By Ray Fisher
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013, 9:00 p.m.
Updated 20 hours ago
Both have developed reputations as football powerhouses in the WPIAL Class AAA division.
Thomas Jefferson (11-0), the No. 2 seed, has played in the semifinal round 14 times in the past 15 seasons.
No. 3 Central Valley (10-1), a relative newcomer in Class AAA, has lost in the semifinals the past two years since winning the WPIAL title in 2010 — its initial season following the merger of Center and Monaca high schools.
The Big Nine Conference champion Jaguars and Parkway Conference runner-up Warriors will meet for just the second time at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Chartiers Valley High School.
“They're really good; they're so athletic. They're the best team I've seen on film this year,” Bill Cherpak, Thomas Jefferson's head coach, said. “All of their skill players — their receivers, their running backs, their quarterback, their defensive backs — are really good and super athletic and super fast. They just do everything well.”
At stake Friday is a berth in the WPIAL finals at Heinz Field against the winner of the semifinal matchup between No. 1 West Allegheny (11-0) and No. 4 Franklin Regional (10-1).
“TJ wants to impose its will on other teams,” Mark Lyons, Central Valley's head coach, said. “We've got to stand that initial surge, settle into what we do and let them know this isn't going to be a pushover like they're used to.”
Thomas Jefferson rallied to 23-14 quarterfinal-round win against a gritty Highlands squad last week, as senior multi-purpose athlete Chase Winovich willed the Jaguars to their 22nd victory in their past 23 games.
Winovich, a Michigan linebacker recruit, rushed for 200 yards and three scores on 28 carries.
Winovich ignited the Jaguars' offense with a 73-yard touchdown bolt less than a minute after Highlands had taken a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
Then, with less than three minutes to go in the first half, Winovich carried the football on every down in TJ's eight-play, 64-yard drive, including a 2-yard scoring run at the 0:33 mark.
“We put the ball in our best player's hands, and we kept running the ball. He's tough to stop; he has great speed and balance,” Cherpak said. “Our line really stepped up for us. We probably should have run the ball more.”
On the season, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Winovich has run for 842 yards, averaging 10.1 yards per carry, and passed for 212 yards, good for 1,054 yards in total offense.
“Defensively, we've got to make Winovich earn his yards,” Lyons said. “I'm not so sure he's had to grind out a full game.”
Thomas Jefferson owns the No. 1 offense (40.9 ppg) and defense (6.4 ppg) in the Class AAA ranks.
The Jaguars have outscored the opposition, 450-70, and have posted five shutouts, including a 39-0 victory against Hampton in the WPIAL first round.
“Their defense does a good job of creating negative plays,” Lyons said. “I can live with the two-yard or three-yard runs, but you can't have minus-six or minus-eight. That puts you behind the sticks too much. We've got to sustain drives.”
Central Valley defeated Mars, 35-21, last week behind junior Jordan Whitehead, a 6-foot, 180-pound running back who rushed for 100 yards and, like his TJ counterpart Winovich, reached the end zone three times.
Whitehead, a major Division I recruit, caught a 6-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter, took the second half's opening kickoff 92 yards for a score, and sprinted 74 yards for another touchdown midway through the third quarter.
“He's phenomenal. He's the best player I've seen this year,” Cherpak said. “You watch him on film and he's returning kicks, he's returning punts. And they have eight other kids just as athletic as he is. They are super fast.”
Whitehead, with 622 yards, 10 scores and a 9.4 rushing average, and senior running back JaQuan Pennington (5-8, 155), with 685 yards, seven scores and 7.1 rushing average, are the Warriors' two main impact players.
Junior QB/DB John George also has accounted for 738 yards in total offense (395 passing, 343 rushing) in the Warriors' spread offense. George averages 10.1 yards per rushing attempt.
“Their quarterback can run and throw,” Cherpak said. “Their skill players are just phenomenal; they're really fast.”
George put an exclamation point on the CV victory last week, scoring on a 77-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors moved on to this week's showdown, in part, by holding Mars running back Josh Schultheis to 85 yards — about 70 yards below his average.
Central Valley, like the Jaguars, owns one of the stingiest defenses in the Class AAA division.
