Bethel Park upends Penn Hills
Levi Metheny bulls his way into the end zone for a touchdown. The junior scored twice and threw for 189 yards an another touchdown during Bethel Park’s 31-28 victory against Penn Hills.
Alex Minton barrels his way forward despite the defensive efforts of Penn Hills players. The Bethel Park senior rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown in a 31-28 victory over the Indians.
Whether it’s the Penn Hills Indians or the Peters Township Indians, this week in Southeastern Conference football action, the recipe for success at Bethel Park is simple.
“Team work, working hard and believing in yourself. That’s what we’re all about,” said an enthusiastic Jeff Metheny after his Hawks upended Penn Hills, 31-28.
“Hard work pays off,” he reiterated to his players huddled around him after the down-to-the wire triumph that improved the Hawks to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the division while Penn Hills slipped to 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
Metheny’s son, Levi, and BP quarterback echoed the sentiments. “Hard work pays off and team unity,” he added. “We put in a lot of hard work.
“[Against Penn Hills] the coaches came up with an amazing game plan and we followed through with the plan and it paid off.”
The Hawks stunned the No. 5-ranked Indians by taking advantage of three turnovers, controlling the football, and, to a degree, curtailing the opponent’s explosiveness. They dominated the first 30 minutes of action and established a 28-6 advantage then held on for victory. BP did not punt in the game until under two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Levi Metheny, Alex Minton and Matthew Monti offset the heroics of Te’Shan Campbell and Billy Kisner.
Campbell rushed 106 yards and two scores to improve his season totals to 786 yards and 12 scores on 91 carries. Less than a minute after BP had taken a 7-0 lead, he raced 65 yards for a Penn Hills TD.
Kisner completed four of seven passes for 105 yards. Kisner, who entered the game with 588 yards rushing, ran for a 15-yard TD with 3:55 to play and tossed a 73-yard scoring strike to Milan Smith with 1:27 remaining to pull Penn Hills within three points.
“That’s a heck of a football team,” Metheny said. “Those are some talented players. There is no telling what would happen until the very, very end of the game. No question, this was a great game and we had a great effort. We may have limited personnel,” Metheny continued referring to his roster of 45, which includes freshmen, “but we have high-performing kids that play their hearts out.”
On both sides of the ball, Metheny and Minton and many more certainly do.
Against Penn Hills, Metheny completed 15 of 17 passes for 189 yards and a 19-yard scoring strike to two-way player Jake Dixon. The score capped the opening drive of the third quarter, which also featured an apparent TD aerial to Spencer Hayes, but that was negated because of a holding penalty. On the march to the end zone, Metheny tossed two more completions to Dixon, as well as passes to Minton and Connor McGinnis.
Metheny dominated the first half of action. After Lucas Fondelier recovered a Penn Hills fumble on the game’s opening kickoff, Metheny engineered an eight-play scoring drive. After a mix of passes to Dixon and Jake Lewis, complemented by the running of Minton, Metheny waltzed into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown with 7:27 left in the first frame. Metheny also capped a 71-yard scoring drive, when he darted five yards across the goal line 50 seconds into the second stanza, extending BP’s lead to 14-6.
Metheny then made two critical stops on defense on the ensuing drive by Penn Hills. On a fourth-and-11 play, the 6-1, 192-pound junior made a bone-rattling tackle that stopped the Indians and ignited another BP march for six.
“I loved making [that hit],” said Metheny. “I love playing defense just as much as offense.”
Minton could say the same thing. The 5-8, 188-pound senior plays alongside Metheny at linebacker on defense but behind him on offense. A workhorse in the backfield, Minton carried the ball 40 times and rushed for 141 yards. He also caught five passes for 41 yards. He scored once on a 13-yard scamper with 3:12 to play in the first half.
Minton also helped recover a fumble that resulted in the game-winning points for BP. On the drive that started at the 37, Minton rushed five times and caught two passes before Matthew Monti kicked a 37-yard field goal at the 6:32 mark in the third quarter.
Monti’s points proved meaningful because Penn Hills struck like lightning, storming back because of Kisner. The Hawks’ helped the comeback when they fumbled seven yards away from the end zone with 2:29 to play. And, though BP received the ball after Kisner’s scoring strike to Smith, they were forced to punt. Penn Hills could not convert in the final 15 seconds of play, assuring the BP victory.
“That’s a great win,” said Metheny. “That’s a great program win. The seniors can stamp that on their season.
“It took everybody,” he continued. “It took everybody all game long down to the final minutes of play. The coaches did a great job. Special teams did a great job. It took a lot of hard work, team work and never quitting.”
Peters Township at Bethel Park
The Hawks need a similar effort Oct. 17 when they host Peters Township. The Indians from McMurray are recovering from a disappointing defeat, 24-17, at the hands of Baldwin (2-5). The win was the Highlanders’ first in the conference. Meanwhile, Peters Township slipped to 1-5 in the league and 2-5 overall.
In the loss, Cory Owen completed 12 aerials for 200 yards and a 27-yard scoring strike to Clayton Yeates. Owen also rushed for a one-yard touchdown. Nick Gaudy kicked the extra points as well as 22-yard field for the Indians, who surrendered the game-winning score in the final frame when Dough Altavilla found Joshua Zinsmeister for a 20-yard touchdown. Altavilla completed nine passes for 134 yards.
The defensive secondary of each team will be tested as both Owen and Metheny rank among the top passers in the WPIAL. Owen has completed 62 of 112 aerials for six scores and 965 yards. Metheny has passed for 921 yards and eight touchdowns. He is 75 of 130 on the season.
Minton leads the ground game. He ranks among the top rushers in the WPIAL. He has 801 yards on 158 carries.
NOTE: For an exclusive video on the Bethel Park-Penn Hills game, visit www.thealmanac.net