South Fayette falls in WPIAL semifinals
Eleanor Bailey/ STAFF
Drew Saxton threw for more than 7,000 yards in his career and finished among the WPIAL’s all-time passing leaders. This season, he threw for 33 scoring strikes and 2,749 yards.
Eleanor Bailey/ STAFF
Noah Plack led the Lions in receptions this season with 935 yards and 13 scores. The senior will continue his career at the University of Delaware.
Make plays. That edict determines success and failure in football.
Because Montour (9-2) complied, the Spartans are headed for Heinz Field to compete in the WPIAL Class 5-A final to be played at 8 p.m. Nov. 18 against defending champion, Thomas Jefferson (10-1).
Because South Fayette failed, the Lions have to purchase a ticket to the contest. They saw their No. 1 seeding and championship berth slip away when they squandered a 13-point, fourth quarter advantage and lost to the Spartans, 35-27, in a semifinal showdown played Nov. 10 at West Allegheny.
“We didn’t make enough plays,” said SF head coach Joe Rossi. “We had our chances.”
The Lions had an opportunity to nail the coffin shut against the Spartans, whom they defeated back on Oct. 27, 49-21.
Leading 24-14, the Lions settled for an 18-yard field goal after being stopped at the one by the Montour defense. Instead of possibly leading 31-14 at intermission, the margin stood at 27-14. The Lions never scored again.
Three, second-half picks compounded the situations, igniting Montour’s comeback. Brandon Lipford returned two of the interceptions 70 yards to set up short scoring runs by Kavon Morman.
The Spartan quarterback rushed for three TDs, including one in the first half. He finished with 117 yards rushing. He also threw for 204 yards, completing 15 of 21 passes. Lipford grabbed seven of those aerials for 149 yards.
“They are a good team,” Rossi said of Montour, “and we let them hang around.”
The Montour defense did not allow the high-powered Lion offense to hang any more points on them, let along many yards. In fact, in the second half, the Spartans limited South Fayette to four, first downs.
Drew Saxton completed 18 of 36 passes for 287 yards and a pair of scoring strikes to Noah Plack. In addition to his 16- and 7-yard TD receptions, Plack hauled in 10 passes for 157 yards.
Johnny Beck rushed for a 5-yard score while Ryan Coe converted two field goals, measuring 24 and 18 yards.
The loss brought to a close the brilliant career of Saxton. As a senior, he passed for 2,748 yards and 31 scores. He finished his career with 7,453 passing yards and ranked among the WPIAL’s Top 10 all-time passing leaders.
The streak of 56 consecutive league wins along with a conference championship is small consolation for the Lions.
They ended the season in much the same fashion as the 2016 campaign, shy of a championship, and had Rossi repeating a statement he coined at the start of the year.
“When you don’t win a championship, it’s a letdown. Honestly, it is,” he said.