The Warriors, who beat Belle Vernon in the WPIAL opening round, 40-7, have shut out five opponents and have surrendered only 74 points this year, or 6.7 ppg.
Whitehead and junior RB/DB Preston Johnson both scored twice against Belle Vernon. Whitehead scored on a 99-yard interception return and 77-yard punt return.
Other offensive catalysts for Thomas Jefferson are senior QB/DB Christian Breisinger, who has passed for 734 yards and nine touchdowns; junior RB Austin Kemp, with 1,090 yards rushing and 17 scores; and senior WR Dalton Dietrich, who has caught 43 passes for 798 yards (18.6 yards per catch) with seven touchdowns.
Kemp rambled for 176 yards on 31 carries and scored four touchdowns against Hampton in the first round.
The Jaguars have amassed 3,087 yards on the ground this year behind a massive offensive line consisting of Mat Nagy (6-3, 255), Garrett Pahanish (5-10, 230), Jake Guinn (6-1, 255), Cole Costy (6-2, 265) and Jason Inks (6-5, 305).
Defensively, Winovich is complemented in the tough TJ linebacking corps by seniors Eric Fairman and Luke Deanovich, and Kemp.
Fairman recorded a team-high eight tackles versus Highlands, while Dan Matalula, a junior defensive back, intercepted two passes.
“We have to tackle in space, and we have to control the ball, to keep their offense off the field,” Cherpak said of the Jaguars' defensive task this week. “Our challenge is we have to pick where we try to stop them; that's hard.”
Thomas Jefferson fell to West Allegheny in the WPIAL semifinals last year, 24-7, while Central Valley was edged by West Mifflin, 36-35.
The Warriors' lone loss this season came in Week 5 against conference rival West Allegheny. Lyons was suspended by the district administration for that game and the following week against Moon.
Cenral Valley is making its fourth consecutive trip to the WPIAL semifinals.
“You can't take it for granted,” Lyons said. “The last couple years, losing at the end maybe toughened us up a little more.”
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Central Valley edges Thomas Jefferson in WPIAL semifinals
By Chris Harlan
Published: Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, 11:09 p.m.
Updated 9 hours ago
Much like its quarterback, Central Valley showed its best in the playoffs.
Junior quarterback John George, who became the starter two weeks before the playoffs, rushed for a touchdown, threw a 56-yarder and made a well-tossed lateral for another in Friday night's 23-13 semifinal victory over Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
After consecutive losses in the semifinals the past two years, No. 3 Central Valley (11-1) advances to Heinz Field for the first time since its 2010 championship season. A rematch with Parkway Conference rival No. 1 West Allegheny (12-0) awaits Central Valley in the WPIAL championship game next Saturday.
George, who completed 9 of 12 passes for 146 yards, threw a 56-yard touchdown to B.J. Powell in the third quarter.
“I have faith in him with anything we do,” said junior Jordan Whitehead, whose 15-yard touchdown run gave Central Valley a 7-0 lead. “(Injured teammate) Nate (Climo) is a great quarterback, but I know what (George) can do.”
George also became the starter in last year's playoffs when Climo was sidelined with a neck injury. Climo has been out with a shoulder injury.
“Totally different team (when George plays),” Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. “That's the reason they're going on, I think. … He makes everything happen for them.”
This was the second time in four seasons that Central Valley eliminated higher-seeded Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals. In 2010, Central Valley won, 42-24, en route to winning the WPIAL title as a first-year program.
No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (11-1) was trying to reach its first championship since 2008. But the Jaguars, the highest-scoring team in Class AAA, crossed the 20-yard line of Central Valley four times but scored only twice. A missed 25-yard field goal ended one drive, and a failed fourth-and-four 10 yards from the end zone ended another.
TJ senior Chase Winovich rushed 32 times for 139 yards and a touchdown.
“Our defense won us this game,” George said. “They held a good TJ team to only 13 points. ... It was a really big team effort.”
With two quick first-quarter touchdowns, Central Valley controlled the first quarter much the way Thomas Jefferson often had this season. TJ had outscored its first 11 opponents, 133-7, in the first quarter.
