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South Fayette beats TJ in title tilt

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 6 min read
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For a variety of reasons, South Fayette is a WPIAL football champion for the fourth time in eight years.

Start first with Joe Rossi.

At 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 18, the morning after the Lions upended Thomas Jefferson, 31-24, at Heinz Field for this year’s District 7 title, the head coach was preparing South Fayette for a state championship . The Lions begin their quest on Nov. 24 when they face Erie Cathedral Prep, which has won the past two PIAA titles.

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

South Fayette players in the background celebrate as Mike Trimbur crossed the goal line with his second TD catch in the WPIAL championship game. The Cornell recruit had five receptions for 138 yards in a 31-24 win against Thomas Jefferson. In addition to TD receptions of 82 and 10 yards, Trimbur intercepted a pass on defense to seal SF’s victory.

A humble Rossi accepted little credit for the Lions’ success although he has skippered the club for 12 seasons, compiling a 150-20 record complete with two state crowns.

“I’m no different than any other coach. Every coach and his staff does this,” he explained as he sat down to view film on the Ramblers, who have won a record 23 District 10 banners.

“We celebrated for sure. It was a special evening,” he continued of the come-from-behind win against the Jaguars, who suffered their first loss of the season after 11 straight victories. “Now it’s definitely back to the grind. There is always another game to get the kids ready for.”

While Rossi also acknowledged his staff and the support from the administration, faculty and fans, the players proved another huge factor in South Fayette’s path to victory in WPIAL title tilts.

“It’s really all about the kids,” Rossi said. “They put it all together and have had a good run.”

In the WPIAL Class 4A final, guys like Charley Rossi (the coach’s son), Mike Trimbur, Jamie Diven, Ryan Coe, Eamon Horowitz and Joey Audia particularly had great runs.

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Jaelin Krocker (57) gives thanks for South Fayette’s WPIAL championship win over Thomas Jefferson, 31-24, as Ben Coyne (No. 56) prepares to jump into the arms of an assistant coach.

A pint-sized (5-7) sophomore, Rossi caught three passes for 70 yards, including the game-winning score. With 27 seconds left in the third quarter, Rossi hauled in a 14-yard scoring strike from Diven and capped a 21-point period for the Lions.

“It was a great feeling as a coach when he made that catch and being his dad only made it that much more special. He made a big play.”

Rossi noted that Diven made a big-time throw, too. In fact, the senior signal caller made quite a few.

Diven completed 12 of 23 aerials for 249 yards to surpass the 3,000 mark for the season. Given tossed three TD passes in the game.

“Jamie made all kinds of plays but the one he threw to Charley was a big-time throw,” Rossi said. “Not many quarterbacks could do that.”

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

South Fayette offensive linemen Jaelin Krocker (55) and Ben Wright (55) knock down Darius Barrett as they provide the protection Jamie Diven needs to toss a pass. The Lions’ signal caller connected on 12 of 23 attempts for 249 yards and three scores in a 31-24 victory against Thomas Jefferson.

Not many had a championship game like Trimbur. The senior, who is bound for Cornell, scored SF’s first touchdown, gathering in a Diven pass and bolting 82 yards downfield and into the end zone for the tying TD, 7-7, in the second stanza. Trimbur tacked on a 10-yard TD reception that tied the score at 24 with less than three minutes left in the third quarter. He finished with five grabs for 138 yards.

Trimbur made one of his biggest plays on defense. On a third-and-6 play from the 7-yard line, he intercepted a pass with 56 second to play to seal TJ’s fate and SF’s victory.

“We knew coming into the season that (Mike) was our dog and he played like it. He made one of the best plays that I have seen,” Rossi said of the pick. “That’s Mike. He can do anything. He can do whatever he wants. He’s a talented kid. A happy kid who is always on top of the world and who loves his teammates.”

The Lions especially loved Horowitz. The senior lineman blocked a TJ punt that gave the Lions the ball on the Jaguars’ 30 and set up Rossi’s game-winning score two plays later.

“Eamon finds a way to get it done,” Rossi said. “He’s one of the players that high school football is all about. He doesn’t care about the spotlight but then he gets his bright, shining moment and he makes a big play.”

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

A jubilant Tom Elia (58) celebrates with his teammates after South Fayette defeated Thomas Jefferson, 31-24, for the WPIAL Class 4A championship.

Audia made the big play to open up the second half and ignite SF’s comeback from a 21-10 halftime deficit. He returned the kickoff inside the TJ 10 to set up Andrew Franklin’s 1-yard touchdown.

“That was a game-changing play,” Rossi said. “Audia’s return made it a short field and we were able to score.”

The Lions also scored points when Coe kicked a 39-yard field goal before the first half ended. His toe also provided SF another special team’s edge as all of his kickoffs sailed into the end zone, preventing the Jaguars any opportunity for a return.

“He makes it tough on opposing teams,” Rossi said about Coe, who is committed to Temple. “He’s a special player and he’s someone we may see kicking on Sundays.”

Behind Max Shaw, the Jaguars dominated the action in the first half. They maintained a huge edge in time of possession: 19:24 to 4:36 in the first half and 34:10 to 13:50 for the game.

Shaw scored on rushes of 1, 6 and 2 yards, all in the second stanza. He finished with 211 yards on 40 attempts.

Additionally, TJ converted 10 of 18 third-down chances and 2 of 3 fourth-down attempts.

“TJ got what they wanted in the first half,” Rossi said. “They did a nice job. We made some minor tweaks at halftime and forced them to go somewhere else and we made the defensive stops.”

In the process, the Lions stopped the heavily favored Jaguars, who had not lost a game since last year’s PIAA final.

“All our WPIAL wins are special but this was nice because nobody outside our circle gave us a chance to win,” said Rossi.

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Rayquin Glover maneuvers his way downfield after avoiding TJ tacklers. He rushed for 13 yards and caught two passes for 33 yards in South Fayette’s win in the WPIAL final.

ECP up next

Few are giving the Lions a shot against Erie Cathedral Prep. The Ramblers are coming off a 55-21 win against Clearfield in their sub-regional playoff game. Prep averages 40.8 points per game and limits the opposition to 19.4.

Billy Lucas leads the attack. The Division I prospect had rushed for more than 1,100 yards this season.

Regan Schleicher is a dual threat at quarterback, with nearly 600 yards rushing and almost 1,000 yards passing. Jack Oedekoven is Schleicher’s top target with 32 grabs for nearly 600 yards.

“We are going to be underdogs for sure, but we are carrying the torch for everybody in the WPIAL and they are all behind us,” Rossi said. “We are going to go up there and do our best. We don’t worry about anybody else. We focus on the name on the jersey. We do this for us and we are going to do our best.”

SF’s best has been pretty good in the past. Under Rossi, the Lions won WPIAL titles in 2010, 2013 and 2014 before this one in 2018. SF, which won district banners in 1936 and 1964, was WPIAL runner-up in 2015. The Lions won back-to-back PIAA titles in 2013-14.

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

South Fayette players hoist the WPIAL trophy after beating Thomas Jefferson, 31-24, in the championship game.

By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Joe Rossi cannot believe his eyes as he watches a replay on the Heinz Field scoreboard of one of his team’s outstanding plays in South Fayette’s 31-24 victory against Thomas Jefferson.

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