By Bill West
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, 10:48 p.m.
Highlands' leaders on both sides of the football — quarterback Blake Leri and inside linebackers Zach Mazur, Allan Cratsenberg and Weston Bernath — all hesitated for a moment before acknowledging that the Golden Rams are underdogs in their WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal against unbeaten Thomas Jefferson.
Golden Rams coach Sam Albert skipped the pause and cut straight to the point.
“You watch them, and they bully opponents,” Albert said. “I hope it's going to be a slugfest, but it's David versus Goliath, so I hope we have that sling with the rocks.”
There are several reasons to regard No. 2 seed Thomas Jefferson (10-0) as the favorite in Friday's game at Chartiers Valley. The Jaguars, semifinalists 14 times in the last 15 seasons, have more playoff experience, larger players and more star power than No. 7 Highlands (7-3), which is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008. But the Golden Rams possess confidence in their ability to grind out a win.
“They're a big team, they're physical and they have a couple athletes we have to watch out for, but it's nothing that we haven't seen before,” Leri said. “They have a slight edge on us, but if we play the way we know how to play, I think we can make some noise.”
Said Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak: “The one thing (about Highlands) that, I think, stands out is, they're scrappy and relentless. They play so hard and fly to the ball. ... Our kids see it on film. You can tell just watching them, how tough they are. This is the kind of game where the size doesn't matter.”
A week ago in a 24-19 win, Highlands humbled a New Castle offense that entered the playoffs averaging 36.8 points per game. The defense limited the damage done by wide receiver and defensive back Malik Hooker, an Ohio State recruit who finished with two receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown as well as three carries for 4 yards.
The next round of the playoffs brings another high-scoring team with a major Division I recruit. The Jaguars, whose ground-oriented offense averages 42.7 points per game, get most of their yards from 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior running back Austin Kemp and 6-4, 220-pound senior quarterback Chase Winovich, who has committed to Michigan as a linebacker.
Kemp has gained 1,048 yards and scored 17 touchdowns on 129 carries. Winovich has rushed for 642 yards and 12 touchdowns on 55 carries.
“(A run-heavy team), that's what we like to see, because that's what we're good at, stopping the run as a defense,” Mazur said. “We're comfortable seeing that.”
Most of Thomas Jefferson's passing yards come from the team's other quarterback, 6-1, 165-pound senior Christian Breisinger, who has completed 34 of 63 pass attempts for 687 yards and nine touchdowns.
All of TJ's ball carriers benefit from the Jaguars' massive offensive line, which includes 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).
“The only way we can simulate that is if we have Big O, Duffey and Beau dress in practice,” Albert said, referring to assistants Matt Ostrowski, John Duffey and Beau Elliott.
Highlands will counter with its own ground attack, led by junior Elijah Jackson (1,244 yards and 11 touchdowns on 169 carries) and bolstered by bulkier ball carriers Cratsenberg, Mazur and Bernath.
The Golden Rams' ground attack will encounter a Thomas Jefferson defense that has shut out five opponents and allowed more than 10 points just twice.
Highlands and Thomas Jefferson share stylistic commonalities. The Golden Rams believe their task is to prove their toughness and guile trump the Jaguars' more tangible advantages.
“Like Coach Albert always says, ‘The team that hits the hardest the longest wins the game,' ” Bernath said. “So, that's the plan.”
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Thomas Jefferson 23, Highlands 14
Chase Winovich rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries to lead the unbeaten and No. 2-seeded Jaguars (11-0) to a narrow quarterfinal victory against the No. 7-seeded Golden Rams (7-4) at Chartiers Valley.
Highlands opened the scoring early in the first quarter with a 14-yard touchdown run by quarterback Blake Leri.
Thomas Jefferson responded with touchdown runs of 73 and 2 yards by Winovich in the second quarter.
Highlands tied the score at 14-14 in the third quarter on a 25-yard pass from Leri to Jeremy Jackson. Leri completed 6 of 22 passes for 73 yards and was intercepted three times.
Winovich scored the deciding touchdown on a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter. Derek Rothey added a field goal for the Jaguars.
Winovich carries Thomas Jefferson past Highlands and into semifinals
By Bill West
Published: Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, 12:15 a.m.
Updated 7 hours ago
Highlands identified Thomas Jefferson's star senior, Michigan recruit Chase Winovich, as its biggest worry heading into Friday's Class AAA quarterfinal at Chartiers Valley High School's stadium.
Thomas Jefferson tabbed the Golden Rams' gritty, blitz-happy defense as its top concern.
Both teams' fears lived up to the hype.
Winovich, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound hybrid quarterback/running back who committed to the Wolverines this summer as a linebacker, willed the No. 2 seed Jaguars (11-0) to a 23-14 win, as he rushed for 229 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries — the rest of Thomas Jefferson combined for 101 yards of offense.
“We knew that to sit back and try to throw the ball was impossible, because they outnumbered us, bringing all those guys,” said Jaguars coach Bill Cherpak, whose team will play No. 3 seed Central Valley in the semifinals. “We wanted to pound it at them and use our size advantage, and for the most part, that was the difference in the game.”
No. 7 seed Highlands (7-4) held Thomas Jefferson, which entered the game averaging 42.7 points per game, to its lowest point total of the season. The Jaguars, who led 14-7 at halftime and broke a 14-14 tie with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, beat each of its previous 10 opponents by at least 21 points.
“I think we shocked a lot of people, but I've told you, our kids, they'll play anybody,” Highlands coach Sam Albert said. “Our defense played a tremendous football game. They were outmanned, outsized, and they played with everything they had. I don't know if I've ever been prouder of a group of young men. We just needed that one more play.”
Winovich went into the locker room at halftime with 13 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yarder. He finished the third quarter with 19 carries for 140.
Highlands' defense, able to contain the Jaguars standout in the third quarter, rallied to tie the score at 14 when Blake Leri connected with Jeremy Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown throw.
The score remained tied until Winovich scored the game's deciding touchdown on a 6-yard run with 9:09 left in the game.
“Our linemen, even though they were outnumbered most of the time, they found a way to open holes, so I went off of that and told the guys, ‘I'm going to give everything I've got,' ” Winovich said.
Derek Rothey added a 24-yard field goal to cap an almost six-minute drive and give Thomas Jefferson a more comfortable margin with 2:39 left in the game.
During the first quarter, those in the bleachers found out about the feistiness that Cherpak identified earlier this week as Highlands' most apparent attribute. Thomas Jefferson drove to Highlands' 30-yard line or closer twice — they came as close as the 12 — in the first quarter but failed to score
“They were never hit like that before, but they played a good game,” said Highlands senior linebacker Allan Cratsenberg, who finished with 22 tackles. “This defense was the best defense I think I've ever been on. Everyone can fly to the ball. We had great linebackers, great D line and a great secondary. I'm going to miss them.”
Given its best starting field position of the half, Highlands drove 47 yards and took a 7-0 lead with 10:27 left in the second quarter. Leri converted a third-and-1 at Thomas Jefferson's 20 and then scored two plays later on a 14-yard bootleg.
From that point forward, the quarter became Chase's showcase.
Winovich scored on a 73-yard touchdown less than a minute after Leri's touchdown to tie the game at 7. Then, with less than three minutes left in the first half, the Michigan recruit carried the ball on every down of the Jaguars' eight-play, 64-yard drive and found the end zone from 2 yards out with 33 seconds left in the quarter.
“It was there for the taking,” Albert said, “but it's all about making plays, and they made one more than we did.”
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