TJ 51 vs EF 0

Thomas Jefferson 51, Elizabeth Forward 0

Austin Kemp rushed for 237 yards on 22 carries and scored on runs of 6, 14, 36 and 1 as the No. 2 Jaguars (4-0, 4-0) blanked the host Warriors (2-2, 2-2) in the Big Nine Conference. Kemp leads the WPIAL with 1,055 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Thomas Jefferson rolls to 4th straight win, routs Elizabeth Forward

Thomas Jefferson and senior Austin Kemp show no signs of slowing down.

The WPIAL's leading rusher continued his season-long dominance, running for 237 yards and four touchdowns to lead the No. 3 Jaguars (4-0, 4-0 Big 9) past host Elizabeth Forward, 51-0, in Class AAA Big 9 action.

Kemp has 1,055 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns this season.

TJ had its struggles early on as the Jaguars were stopped on their opening drive at the Elizabeth Forward 11 yard line.

The TJ defense quickly recovered, sacking Elizabeth Forward quarterback Steve Mayernik in the end zone on the ensuing play to give TJ a 2-0 lead.

From that point on, it was all Kemp.

The wildcat quarterback scored on runs of 6, 14, 36 and 1 yard to help TJ put the game away at halftime.

“We knew it wasn't going to be easy,” TJ coach Bill Cherpak said. “(Elizabeth Forward's) lines did a nice job of stopping us at the beginning, and then we kinda wore them down, with all their guys playing both ways.

“I was satisfied with how we continued to get better through the game.”

TJ went to its little-used passing game near the end of the second quarter. Sophomore quarterback Robert Kelley completed two passes for 31 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Stein that sent TJ to the half with a 37-0 lead.

The Jaguars came into the game having completed just three passes for 72 yards.

“Honestly, I wanted to get the mercy rule so that we could sub everyone in the second half,” Cherpak said. “And (Kelley) had practiced well, and we got a chance to get him some experience when it really matters.”

With a running clock in the second half, sophomore Quniton Hill led the TJ attack, racking up 106 yards on 15 carries.

For Elizabeth Forward, it turned out to be another typical game against their conference rival. Running back Jacob Meyers--the WPIAL's second-leading rusher--was held to 7 yards.

TJ now has shut out the Warriors in six of the past seven seasons.

“You game plan for them like for any other team, but you've got to execute,” Elizabeth Forward coach Mike LeDonne said. “Their wildcat is designed very well. Even if you stalemate blocks, that still leaves one guy to tackle Kemp. That's a big challenge for us because we're pretty undersized in the secondary.”

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