIAL quarter-finals. Kameron Williams rushed for 221 yards on 25 carries, including first half touchdown runs of 47, 4, 24 and 4 yards. A Travon Adams to Amonte Strothers 40-yard touchdown pass on Steel Valley’s first possession in the second half started the mercy rule, and Ray Chuba recovered a Jake Lounder fumble in the end zone after a strip-sack for the Ironmen’s final score of the night. Adams added 74 rushing yards on 9 carries. Steel Valley’s defense held the Blue Devils to just three first downs in the game. The Ironmen (10-0), move on to the semi-finals to take on Riverside. Steel Valley and Riverside met in week one, with the Ironmen winning 48-28. Burgettstown (7-4) still put together a memorable season, with its first playoff win in 40 years in the opening round.

#4 Riverside Panthers  42  –  #12 Avonworth Antelopes  14
Senior running back Noah Harris scored three touchdowns and junior running back LaMarcus Cleckey scored two touchdowns as the fourth seeded Riverside Fighting Panthers defeated the twelfth seeded Avonworth Antelopes 42-14 in a Class 2A Quarterfinal matchup at Next Tier Stadium at Seneca Valley High School on Friday night.   After an interception on their first possession, the Panthers scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions as Riverside controlled the play for the majority of the game. Four of those touchdowns were rushing touchdowns and two were scored through the passing game. The first touchdown pass by Riverside was the turning point of the game. Avonworth started a drive with approximately 1:30 remaining in the half and failed to gain much yardage on the first three plays. With all three timeouts remaining, Riverside Coach Sciarro used his first timeout and forced Avonworth to punt. The punt was low and did not go very far and senior defensive back Kyle Marweg caught the ball in the air like an interception and returned it to the Avonworth 35 yards line. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Ben Hughes hit senior wide receiver Austin Dambach just inside the 5 yard line and Dambach sliced his way through the defense and into the end zone with only 2 seconds remaining. That made the score 28-7 at halftime. The second touchdown pass was scored on a 14 yard screen pass to Noah Harris on a 4th and 14 play at the 14 yard line, a gutsy call that put the game out of reach in favor of Riverside. Both touchdowns scored by Avonworth were on big passing plays. Senior Brennan Neidhart took a wide receiver screen 64 yards down the middle of the field in the second quarter and junior Turner Grau had a 71 yard catch and run late in the fourth quarter. The victory by Riverside sets up a Class 2A quarterfinal rematch versus Steel Valley next week.
Avonworth  0-7-0-7 = 14          Riverside    7-21-14-0 = 42

#2 Washington Little Prexies  54  –  #7 East Allegheny Wildcats  7 
Washington scored on its first eight possessions, rolling East Allegheny, 54-7, in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals.  The Little Prexies improved to 11-0 for the third time in four seasons.  Zack Swartz took a quarterback sneak in from seven yards out to open the scoring just over four minutes into the game.  Nick Welsh scampered 51 yards to double the margin five minutes later.  Early in the second quarter, Welsh scored again, this time from eight yards out, his 26th touchdown of the season, putting the Little Prexies up, 19-0.  Tyler Padezan returned the ensuing kick 75 yards to the WHS 10-yard line, setting up the Wildcats for what proved to be their only score, a four-yard pass from Tamaine Underwood to T.J. Banks.  Swartz’ next three passes all went for touchdowns:  58 yards to Isaiah Schoonmaker, 27 yards to Isaiah Walton and 64 yards to Daniel Walker, putting the Little Prexies up, 40-7. After throwing his only incompletion of the night, Swartz found Walker in the left flat in the endzone late in the first half.  Andre Jennings’ 1-yard run to open the third quarter closed the scoring.  Swartz hit 9-of-10 passes for 257 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 24 scoring throws on the season.  Schoonmaker caught four passes for 135 yards, Walker two for 72 yards and Walton snared three passes for 50 yards.  Welsh carried 14 times for 159 yards and two scores, all in the first half, as the Little Prexies rolled up 570 yards of total offense, holding East Allegheny to just 182 yards.  Underwood was 13-of-25 for 156 yards–nearly evenly split between the halves. Padezan finished with six catches for 86 yards. Banks had three grabs for 31 yards on the night as the Wildcats finish the season at 7-4.

#3 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans  35  –  #6 Serra Catholic Eagles  14
The Trojans scored touchdowns on 5 of their 6 first half possessions to invoke the mercy rule on the way to a 35-14 win against Serra Catholic at Fridley Field in Hampton in the WPIAL 2A Quarterfinals. Sophomore quarterback Zack Rocco ran 60-yards for a score on the second play from scrimmage and the Trojans led 7-0: 41 into the game. Rocco took to the air on the next possession, hitting Nikhai Hill-Green for a 41-yard scoring strike and Green would also score on a 3-yard run to make the score 21-0. Rocco threw his second TD pass of the game when he found Tyree Brown on a slant pattern. Brown bobbled the ball and broke several tackles on his way to the end zone for the score.  Joe Meinert would finish the scoring for the Trojans, hitting pay dirt from 2-yards out late in the second quarter to put CWNC up 35-0. The 3^rd seeded Trojans sacked Serra QB Evan Honick four times in the first half and held the Eagles to 17-yards rushing. Honick would break the shutout with a 4-yard run in the 4^th quarter and Malik Edmundson capped of the scoring with a 67-yard run for the Eagles. Serra Catholic, the sixth seed, finishes the season with a (7-5) record, the first winning season for the school since 2009. Rocco rushed for 64-yards and a score and added 112-yards passing and a pair of TD’s to pace the Trojans. Honick threw for 170-yards in a losing effort for Serra Catholic. Cardinal Wuerl (10-2) advances to the semifinals for the 6^th time in 9 seasons to face #2 Washington next Friday at a site and time to be determined.

