TJ 52 vs West Mifflin 20

Running back depth, defense carries Thomas Jefferson past West Mifflin

Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak has been saying all season how deep and talented his stable of running backs is.

Austin Kemp prevented anybody from finding out how talented … until now.

With Kemp, the WPIAL leading rusher heading into Friday's Big 9 Conference finale against rival West Mifflin, held out because of a separated shoulder, Cherpak turned to his depth.

Quinton Hill, Ryan Scanlon and Braden Pahanish — along with a dominant performance for the offensive line — made Cherpak prophetic.

Scanlon rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns before breaking his collarbone in the second quarter and giving way to Quinton Hill, who racked up 224 yards and four touchdowns. Pahanish added 93 yards and a score as the trio combined for 448 yards and seven touchdowns in No. 3 Thomas Jefferson's 52-20 victory over West Mifflin to cap its 10th undefeated regular season.

“We just couldn't stop them,” West Mifflin coach Ray Braszo said. “They did everything we prepared for and everything that we knew that we were going to struggle with. They are not just big, but they are good. They just wore us down.”

It was TJ's third straight win over West Mifflin and its 13th in the past 15 meetings. TJ leads the series 33-13-1. The Jaguars also ran its home winning streak to 56. TJ hasn't lost at home since Oct. 8, 2004, against Gateway.

The Jaguars have their offensive line of Dylan Vissari, Lance Reaghard, Jacob Guinn, Zach Reynolds and Everley Harrison to thank for that.

“We felt that we had a size advantage,” Cherpak said. “We wanted to pound the ball, control the clock and control the line of scrimmage. Our line loves to do that. They are coming off the field telling me what plays to run.”

The plays ended up being similar to the ones called when Kemp was rushing for 1,570 yards and 33 touchdowns during the previous eight games. Kemp, who dressed, needed a touchdown to set the regular-season WPIAL points record, but Cherpak decided against using the senior running back.

“As soon as (Scanlon broke his collarbone), there was no chance Austin was going in the game,” Cherpak said. “He was thinking it, but not me.”

Cherpak said Kemp will play in TJ's first-round playoff game next week.

West Mifflin's DiAngelo Mitchell rushed for 85 yards on only seven carries to run his season total to 1,593 to pass Kemp (1,570 yards) for the regular-season crown. Karlyn Garner added 62 yards rushing and a 42-yard touchdown pass.

“We knew he wasn't going to have much room inside to run,” Braszo said. “We felt we could use the option or maybe even pitch it to him. We knew it was going to be limited to what he could get in there. It worked at the beginning and got us off to a good start, but they kind of shut it down.”

West Mifflin took a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter on Garner's 3-yard run, then looked to add to it when Pahanish fumbled two plays later, giving the ball back to the Titans on the Jaguars 39-yard line.

But Thomas Jefferson's defense had other plans, and when Garner was sacked by Corey Payne on third down, it gave the ball back the Jaguars.

“I was thinking, ‘How many more mistakes can we make?' ” Cherpak said. “That was huge. I think we bounced back well after facing some adversity.”

TJ scored four touchdowns — 53 yards by Scanlon and 39, 1 and 54 yard scores by Hill — in a matter of 13 plays to turn a seven-point deficit unto a 35-14 lead. Derek Rothey's 28-yard field goal at the end of the half gave TJ a 38-14 lead.

Gorman: For the record, TJ's Kemp is a winner

Austin Kemp has had one coach whispering in his ear, another screaming in his face. Their message to the Thomas Jefferson star tailback was the same:

Focus on team goals — not your individual accolades — and the results will follow.

“I hear it so much every time I come out here,” Kemp said. “It's so much more important to get the wins than your stats.”

That presented a conundrum for TJ coach Bill Cherpak on Friday night on what to do about Kemp, who dislocated his left shoulder last week at Franklin Regional.

The Jaguars played host to rival West Mifflin with a chance to clinch the Big 9 Conference championship and finish the season undefeated.

Cherpak hoped to rest Kemp, but the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder had a chance to set a WPIAL regular-season scoring record and win the rushing title on Senior Night.

Kemp joined a handful of players in WPIAL history to score 200 points, with 33 touchdowns and a two-point conversion. His 1,570 rushing yards also led the WPIAL, 62 ahead of West Mifflin senior DiAngelo Mitchell.

“Obviously, first and foremost, we want him to be healthy,” Cherpak said. “We don't want to do anything stupid and put him in there and have him re-injure his shoulder.

“But at the same time, those are important milestones for kids to look back on as he grows up, something he can put on his mantel. It's tough as a coach. You want to have the kid get the accolades that he deserves, but at the same time, you want to be smart about it.”

The smartest move Cherpak made this season was making Kemp his “wildcat tailback,” lining him up in a shotgun formation behind a pair of fullbacks to take direct snaps.

Kemp, who rushed for 1,101 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior, has been one of the most dominant players in Western Pennsylvania.

He rushed for at least 100 yards every game, 200 yards five times and scored at least three touchdowns seven times. He had a season-best 321 yards and seven touchdowns against Laurel Highlands in Week 3.

What's more, Kemp played in the second half only once this season. Cherpak raves about Kemp's leadership and his nose for the end zone.

“Cherp says, ‘When you get inside that red zone, you've got to turn it up a gear.' That's what I do,” Kemp said. “Nothing is going to stop me from crossing that goal line.”

Cherpak can scream all he wants, but he knows Kemp makes his teammates better and creates high expectations by fighting for every yard.

“Probably more than half of his runs, he should've been tackled,” Cherpak said. “He just fights through them, breaks tackles and finds a way to get into the end zone.

“So he definitely knows how to finish a play.”

What Kemp wants most is to finish his career with a championship. The Jaguars won four WPIAL and three PIAA Class AAA titles between 2004-08 but none since.

That's where the whispers from TJ running backs coach Jon Drager come in. Drager set a school record by scoring 41 touchdowns in 2002 but reminds Kemp all the time that he would have traded it for a championship.

“If you break records, people will eventually forget you,” Drager said. “If you win the WPIAL, you're synonymous with that year.”

Kemp was cleared to play against West Mifflin and fitted for a protective brace to wear on his bum shoulder. But Cherpak passed on putting his star into the game even when TJ had the ball on the 1-yard line and Kemp could have set a WPIAL scoring record.

TJ hoped to shut down Mitchell so Kemp would finish as the WPIAL regular-season rushing champion, but Mitchell scored on a 69-yard run on the game's second play.

Nonetheless, TJ pounded West Mifflin, 52-20, to improve its 10-year home winning streak to 56 games and clinch its 10th consecutive conference title and 15th in 16 seasons.

“When the win column keeps going up, my stats might go up,” Kemp said. “But I care more about the wins. It's just about the team, really. Yes, I score a lot. But I just want to help the team get a win. I don't care who scores.”

Whether from a whisper or a scream, it's a message Kemp received loud and clear. For the record, he will go down in TJ history as a winner.