Brumbaugh’s record night leads South Fayette past Steel Valley
McDONALD – It took less than a year for the WPIAL all-time passing record to be back in the hands of the Brumbaugh family. And for good measure, Brett Brumbaugh decided to break a second mark while he was at it.
Barring injury, it was just a matter of time before Brumbaugh would pass Lenny Williams for the most career passing yards and touchdown passes in WPIAL history. The Sto-Rox quarterback set the marks last season, and Brumbaugh needed until just Week 6 to break both, and he accomplished the feat in style in South Fayette’s 42-14 victory over visiting Steel Valley Friday night.
“I don’t know how it happened that I broke both in the same quarter,” said Brumbaugh. “I’ve been blessed with great teammates and great coaches that have allowed me to get to this point. I can’t thank them enough.”
After some early jitters, Brumbaugh found his groove at a crucial time in the game. On his 14th attempt of the night, he connected with Nick Ponikvar on a crossing route, and the junior broke away from the pack and raced down the left sideline for a 68-yard touchdown, giving Brumbaugh 8,563 yards to eclipse Williams’ 8,508. More importantly, it broke a 7-7 tie.
A penalty flag on the play dulled the excitement initially, but the infraction was for defensive holding.
“I was just hoping it was a touchdown,” said Brumbaugh. “We thought it was coming back. I wasn’t aware of (the record) when he scored until I saw Coach Patterson and Coach Rossi all sitting there waiting for me to hug them, and that’s when I realized I ended up breaking the record.”
Brumbaugh completed just two of his first seven passes and five of his first 13 to that point. He’d also lost a fumble inside his own 5-yard line that was returned for Steel Valley’s first touchdown. It was the first time all season Brumbaugh has been sacked.
Once the yardage record was out of the way, Brumbaugh and the rest of the Lions offense seemed more relaxed and back to its normal potency.
“I was antsy,” said Brumbaugh. “I wanted to get it out of the way. It was nice when I finally got it off my shoulders. I could go back to playing my game.”
The play to break the touchdown record was even prettier.
Following Steel Valley’s third turnover of the first half, Roman Denson got behind the Ironmen’s defense, and Brumbaugh lofted a perfect ball into Denson’s hands for a 51-yard bomb, Brumbaugh’s 103rd career touchdown pass, passing Williams’ 102. It was Denson’s second touchdown catch of the night.
What Brumbaugh was most interested in, however, was South Fayette (6-0, 6-0) remaining undefeated in the Century Conference.
“I guess I have the bragging rights around the table, but I just want to get back to Hersheypark. That’s the only thing on my mind,” said Brumbaugh.
If there was a turning point in the game, it was when South Fayette’s defense kept Steel Valley (4-2, 4-2) out of the end zone after the Ironmen reached the Lions 5-yard line. Steel Valley missed a field goal to keep the score tied at 7. The Lions proceeded to score the game’s next 35 points.
South Fayette’s defense held Steel Valley to under 150 yards of total offense while the first-team defense was in the game.
“It’s another win,” said Lions coach Joe Rossi. “Defensively, I was proud of the kids. We got a couple big goal-line stands.”
Brumbaugh finished 15 of 26 for 304 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 8,728 career yards. Ponikvar was his favorite target, hauling in six catches for 150 yards. Hunter Hayes rushed for 178 yards on 25 attempts and scored three touchdowns.
Brumbaugh is the fifth player to hold the WPIAL yardage record since 2001, following Williams, his older brother Christian Brumbaugh, Adam DiMichele (Sto-Rox) and Steel Valley’s Luke Getsy.
“Records are meant to be broken, so one day someone’s going to come along and break that record,” said Brumbaugh.