Central Valley built a 14-0 lead with touchdown runs by Whitehead and George, who scored on consecutive first-quarter possessions. Excellent field position aided both scores. One drive covered 15 yards in one play, a long run by Whitehead. The other touchdown drive covered 30 yards in five plays, leading to George's 1-yard run.
A 25-yard punt return by Whitehead from the 40-yard line and a fumble by TJ quarterback Christian Breisinger provided CV with great field position. Breisinger was sacked by CV's Connar McKay and Cedric Askerneese recovered the fumble at TJ's 30-yard line.
“The key to the whole game was the field position in the first quarter and them getting two relatively easy scores,” Cherpak said.
With just 58 offensive yards, Central Valley held a two-touchdown lead. Thomas Jefferson's first three drives produced two punts, a fumble and just two first downs.
The Jaguars leaned heavily on Winovich, who carried on seven of their first 10 plays. His runs gained just 28 yards, but the Jaguars stuck with their Michigan-bound senior. He carried on 17 of their 24 first-half plays, including a 5-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left before halftime.
The 11-play, 58-yard touchdown drive included eight runs by Winovich. But it was the only first-half possession that reached the end zone.
Fullback Austin Boyd had a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth.
“They knew we weren't going to throw,” Cherpak said. “They knew we couldn't throw.”
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Standing behind his line with the pocket beginning to collapse, John George frantically looked around for options.
Faced with a third-and-4 near midfield, Central Valley's quarterback grasped the ball in his right hand away from his body, his head seemingly on a swivel.
He found a small opening 30 yards downfield -- the back shoulder of wide receiver B.J. Powell, who was being closely covered -- and George, who has come to be called "Johnny Football," did what his nickname implies -- he made a play and, ultimately, led his team to its season-long destination.
With the Warriors holding a 10-point lead, George connected with Powell on a 56-yard touchdown, a play that opened up the game in what turned out to be a 23-13 victory Friday night against Thomas Jefferson (11-1) at Chartiers Valley.
The win sends the 4-year-old school to Heinz Field next Saturday for the WPIAL Class AAA championship after consecutive seasons of falling a game short.
"They've worked extremely hard to put themselves in this position," Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said. "To see their faces and their accomplishment and their gratification of getting back to [Heinz Field], it's priceless."
George finished with 179 total yards (140 passing, 39 rushing) and two touchdowns (one of each). On the other end of the ball, the Warriors (11-1) largely stifled a Jaguars team that averaged 40.9 points per game and had not scored fewer than 23 points in a contest.
Jordan Whitehead set up the Warriors' first touchdown, returning a short punt 25 yards to the Thomas Jefferson 15 before scoring on a rush the next play.
On the ensuing drive, Jaguars quarterback Christian Breisinger fumbled while being sacked, and Central Valley recovered it at the Thomas Jefferson 30. A handful of plays later, George rushed it in from 2 yards to double the lead with 3:44 remaining in the first.
The Jaguars would recover as the half went on, getting a touchdown run from Chase Winovich with 1:57 left that ended an 11-play, 58-yard drive before the Warriors tacked on a field goal for a 17-7 halftime lead.
While the Jaguars were able to utilize a strong running game throughout this season, their normally successful strategy was rendered almost moot at a double-digit deficit.
And even when it looked as if it caught a break, Thomas Jefferson was not able to capitalize.
A third-quarter interception gave the Jaguars the ball at the Warriors 12, but they gained only 4 yards and missed a 25-yard field-goal attempt. After the George-to-Powell touchdown pushed the Central Valley lead to 16, Thomas Jefferson got as close as 8 yards from the end zone, but turned it over on downs after the drive stalled.
Eventually, the Jaguars would take advantage of an opportunity, getting a touchdown run after recovering a blocked punt at the Central Valley 18. But after a failed 2-point conversion, one that would have made it a one-possession game, it was too little too late.
"We knew they were so explosive and we didn't want to give up big plays," Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. "For the most part we didn't, but we gave them that 14-0 lead. Those are things you just can't do."
The night belonged to George, who did not assume the starter's role until early October.
"We're going to Heinz," George said. "It's the best feeling in the world."