West Allegheny vs TJ 2012

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South Xtra: TJ, USC take a step closer to title

Craig Meyer's High School Football Notebook

For much of the 2012 season, Upper St. Clair and Thomas Jefferson have shared an obvious commonality -- simply, they have been among the best and most dominant teams in their respective classes in the WPIAL.

While both teams were able to continue their winning ways and advance to Friday's WPIAL semifinals, they did so in very different fashions -- the Panthers with a dominant 38-0 victory against a talented Central Catholic team and the Jaguars with a narrow 24-21 decision against Franklin Regional.

Since losing to Bethel Park, 24-17, on Oct. 12, few teams have played as well as Upper St. Clair, with the Panthers (10-1) shutting out three of their past four opponents while scoring 118 points on offense. In the one game that they didn't shut out their opponent, they registered a big 21-19 come-from-behind victory against a ranked Mt. Lebanon team that entered that game winners of its previous seven contests. That earned USC a share of the Southeastern Conference title.

In their rout of the Vikings (8-3), the Panthers limited Central Catholic to fewer than 100 yards of total offense (97 to be exact), as well as forcing four turnovers. Central Catholic had been shut out just once prior to last week's game, a 28-0 loss against top-seeded North Allegheny.

With a prolific offense, Thomas Jefferson has made a habit of blowing teams out this season -- it has scored 40 or more points in eight of its 11 games -- but the Jaguars (11-0) received a stiff test from Franklin Regional Friday, trailing 7-3 at halftime before outscoring the Panthers, 21-14, in the second half to pull off the win.

The 24 points were the fewest that Bill Cherpak's team has scored since Sept. 7, when it beat Elizabeth Forward, 21-19. Despite that, though, Thomas Jefferson still had an outstanding offensive performance, statistically speaking, as it racked up 426 yards of total offense (more than doubling Franklin Regional's 198 total yards), with 396 of those yards coming from the arm of quarterback Joe Carroll, a season-high.

Both teams are now just a game away from appearances in their respective championship games, with Upper St. Clair taking on Woodland Hills (9-2) and Thomas Jefferson facing West Allegheny (10-1).

The Panthers defeated Woodland Hills, 31-12, in their season opener, while the Jaguars will be facing West Allegheny for the first time since the Indians ruined Thomas Jefferson's perfect season, 28-21, in the 2009 Class AAA semifinals.

WPIAL Class AAA semifinal matchup: Thomas Jefferson vs. West Allegheny

Class AAA semifinals: (1) Thomas Jefferson (11-0) vs. (4) West Allegheny (10-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Bethel Park Stadium

West Allegheny’s Zach Medved played mostly special teams when his Indians faced Thomas Jefferson in 2009, but the senior remembers clearly that semifinal victory. The postgame celebration that followed was his favorite part.

“Some of the senior guys were chanting: ‘We’re going to the ’ship,’ ” said Medved of the 28-21 upset that carried the Indians to Heinz Field. “Great memories like that drive you. They make you want to get back there, so you can follow in their footsteps and start chanting that after you win.”

The Indians’ recent winning tradition stands almost unmatched in Class AAA, with Thomas Jefferson being the lone exception. The two Class AAA programs combined have won nine of the past 15 WPIAL titles. West Allegheny won five and Thomas Jefferson four. No other team won more than once. For the two WPIAL titans, deep playoff runs have become common.

“Both programs expect the same things,” TJ coach Bill Cherpak said.

But only one will advance to Heinz Field when the teams meet again Friday night at Bethel Park under circumstances almost identical to 2009. Thomas Jefferson (11-0) enters undefeated and seeded first; West Allegheny (10-1) was again seeded fourth. The high-scoring Jaguars are favored, but the Indians’ unorthodox running attack could prove troublesome once again.

Thomas Jefferson’s offense starts with senior Joe Carroll, who threw three touchdowns in last week’s 24-21 win over Franklin Regional. West Allegheny has shown recent success against talented passing offenses, slowing Montour in last week’s 14-2 win. But this TJ offense is different, said West Allegheny coach Bob Palko.

