Team work produces second title for South Fayette
South Fayette football players celebrate after receiving their trophy for defeating Aliquippa, 31-22, and capturing their second straight WPIAL Class AA championship.
South Fayette running back Hunter Hayes (No. 8) from South Fayette outlegs Aliquippa defender Thomas Perry en route to the end zone. Hayes scored on this 46-yard romp, lifting the Lions to a 7-0 lead. They led at halftime, 14-6.
Ryan Schmider (No. 13), Brett Beltz and Hunter Hayes (No. 8) congratulate Nick Ponikvar (No. 2) after his 87-yard touchdown pass widened South Fayette’s lead over Aliquippa, 21-6. The Lions went on to victory, 31-22, for their second straight WPIAL Class AA championship.
Nick Ponikvar bolts down field for an 87-yard touchdown after making a reception from Brett Brumbaugh. The score enabled South Fayette to open up a 21-6 lead at the start of the second half. The Lions went on to beat Aliquippa, 31-22, for their second straight WPIAL Class AA title.
Ryan Schmider (No. 13) is tackled by Thomas Perry (No. 10) but not after making key yardage on a reception.
Brett Beltz (No. 16) and the rest of the South Fayette defense celebrates after his interception during the WPIAL Class AA championship game at Heinz Field. The Lions won their second straight title with a 31-22 win against Aliquippa.
Bobby Cashaw (No. 88) attempts to pave a path for Kaezon Pugh (No. 23) as he clears out Roman Denson (No. 4) but Pugh is caught from behind by Matt O’Rourke (No. 21). Pugh rushed for 111 yards but that was not enough as Aliquippa fell to South Fayette, 31-22, for the second time in two years during the WPIAL Class AA championship game.
After South Fayette defeated Aliquippa, 31-22, at Heinz Field for its second straight WPIAL Class AA football championship, head coach Joe Rossi brought five players with him to the media room for the post-game interview process. For a very good reason, he didn’t just invite Brett Brumbaugh, who starred in the show, throwing for a record 352 yards.
“All five of these guys are a huge part of it,” Rossi explained of Brumbaugh’s buddies: Logan Sharp, Hunter Hayes, Ryan Schmider and J.J. Walker. “It starts with the quarterback, but we have receivers and running backs making plays.”
Brumbaugh concurred. And, if he could have, the senior signal caller would have included his offensive line in the Q&A. He noted how the Lions anticipated the coverage the Quips planned, including the blitzes.
Regardless, the Duquesne recruit prevailed. Brumbaugh completed 24 of 35 passes for three touchdowns. His 352 yards are the most in a district final at either Heinz Field or Three Rivers Stadium and broke the mark of 323 set in 2004 by Bill Stuff from Seton-La Salle. The WPIAL’s most prolific passer and touchdown maker now stands on the cusp of breaking the state mark of 10,948 career yards. Heading into this week’s state quarterfinal game against Karns City (11-1), Brumbaugh has 10,625 career passing yards.
“We knew our line was going to protect. Like they always do every game,” said Brumbaugh. “I just had to find one of my men. I know they are going to make plays. I trust them.”
Brumbaugh placed his trust in Ryan Schmider, Nick Ponikvar, Dan Trimbur, Jack Relihan, Sharp and Hayes and they produced gaudy numbers against a defense that had surrendered only 138 points in the 12 previous games.
Schmider, who fell one reception short of a WPIAL record with eight catches for 79 yards, cited diligence to success of the receivers. “We do our drills, we make sure we run our routes because we have to do to that to get other guys open, and we have an amazing quarterback who finds us.”
Brumbaugh found his favorite target six times as Ponikvar corralled aerials for a game-high 157 yards. He gobbled up 87 of those yards for a pivotal score 72 seconds into the second half.
“That was the turning point,” said Quips’ coach Mike Zmijanic.
Rossi concurred and noted how Ponikvar shook off two kids before bolting down the sideline for the touchdown. “Coming out of half time we thought if we could get a score and make a stop then we would be in control of the game. Get pinned on the three-yard line and for the quarterback to make a throw and that young man to make a tremendous play was phenomenal.”
Phenomenal was Trimbur. He grabbed five passes for 54 yards. His 13-yard TD reception forged a 14-0 lead for the Lions with 6:12 to play in the first frame. Trimbur also iced the scoring, kicking a 36-yard field goal into the open-air end zone that has been the bane of many an NFL kicker.
