South Fayette defeats Karns City
Hunter Hayes (No. 8) gets a little help from Ryan Schmider (No. 13) as he passes a Karns City defender on his way into the end zone. Hayes rushed for 183 yards and scored four times during South Fayette’s 42-15 win over the Gremlins in PIAA Class AA tournament play at Clarion University.
Dan Trimbur drags down Tyler Dunn after the Karns City defender picked off a pass intended for him. Trimbur did hauled in five aerials for 117 yards during South Fayette’s 42-15 win against the Gremlins. Trimbur contributed a touchdown and a field goals towards the Lions’ scoring production.
South Fayette began its quest for a second straight state championship by defeating Karns City, 42-15, in a PIAA Class AA quarterfinal playoff game at Clarion University.
It was the second consecutive year that the Lions ended the Gremlins’ season. In 2013, South Fayette beat Karns City, 57-21, on its way to the state title.
Plus, the victory stretched South Fayette’s winning streak to 30 games and advanced the undefeated Lions (14-0) to a semifinal showdown next week against the winner of the Hickory-Tyrone contest being played Nov. 29 at DuBois.
The one-two punch of Hunter Hayes and Brett Brumbaugh delivered the knockout blows to the Gremlins, who ended the 2014 campaign at 11-2 overall.
Hayes rolled up 183 yards rushing. The junior tailback also racked up four touchdowns of 1, 9, 1 and 18 yards. On defense, Hayes also intercepted one pass.
Meanwhile, Brumbaugh completed 11 of 24 passes for 199 yards. The Duquesne recruit tossed a six-yard strike to Logan Sharp. The touchdown increased South Fayette’s advantage to 36-0 and invoked the Mercy Rule in the third quarter.
Brumbaugh is now 104 yards away from breaking the state record for passing. He has thrown for 10,948 career yards.
Dan Trimbur led all receivers with five catches for 117 yards. He scored once on a 27-yard scoring strike and kicked a 25-yard field goal that widened the Lions’ lead to 9-0 in the second stanza.
With 22 seconds left in the first half, Nick Ponikvar returned a punt 77 yards for another South Fayette touchdown. The Lions lead, 22-0, at intermission.
Jason Massey-Sears and Mikey Speca recovered fumbles for South Fayette, which only a week ago beat Aliquippa to capture its second straight WPIAL title.