“They don’t have one guy who can catch the ball, they have about three or four,” Palko said, “and their quarterback is playing with confidence.”

West Allegheny’s run-first offense has its own unique approach. Led by sophomore Chayse Dillon and junior Tory Delmonico, a wildcat quarterback, the Indians have rushed for 2,547 yards using a direct-snap attack.

“The things that they do, we haven’t seen at all,” Cherpak said. “I don’t like to call their offense a wildcat because it’s really not. It’s a power running game.”

PLAYER TO WATCH

JOE CARROLL

Thomas Jefferson

QB, Sr.

6-foot-2

180 pounds

With more poise than most first-year starters, Carroll led the WPIAL in the regular season with 33 touchdown passes. He has thrown four more in the playoffs, including an important 85-yarder a week ago to senior Jake Mascaro in the fourth quarter.

how they got here

TJ: Beat No. 16 Hollidaysburg, 63-19, in the first round; beat No. 8 Franklin Regional, 24-21, in the quarterfinals.

WA: Beat No. 13 Ringgold, 48-7, in the first round; beat No. 5 Montour, 14-2, in the quarterfinals.

statistical leaders

TJ: Passing: Joe Carroll, 115-199-2,246, 37 TDs; Rushing: Jake Farrell 114-762, 11 TDs; Receiving: Zach Schademan, 47-1,041, 20 TDs.

WA: Passing: Andrew Koester, 2-94-701, 4 TDs; Rushing: Tory Delmonico, 106-703, 8 TDs; Receiving: Zach Medved, 15-313, 2 TDs.

by the numbers

TJ: All-time: 388-192-7 Playoff appearances: 24 Last title: 2008

WA: All-time: 294-333-14 Playoff appearances: 16 Last title: 2009

West Allegheny's defense gives Indians edge

With five WPIAL titles to his credit, West Allegheny coach Bob Palko knows the path to Heinz Field, it usually runs through Thomas Jefferson and it usually involves a strong defense.

That was true in 2009, the previous time the Indians reached the WPIAL Class AAA final, and it was true Friday night at Bethel Park.

Behind a dominating defensive performance, No. 4 West Allegheny (11-1) knocked off unbeaten top seed Thomas Jefferson (11-1), 24-7.

The West Allegheny defense forced three turnovers and forced the Jaguars to turn the ball over on downs with more than five minutes to play to all but ice the game and send the Indians back to Heinz Field, where they will play West Mifflin.

Thomas Jefferson quarterback Joe Carroll was under constant pressure. He was sacked four times, completed only 11 of 33 passes and was picked off twice, once by Armand Dellovade at the West Allegheny 20 and again by Lewis Walls in the West Allegheny end zone.

"We talked all week about getting pressure on their quarterback," Palko said. "When they were sending that many guys they weren't protecting."

It did not take long for the Indians defense to make an impact. On the second play of the game, Zach Medved came up with a strip sack recovered by Jordan Diven to give the offense the ball at the Thomas Jefferson 10-yard line.

Three plays later it was 7-0 West Allegheny on a Nick Halbedl 1-yard touchdown run.

The Jaguars were limited to 13 yards rushing. Dellovade led the West Allegheny ground game with 60 yards on 20 carries.

After the early West Allegheny score the teams traded punts for most of the first half but then they traded touchdowns. Carroll found Zach Schademan on a 47-yard touchdown with the ensuing extra point tying the score -- briefly.

On the first play of the ensuing West Allegheny drive, Andrew Koester hooked up with Medved on a 56-yard touchdown pass to give the Indians the lead for good.

With less than a minute to play in the first half, Halbedl rushed for his second 1-yard touchdown of the game to give West Allegheny a 21-7 halftime lead.

Evan Pelcher booted a 40-yard field goal in the final minutes to give the Indians a 17-point lead.