WPIAL CLASS 1-A Quarterfinals:

#1 California Trojans  43  –  #9 Union Scotties  19
Despite 4 turnovers and allowing Union’s Tre Charles to take the opening kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown the California Trojans used a strong rushing attack and solid defense to down the Union Scotties 43 to 19 in a WPIAL “A” Quarterfinal Round Game at Big Mac Stadium in Canonsburg.  Jelani Stafford once again lead the way for California rushing for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Cochise Ryan added 122 yards on the ground and Colin Phillps accounted for 3 touchdowns, one in the air to Jordan Campbell and two on the ground for the Trojans.  Evan Pinkerton threw for 166 yards in a losing effort for the Scotties who end their season at 8-4.  The Trojans are now 12-0 and play Imani Christian in the “A” Semi’s next weekend.  California downed Imani 41 to 26 on September 16th.

#4 Imani Christian Saints  20  –  #5 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers  12 
On a brisk Friday night the Imani Christian Saints defeated the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 20-12 and advance to WPIAL Class 1-A semifinals. The scoring started at the 2:21 mark in the 1st quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run by Imani Christian’s Asante Watkins. 6-0 was the score at half but Our Lady of the Scared Heart struck first in the second half with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tayler Bradley. There wouldn’t be another score until the 4th quarter when Saints  Tawan Wesley threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Asante Watkins. At the 4:50 mark Imani Christian would strike again with a 33-yard touchdown pass Tawan Wesley to Sam Fairly. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart would score again with three minutes left but couldn’t tie the game. The Chargers had an opportunity to even the score following a -2-yard punt by Imani Christian. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart had the ball at the Saints 8-yard line but couldn’t get into the end zone and were stopped on 4th down. With the win, Imani Christian will play California next Friday in the WPIAL 1-A semifinals.

#2 Clairton Bears  37  –  #7 Carmichaels Mighty Mikes  12  
The Clairton Bears advanced to the WPIAL Semifinals with a 37-12 win over Carmichaels at Charleroi Area High School.  Clairton, and more specifically Tre’sean Howard, used big big plays to down the Mighty Mikes, who out gained the Bears offensively by 100 yards.  Howard put the Bears on the board on their opening possession with a 21-yard touchdown run.  He would add another run of 47 yards in the second quarter to put Clairton up 13-0.  The next three Clairton touchdowns would be scored by either special teams or defense.  Howard put the Bears up 19-0 with 3:00 to play in the 2nd quarter when he returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown.  Carmichaels did get on the board at the end of the half on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Kevin Kelly and entered the locker room down 19-6.  The Mikes came out strong in the second half.  They got a quick defensive stop and forced Clairton to punt.  The ensuing possession had Carmichaels driving to the Clairton 30-yard line and threatening to pull within one score of the Bears.  Then a sack of Kelly forced a fumble that was returned by Aaron Thompson 65-yards and the wind was momentarily taken out of Carmichaels’ sails, down 25-6. The Mikes quickly answered though, after a 55-yard run by Jake Lowry set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Brennan Pelzer, and the Mikes pulled back to within 13 points.  A Clairton penalty on the Pelzer touchdown, which was enforced on the kickoff, had Carmichaels kicking off from the Clairton 45-yard line.  Instead of kicking it into the end zone for a touchback, the kickoff was received by Howard his own 5-yard line, and he would take it 95 yards for a back-breaking touchdown from Carmichaels’ perspective.  The Bears led 31-12 at the end of the third quarter and added a fourth quarter touchdown on an 8-yard run by Brendan Parsons to pull away with the 37-12 victory.  Clairton moves on to the WPIAL Semifinals to face Jeannette, a team they defeated 40-6 just two weeks ago to close out the regular season.  

#3 Jeannette Jayhawks  30  –  #6 Rochester Rams  26
A 29-yard touchdown reception by Isaiah Winters with 52 seconds left in the game lifted Jeannette to a dramatic 30-26 victory over Rochester in a WPIAL 1A quarterfinal game at Peters Township Stadium.  The Jayhawks got on the scoreboard early in the first quarter on a 3-yard run by Imani Sanders.  The Rams settled down, however, and took a 12-7 halftime lead following two short touchdown runs by quarterback Mahlik Strozier.  The Rams upped the advantage to 18-7 on a 4-yard jaunt by Noah Whiteleather and seemingly had a safe 26-15 lead with less than eight minutes remaining.  But, Jeannette backup quarterback Seth Howard reached the end zone on a 9-yard run and a successful 2-point conversion try cut the gap to 26-23.  The Jayhawks defense stiffened and got the football back in the waning moments.  Faced with fourth and ten at the Rochester 29, Howard found Winters for the winning score.  It was the second straight year that Jeannette ended the Rams season, having done so in the 2016 semifinals.  Rochester finished at 8-3 while the Jayhawks improved to 11-1 and will try to avenge its only loss to Clairton when the two teams meet next week in the semifinals.