Lebo preps for battle with win over Peters
Joey Stabile plows into the end zone for one of his two touchdowns during Mt. Lebanon’s 42-6 victory over Peters Township in Southeastern Conference action.
Ben Bruni spearheaded a strong defensive effort in Mt. Lebanon’s 42-6 win against Peters Township. Bruni intercepted a pass to set up one of Lebo’s touchdowns.
Mt. Lebanon tuned up for a difficult stretch of play with an impressive 42-6 victory over Peters Township in Southeastern Conference football action. The win had come on the heels of a disappointing defeat at Penn Hills and before a Final Four push for a playoff spot.
With the win, the Blue Devils improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference. They visit Bethel Park Oct. 3 before tackling league-leading Woodland Hills in a homecoming clash Oct. 27 and close the campaign hosting bitter rival Upper St. Clair Oct. 24. In between, Lebo travels to North Hills for a non-conference clash Oct. 10.
“The next four games are going to be war. Four wars,” emphasized Mike Melnyk to his Mt. Lebanon men.
‘Every game from here on out is a big game. It will be a playoff atmosphere for the next month,” he added. “So we have to focus on getting better.”
One area where the Blue Devils improved was defense. After surrendering 42 points to Penn Hills, Lebo racked held Peters Township to one score, a 40-yard TD burst by T.J. Kpan at the start of the second stanza.
“Absolutely,” said Melnyk. “I was pleased with our defensive effort.”
The Blue Devils ambushed the Indians early, scoring four, first-quarter touchdowns, two as a result of turnovers forced by the defense. After Ben Bruni intercepted a Cory Owen pass, Ed Jenkins rushed for a 15-yard score. After Alex Englert recovered a PT fumble, Jenkins hooked up with Jack Young for a 21-yard scoring strike.
Jenkins completed aerials to Nick Tommasi on the game’s opening drive before Joey Stabile rushed for yards for a score. Stabile did the bulk of the running and dove into the end one for his second score of the game, 75 seconds before intermission, giving Lebo a 35-6 advantage.
David Harvey also totaled two touchdowns. After taking a handoff from Jenkins with 7:45 to play in the first frame, he bolted 69 yards up the middle for his initial TD and Lebo’s second score. Harvey rambled 25 yards for Lebo’s final score, triggering the Mercy Rule with 7:39 to play.
Lebo’s defense continued to excel in the second half. Ashlie Pusateri recovered a fumble while Bruni, Matt Papich and Paul Grattan were among the Blue Devils applying the pressure on Owen, the PT QB, who is being recruited by several Division I schools.
“Cory Owen is a tremendous football player. He had a bunch of yards against us last year and that was our focus. To make sure he did not get loose,” explained Melnyk. “I thought our guys did a great job of containing him, corralling him, and not letting him make the big plays.”
In making its own big plays, Lebo made a statement in beating Peters Township, which slipped to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
“Our kids came out,” Melnyk said. “They had a good week of practice and they were focused. We wanted to prove to everybody that we are a good football team.
Last week, we just did not play well but we got rid of that this week.”
Other scores
In other action Friday night, Bethel Park prepped for its showdown with Lebo by thrashing Chartiers Valley, 55-13. The Hawks traded scores with the Colts, leading by a slim margin, 14-13, before streaking to a 28-13 halftime advantage. Alex Minton and Levi Metheny scored three touchdowns each for the Hawks, who improved to 3-1 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
Woodland Hills remained undefeated at 5-0 overall after blanking Upper St. Clair (1-4, 1-3), 48-0, in conference action.
Canon-McMillan dropped a 32-12 decision to Fox Chapel in non-conference Quad-A action.
In the Century Conference, South Fayette continued to roll, thumping Carlynton, 41-7, giving Joe Rossi his 100th career victory as head coach.
In a night when the school retired Steelers’ quarterback and alum Bruce Gradkowski’s football jersey, Seton-La Salle defeated Sto-Rox, 49-18, to keep pace with the Lions. Both teams are undefeated in the league and square Oct. 17 at Chartiers Valley.