South Fayette defeats Seton-La Salle, 41-14
Logan Sharp picks up extra yardage after hauling in a pass form Brett Brumbaugh. Sharp scored two touchdowns in the first half as South Fayette cruised to victory, 41-14, against Seton-La Salle and clinched its third straight Century Conference title.
Hunter Hayes (No. 8) from South Fayette picks up a chunk of yardage after bolting through an opening carved out by the offensive line during the Lions’ Century Conference clash with Seton-LaSalle. The junior rushed for 92 yards and two scores. He also had four receptions for 97 yards in the Lions’ 41-14 victory.
Defense wins championships. So does team work. And both proved the winning recipe for South Fayette as the Lions defeated Seton-La Salle, 41-14, and clinched the Century Conference banner.
“Everybody talks about our offense,” said Joe Rossi of his Lions’ high-powered attack that averages 40 points per game, “but defensively, we’ve gotten good.”
The Lions entered the fray allowing only 68 points, second best in Class AA and among the Top 10 defenses in the WPIAL. SLS had allowed only 67 points until the Lions put up 41.
“Defensively, we got after the ball,” Rossi explained. “We did a nice job.
“And,” he continued. “We got No. 7. He makes plays all over the place.”
Everybody in the WPIAL knows who No. 7 is for South Fayette. He’s Brett Brumbaugh and the senior threw for 315 yards to further pad his career marks. Brumbaugh is the district’s all-time leading passer in yardage and scores as well as single-season totals for distance and touchdowns.
Though he completed just 17 of 32 of his attempts, Brumbaugh tossed scoring strikes to three different receivers. Logan Sharp hauled in six passes for 127 yards and two, first-half touchdowns. Nick Ponikvar grabbed five aerials for 93 yards. He also caught a 49-yard touchdown. Hayes had four catches for 91 yards. The junior also rushed for 92 yards and two scores.
“Brett shows why he is the best quarterback in the WPIAL,” Rossi said. “He’s got a lot of supporting cast, guys making plays around him. Big plays when we need them. It’s a total team effort. These guys are special. It’s all about the team. Brett would throw for 50 yards as long as it meant we won the game.”
For the Lions, the win over SLS was their 24th in a row and 36th against one defeat. South Fayette is the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion.
“That’s why they are the preeminent team in AA,” said Rebels’ head coach Damon Rosol. “You have to almost play a perfect game to beat them.”
The game could not have started more perfectly for the Rebels. After three South Fayette incomplete passes and a poor punt, the Rebels drove to the Lions’ 10-yard line. A sack and a penalty forced SLS to attempt a 36-yard field goal. Failing to convert, the Lions answered with their initial score, a five-yard TD run by J.J. Walker.
In between two TD receptions by Sharp, Ricky Mellick scored for the Rebels. Paris Ford caught a scoring strike from Tyler Perone in the second half but the damage had already been done.
“We got caught up in the moment,” said Rosol. “We let the game get away in the first half. Missed opportunities. Blown coverage. Bottom line was we didn’t get to Brett Brumbaugh when we had to. We couldn’t get to him. We couldn’t find a way to get pressure on him or slow their receivers down.”
Even Danzel McKinley-Lewis had played for the Rebels, the outcome would have been the same. McKinley Lewis ranked as one of the top receivers in the WPIAL. The senior, who is also one of SLS’s top defenders, was ineligible to play in the game.
“Danzel’s a dynamic athlete. Is he worth 28? No,” said Rosol. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t matter offensively but he was in the game plan defensively, too.”
Should the two teams meet again in the playoffs, McKinley-Lewis would play.
“That’s in our back pocket,” Rosol said. “We know that our best player, best athlete was out. So we have that there. I’m sure they’re thinking that. Might be different if he gets loose a little bit.
“But obviously, 14 isn’t enough [points] to beat them. As much as you have to prepare for them offensively, you have to prepare for their defense. They have tough guys up front. They have (Anthony) Davidson, Sharp, Walker, O’Rourke. Their defense is very tough, hard-nosed. They force you to throw the ball. They know most teams can’t throw the ball. We just didn’t get it done.”
The Lions, did, however, and they did so without two key players, one of them Damon Denson. A hand injury will keep him out of next week’s contest against Quaker Valley.
“Danzel being out for them was a big factor,” said Rossi, “but we had two players out and nobody wants to talk about that. That’s this time of year though. It’s football. You are going to have injuries and you need people to step up and we had guys who stepped in and stepped up.”
After talk about going 16-0, the Rebels now must regroup if they are to recover from the loss to the Lions. Their objectives remain the same but in all likelihood Seton-La Salle will meet South Fayette again.
“We had it handed to us,” Rosol said. “We have to make some changes and do different things.
“We wanted to win 16 games,” Rosol said. “But the ultimate goal is to win a state championship and we know we have to go through them to get there.”