FARRELL, Pa. – For the second consecutive year, Farrell’s season came to an end at the hands of Westinghouse.
Khalil Green’s 68-yard touchdown pass to Taymir O’Neal with 2:12 to play broke a 20-all tie and lifted the Bulldogs (12-0) to a 36-20 win over the Steelers (11-2) in the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals on Friday.
The play came just moments after O’Neal’s defensive play of the game, when he broke up a pass at the goal line. Kabron Smith placed a near-perfect ball to Danny Odem, who got his hands on it as well, but O’Neal was able to knock it away.
Two plays later, he was in the end zone.
“The way we played early, we should have definitely got the job done tonight,” said Farrell coach Amp Pegues. “But that’s football, that’s the beauty of football. You have to play the full game. If you don’t, especially against great teams, this can happen.”
The Steelers got the ball back with enough time to drive down the field, but Lloyd Penn made a great play to intercept Kabon Smith, and Kyshawn Robinson had a 30-yard pick six with just six seconds left in the game to put the finishing touches on the Bulldogs’ win.
As Pegues alluded to, the Steelers got off to a terrific start, thanks in large part to Brandon Chambers.
Chambers scored on a 10-yard touchdown run with 3:52 to go in the first quarter that, coupled with the 2-point conversion, made it 8-0 Steelers.
The Steelers forced a quick Westinghouse punt and, with just seconds left in the first quarter, Chambers busted through the line untouched and went 83 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 Farrell.
Those were the last points the Steelers got until the fourth quarter, with the Bulldogs slowly creeping their way back into the game.
The key sequence may have occurred at the end of the first half and the start of the third quarter. With just 11 seconds left in the half, Green connected with Lloyd Penn on a 5-yard touchdown pass on a play that Chambers got a hand on the ball.
That made it 14-6 at halftime.
The Steelers fumbled the opening kickoff to start the second half, and Westinghouse took over in plus territory.
Green was able to take advantage, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run that made it 14-12 after the 2-point conversion was no good.
That score held until early in the fourth quarter when a long punt return by JuJu Phillips set up Smith’s 4-yard touchdown run to make it 20-12 with 11:09 to play after the 2-point conversion was no good.
Just two plays later, Westinghouse was in the end zone, as Green hit freshman K’shawn Hawkins for a 66-yard score that, coupled with Robinson’s 2-point conversion run, made it 20-20 with 10:24 to play.
“Defensively we were playing great all night, but we just had a couple of breakdowns,” Pegues said.
Each team came up with a couple of defensive stops before the late-game dramatics.
“Shout out to coach Amp and his guys,” said Westinghouse coach Donta Green. “His guys were ready to play and created an atmosphere like no other. I’m happy for our guys. They never blinked. We talked about being mentally tough and having the right mindset at the beginning of the year and they embodied it tonight.”
Green finished 11-of-19 for the Bulldogs with 233 yards and three touchdowns while adding 15 carries for 51 yards. Penn, meanwhile, had five receptions for 77 yards.
Chambers had 163 yards, 133 of which came in the first half, on 24 carries for Farrell, while Smith had 14 carries for 45 yards and was 5-of-11 through the air for 61 yards.
With the win, Westinghouse moves on to play Beaver Falls, a 14-12 winner over Steel Valley in the WPIAL title game.
“Games like this can make you a stronger person,” Pegues said. “To my seniors, they are a great bunch. We have a bunch of kids that will go on to play college ball and they are great leaders. I’m proud to coach them. The young guys will take a little break off and get back in the weight room. We’re a 12-month program.”
CLASS 5A QUARTERFINALS
PETERS TOWNSHIP 33, CATHEDRAL PREP 14
ERIE, Pa. – Peters Township scored 19 unanswered points, 12 of them off the leg of Carter Shanafelt, on its way to a 33-14 win over Cathedral Prep in the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals.
The Indians jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a pair of long TD passes, 32 and 62 yards, from quarterback Nolan DiLucia to Ethan Wertman and Thomas Aspinall. The Ramblers answered back to tie it at 14-14 midway through the second quarter.
Luke Costello connected with Corey Allen on a 34-yard scoring strike with just 15 seconds left in the first quarter. Then, with five minutes to play in the first half, Suhtaun Lewis scored on a 9-yard run to knot it at 14.
Shanafelt hit from 29 and 30 yards with less than two minutes in the half to give Peters Township a 20-14 halftime advantage.
Shanafelt’s 26-yard field goal was the only score in the third quarter, and he put the Indians in front, 26-14 with just over nine minutes to play with his second 29-yard field goal of the game.
Vinny Sarcone put on the finishing touches with a 2-yard run 90 seconds later.
Costello set a career-high with 30 pass attempts. He completed 11 for 98 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Allen was the leading receiver with two grabs for 44 yards and a score.
Lewis finished with 12 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown. Dajoure Hollingsworth had 9 carries for 25 yards, and Costello had 11 totes for 33 yards.
DiLucia was 16-32 passing for 292 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Wertman had five catches for 82 yards and a score. Aspinall had one grab for 62 yards and a TD, and Shanafelt had two receptions for 60 yards.
Peters Township will face Cocalico, a 23-9 winner over Ephrata, in the semifinals next week at a date, time, and location to be announced.
CLASS 6A QUARTERFINALS
NORTH ALLEGHENY 41, MCDOWELL 7
WEXFORD, Pa. – McDowell’ season came to an end with a 41-7 loss to WPIAL champion North Allegheny in the PIAA quarterfinals.
The game was never in doubt, as NA built a 35-0 lead with 8:55 left in the first half.
Logan Kushner had a hand in four of NA’s five first half touchdowns. Kushner got the scoring going with a 12-yard touchdown run and threw touchdown passes of 65 yards to Khiryn Boyd and 29 yards to Evan Lyon to make it 21-0 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Kushner connected with Lyon again, this time from 44 yards out, and Boyd scored on a 25-yard run.
The running clock was in effect in the second half with the 35-point halftime margin.
McDowell got on the board in the fourth quarter on Stephon Porter’s 1-yard touchdown run.
Blayze Myers was 14-of-26 through the air for 105 yards for McDowell and also led the Trojans with 47 yards on eight carries. Porter had seven carries for 28 yards, while Jackson Johns had six receptions for 46 yards.
McDowell’s season ends at 8-5, while NA will move on to play Harrisburg, a 34-28 winner over Manheim Township, in the PIAA semifinals next week.