“The field goal really changed things,” Zmijanic said.
While Sharp added three receptions for 44 yards and Relihan supplied a 9-yard score, lifting the Lions to a 28-14 lead with 2:07 left in the third quarter, Hayes altered the action with his running. The junior tailback galloped 109 yards on 22 carries. His 46-yard TD ramble highlighted South Fayette’s first scoring drive.
Of the touchdown run, Hayes was thrilled. “It was awesome,” he said. “My line just opened up a huge hole for me. I saw it and ran right through it then made a few guys miss.”
While the team missed Anthony Davidson, South Fayette did compensate for the lineman’s absence. He did not play because of a leg injury he suffered in a semifinal win against Seton-La Salle. Andrew Gedrys filled his spot at left tackle while Jason Massey-Sears filled the void at defensive end. Alex Minford, Nick Dabrowski and Zack Radinick also excelled on the offensive line while Jeremy Carter, a senior, anchored the defensive line.
“Anthony is a huge loss. A tremendous football player, but with these guys in pre-game we talked about it, stepping up and playing for him,” Rossi said. “I know it was tough on him. It was tough on these guys, who essentially grew up together, winning football games and not having him. They really did a nice job, stepping up in his absence.”
Rossi also plugged the job Ryan Faraci did in preparing the five underclassmen for their daunting assignments against five seniors that play all year. “He was sweating all week. I don’t think he slept much. I’d get texts around three o’clock in the morning,” Rossi said jokingly of his offensive line coach. “But they were prepared.
The entire offensive staff did a great job, particularly with the blitzes, Rossi emphasized. “They got us last year on three drives and we focused on those drives where they put pressure on us. They did a great job preparing those guys.”
Defensively, the Lions were prepared for everything the Quips attempted. They limited Aliquippa to 17 first downs and 293 total yards. The Lions forced two fumbles and Brett Beltz intercepted a pass as they curtailed an offense that had produced 580 points this season.
“We prepared very well,” said Walker, who is South Fayette’s leading tackler. “We knew what was coming. We knew what we were capable of. We had a couple of goal-line stands last year and we knew we could do it again this year. We were physical. We just got at it.”
The Lions paid particular attention to the Quips’ rushing attack. Of Aliquippa’s 154 yards on the ground, Kaezon Pugh picked up 111 of them on 24 carries. Stephon McGinnis supplied two scores, one on a two-yard rush with 3:59 to play and one on a 38-yard pass reception from Darrien Fields with 34 seconds to play in the third quarter. Anthony Barton had the other touchdown on a six-yard run at the end of the first frame.
Pugh had entered the game with 1,510 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns while DiMante Bronaugh, who was held to 17 yards, had gained 1,245 yards on the ground and racked up 24 touchdowns during the season. In fact, Pugh finished with 797 yards in four playoff games.
“We took [their rushing game] away,” said Walker. “We knew they couldn’t do anything else.”
On the flip side, the Lions proved they could do more but they prefer to pass. “Our M.O. is we throw the football. It’s been our M.O. since we’ve had the Brumbaugh family,” said Rossi. “The running game always gets overlooked.” Pointing out that Hayes has rushed for 1,389 yards and last year Grant Fetchet rolled up similar numbers, Rossi admits the tailbacks get lost in the shuffle. “But, you have to have a running back. You just can’t key on the passing game. We can also perform.”
Brumbaugh agreed. “We have that mindset that coming in as an offense, we can’t be stopped and it showed [against Aliquippa]. We execute. That’s what we do.”
The Lions have been doing so with Brumbaugh for four seasons. In fact, they are 42-2 with him as their quarterback. Plus, they ride a 29-game winning streak into their quarterfinal PIAA playoff game. South Fayette (13-0) will play Karns City (11-1) at 7 p.m. Nov. 28 at Clarion University. That experience and cohesiveness cannot be overlooked in carving out championships. The Lions have won three WPIAL titles in the past five years, including the repeat performance Nov. 21 against the Quips.
“Being there and playing a lot of games,” Rossi started. “I think we added up since ’09 we have played 25 extra football games and it shows. A night like this when we’ve been in a situation like this before, we’ve been through a state title game, these guys have been through a lot of adversity and adverse times and they know how to hang together.”