This was the fifth WPIAL semifinal meeting between the programs with the teams splitting the first four.

West Allegheny defeated Thomas Jefferson, 28-21, in 2009 and the Indians went on to defeat Hopewell in the WPIAL final.

"You play who you are up against," Palko said of the repeated postseason meetings with Thomas Jefferson.

"This is a tournament, anything can happen but you really got to tip your hat to Thomas Jefferson. They were undefeated for a reason."

West Allegheny upends No. 1 Thomas Jefferson

By Chris Harlan

With a Heinz Field locker room his background, West Allegheny’s Zech Medved promised as a freshman that someday he’d help bring the Indians to that stadium again.

Three years later, they’re going back.

“I told my coach that there would be one more time that we get to Heinz Field,” said Medved, who had two sacks, forced a fumble and caught a 56-yard touchdown Friday night for No. 4 West Allegheny in a 24-7 upset victory over No. 1 Thomas Jefferson at Bethel Park Stadium. “To make that true is amazing.”

And, as Medved explained, he had plenty of help.

Nick Halbedl recovered a fumble and scored two short rushing touchdowns to build a 14-point halftime lead that the Indians protected with their powerful yet unorthodox direct-snap running game. West Allegheny rushed for 122 yards on 47 carries and led time of possession by nearly a two-to-one margin (30:57 to 17:03).

“We set it as our goal to put them down and see how they responded,” Medved said.

Joe Carroll completed 11 of 33 passes for 160 yards for Thomas Jefferson (11-1), including a 47-yard touchdown pass to Zach Schademan. But the senior quarterback fumbled twice and threw second-half interceptions to the Indians’ Armand Dellovade and Lewis Walls. Jordan Divin sacked Carroll twice.

West Allegheny (11-1) also recovered a muffed punt, one of four TJ turnovers.

“You always want to play your best, and I don’t think we did,” Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. “When you have four turnovers in a game like this, you’re losing.”

Thomas Jefferson’s hopes ended with 5:32 left in the fourth when they threw incomplete on four consecutive plays, including a fourth-and-10 at their own 29. The Jaguars were the highest-scoring team in Class AAA this season, yet never led against West Allegheny.

“We wanted to get up early and kind of get them chasing,” Cherpak said, “but we couldn’t get that break.”

With a two-touchdown lead, West Allegheny allowed its ground game to consume the second-half clock.

Dellovade led West Allegheny with 60 yards on 20 carries, and Chayse Dillon added 56 yards on 16 carries. Halbedl added 16 yards and a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs.

When West Allegheny last reached Heinz Field in 2009, it also beat Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals. The Indians beat Hopewell in the championship that year.

“Every year, every team has its own personality,” said West Allegheny coach Bob Palko, who has won five WPIAL titles.

West Allegheny had a short field for its first touchdown drive when Carroll, sacked from behind by Medved, fumbled on Thomas Jefferson’s second play. Halbedl recovered the fumble 8 yards from the end zone. From there, the Indians needed three short runs to take a 7-0 lead, ending with a 1-yard touchdown by Halbedl with just 1:58 gone.

A 57-yard touchdown catch by Schademan tied the score in the second quarter, when the senior outran the coverage. It was the 21st time this season that Schademan and Carroll had connected for a touchdown. Schademan, playing with an injured shoulder, had four catches for 77 yards.

But the tie was short-lived. West Allegheny sprinted ahead 62 seconds later when Medved caught a 56-yard touchdown from Andrew Koester, a sophomore who had thrown just four before Friday. The Indians led, 14-7, with 6:28 left in the second.

“They have some kids with 46 catches on the season,” Medved said. “I think we might have 46 passes as a team this whole season.”

Habedl added another 1-yard touchdown run 58 seconds before halftime, extending West Allegheny’s lead to 21-7.

The third quarter was scoreless.

In the fourth, West Allegheny’s Evan Pelcher added a 40-yard field goal with 2:01 left. It was the senior’s fifth this season.