TJ 35 vs. Strong Vincent 6

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PIAA Football Semifinals / Class AAA: Speed vs. TJ's power

Thursday, December 06, 2007

By Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Erie Strong Vincent football coach Tom Cacchione doesn't need to be reminded. Actually, he has pretty much ignored it.

"Probably seen the tape twice, maybe," he said of his team's 21-20 loss to Thomas Jefferson in the 2004 PIAA Class AAA semifinal.

Now, only two things can happen: Erie Strong Vincent will exact some revenge or Thomas Jefferson will frustrate the Colonels again.

The teams play at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Erie's Veterans Memorial Stadium with a trip to the PIAA championship in the balance.

WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson enters with a 14-0 record; Erie Strong Vincent, the District 10 champion, is 11-2.

While Thomas Jefferson is widely considered one of the state's most physically dominant teams, Erie Strong Vincent might be the fastest team the Jaguars will face this season. And the Colonels have used that speed to go on an offensive burst, scoring at least 41 points in its past three games and coming in as the No. 6 scoring team in the state, averaging 39.5 points per game.

Erie Strong Vincent's lightning-quick, run-first offense is a multifaceted Wing-T attack. In a win against Indian Valley last week, Marquis Knight led the Colonels with 144 yards, Deonte Flemings had 122 and three scores and Jesse Wattle had 92 yards as the Colonels accumulated 439 rushing yards.

While it will be a classic speed vs. power scenario, Cacchione believes another factor will favor his team.

"It is going to be 25 degrees and that wind will be blowing sideways and there might even be some snow," he said. "I can say that this will be the coldest game that TJ has ever played in, but we have played in some games like this before. You'd have to think that is going to be an advantage for us, just because we are kind of used to those conditions."

Conditions that could yield a sloppy, fragmented game.

"I don't think with the weather and everything that you can go in and say, 'Our goal is to not turn it over at all,' " Cacchione said. "That might be a little unrealistic because there could be some things that are out of your control. But what you have control over is ... stuff like taking a penalty or not tucking the ball away in your arm or something like that.

"Mistakes, yeah, there will be some mistakes, but I don't think it is a big secret that which ever team doesn't make the big mistake will play in the state championship."

PIAA Class AAA Semifinals: Defense fuels Jaguars in victory

Thomas Jefferson uses its punishing rushing attack to pummel its way to the state final

Saturday, December 08, 2007

By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

ERIE -- Snow was still piled up under most of the bleachers at Erie Veterans Stadium. Workers weren't able to remove all of it after a storm dropped close to a foot on the area earlier in the week.

They should have just hired the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars to clear the place. They're getting pretty good at plowing.

Undefeated Thomas Jefferson plowed through another opponent last night, making Erie Strong Vincent look more like Erie Weak Vincent. Thomas Jefferson's offensive line was dominant, its defense did a nice stone wall imitation, and the Jaguars crushed Strong Vincent, 35-6, in a PIAA Class AAA semifinal.

It was the fourth-most lopsided AAA semifinal in the Western region since the PIAA playoffs started in 1988. The win put Thomas Jefferson (15-0) into the title game Friday in Hershey. The Jaguars are trying to win their second PIAA title in four seasons.

"That's a buzzsaw," Strong Vincent coach Tom Cacchione said of Thomas Jefferson. "They're a very good Triple-A team. In fact, they're bigger than most Quad-A teams."

Running back Orlando Torres rushed for 112 yards, but it took him 33 carries to get it. The Jaguars had only 38 yards passing.

But coach Bill Cherpak's team pushed and powered its way through Strong Vincent 3 and 4 yards at a time. Thomas Jefferson led, 14-0, at halftime. Then, in the second half, Strong Vincent's legs began to wobble from all the body blows. Strong Vincent ran only four offensive plays in the third quarter and had the ball for only 1:44.

Thomas Jefferson's defense barely budged all night, holding Strong Vincent (11-3) to 85 yards rushing. This was a team that had three 1,000-yard rushers.

"Give their defense credit. They didn't want to be moved off the line," Cacchione said. "Then that 4 yards and a cloud of dust thing. ... When you're behind, it's tough to take."

This is the way Thomas Jefferson has played ever since Zach DeCicco took over as quarterback late in the regular season. He has thrown only 37 passes in the past five games. Last night, he was 2 of 3.

"That's our game plan every week," said Lucas Nix, a standout lineman and Pitt recruit. "Teams know what's coming. But they better have a good week of practice and do something to stop it because that's what we're coming with every week."

Thomas Jefferson threw a little more when Tyler Wehner was the quarterback, but he was dismissed from the team in the middle of the season.

"When you have someone like Lucas Nix and some of the other guys we have on the line, we're going to put things on their shoulders," Cherpak said.

Strong Vincent's defense wasn't bad, holding Thomas Jefferson to 187 total yards. But a turnover put the Colonels in the hole early in the game.

Quarterback Deonte Flemings fumbled on the first play of Strong Vincent's second possession and Nix recovered at the Colonels' 5-yard line. Three plays later, Torres scored on a 1-yard run.

"The turnover hurt and things kind of blossomed from there," Cacchione said.

Thomas Jefferson's next possession started at its 15, and the Jaguars moved 85 yards in 15 plays for a touchdown. Torres carried 12 times in the drive, but DeCicco completed his only two passes of the game during the march. The first was a 20-yarder to Trevor Wildman. Then on a first-down play, DeCicco made a nice play-action fake and hit Wildman behind a defender for an 18-yard touchdown.

Thomas Jefferson took a 14-0 lead into halftime and really played power football in the third quarter. On its second possession of the second half, the Jaguars moved 74 yards in 13 plays for a score. Torres scored the touchdown on a 15-yard run.

Thomas Jefferson's Jim Giansante returned an interception to the Strong Vincent 17, and Torres scored on a 15-yard run to make it 28-0.

Strong Vincent used two quarterbacks in the game. Flemings was the running threat and D.J. Barney the thrower. Barney threw three interceptions.

"They run that wing-T and it can make you miss and leave guys open," Cherpak said. "We knew what they were going to run by the formations they were in."

Strong Vincent's only score came on Marquis Knight's 9-yard run late in the game.

It was a sweet feeling for Thomas Jefferson after losing in the semifinals last year to General McLane.

"These kids have been on a mission ever since last year's game that we lost," Cherpak said.