TJ 24 vs Belle Vernon 31

Cole's TD gives Belle Vernon Area overtime win over Thomas Jefferson

The last time Thomas Jefferson began the season with two straight losses was a long time ago. Back to the B.C. era.

Before Cherpak, that is.

But not as of Friday night.

Belle Vernon Area overcame a 17-point halftime deficit and rallied to defeat the Jaguars, 31-24, in overtime.

Leopards quarterback Mike Fine had another big game with 21 carries for 104 yards and running back Luke Durigon finished with 105 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns. But it was fullback Ben Cole's only carry — for one yard — that put BVA on top in overtime.

The Leopards' defense, as it did the entire second half, made sure that stuck, pressuring TJ's Zane Zandier up the middle after a high snap forced him to make an errant throw. Phil Taylor intercepted it on the game's final play.

“This just shows the group of kids that we have,” BVA coach Matt Humbert said. “A lot of times the kids and parents overanalyze things, but we have heart and we were determined. You don't beat a Bill Cherpak team every day. We're going to enjoy this one.”

After the zany fourth quarter they had, the Leopards can.

BVA kicker Derek Verkleeren missed a 32-yard field goal, shortly after nailing a 40-yarder to tie the game at 24. The miss gave the Jaguars (0-2) the ball with two minutes to play.

TJ drove to the BVA 29 before the Leopards' Jake Powell came down with an interception at the two-yard line.

On the ensuing drive, Durigon gave the ball back to TJ on a fumble with 1:16 to play.

On a fourth-and-6 with 30 seconds to go, TJ kicker Tommy Campbell missed a 30-yard field goal.

BVA played for overtime, and cashed in with Cole on third down from the one.

The overtime started with Fine finding Timmy Labuda on a 9-yard slant pattern to set the Leopards up at the one.

On TJ's possession, Zandier found little running room against the Leopards' defense, a theme of the second half, for a 1-yard gain. After a 4-yard gain on a third down pass, Zandier took the high snap and chucked up the final interception.

“Field position killed us,” Cherpak said. “And our kicking game really let us down. We have to figure something out with the kicking game. … It's a third of the game, but tonight it was more like half of the game.”

The Jaguars started off quickly with two touchdowns within 25 seconds.

On their opening drive, Jaguars running back Ryan Scanlon darted through the heart of the Leopards' defense for a 57-yard run to the BVA 23.

Five plays later, Scanlon finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. The biggest play of the drive was a 12-yard completion from quarterback Julian Metro to Zane Zandier on a third-and-12.

Following the kickoff, BVA's Mike Fine fumbled the first snap and TJ's Noah Palmer recovered it at the BVA 29-yard line.

“You know, the way it went early on, what's that they say about the player Mikey is?” Humbert said. “He's a ballplayer. He doesn't get rattled. He had two fumbles tonight that (TJ) hurt us with. But it didn't phase him.”

On the next play, Metro found Jon Muelbauer on a corner route in the end zone with 7:53 remaining in the opening quarter.

BVA's defense did its part, limiting the Jaguars' offense to five possessions without a first down.

TJ capitalized on another BVA mistake, though.

On a third-and-27, Fine dropped back again and put the ball on the turf, this time the Jaguars' Pahanish fell on it to give TJ the ball deep in BVA territory.

The Leopards' defense held the Jaguars to a FG. Kicker Tommy Campbell's 25-yard attempt appeared to hit the right upright and bounce back into the end zone, but the kick was ruled good, giving TJ a 17-0 lead.

BVA was able to get on the board on its next play as Fine worked the read-option to perfection, keeping the ball and heading straight up the middle for a 58-yard touchdown run.

The Jaguars' defense held BVA to a three-and-out and got the ball back to its offense with 4:44 remaining. The unit ripped off an 11-play, 83-yard drive that ended with Zandier lining up in the wildcat formation and finding Muelbauer from 14 yards out to vault the Jaguars to a 24-7 lead heading into the half.

Humbert said the turning point, for him, was seeing the locker room at the half.

“There was no worry,” Humbert said. “There was not one shred of pessimism. We didn't change a thing. We knew what they were doing. It was a very calm disposition. I knew we were in this to win it.”

On the third play of the second half, the Leopards' cut the lead to 24-14 on Durigon's 17-yard touchdown. It was the first of two on the night for the senior back. He scored on a 10-yard run with 4:37 remaining in the third that made it a 24-21 game.

“Our defense kept us in it,” Humbert said. “They couldn't move the ball. We regrouped at halftime. We didn't change a thing.”

On the Jaguars' next possession, it was Cole picking off Zandier after he took a crushing hit by the Leopards' Noah Bukowski and Mike Semancik.

On the ensuing drive, Verkleeren hit his 40-yarder with 11:13 left to tie it up.

“We've been in games like this and you have to make plays,” Cherpak said. “We didn't do that and they did.

“But it was the field position that killed us. You can't score then give them the ball in your own territory.”

But now, Cherpak and the Jaguars find themselves in unfamiliar territory, 0-2 and at the bottom of the Big 10 Conference.

“Our effort was great and everything was right there for us, but we made huge mental mistakes. We had so many opportunities and didn't take advantage.”

Now 2-0 in the conference, the Leps return home next week to take on Uniontown.

“I think this game tells us that our conference is a hell of a lot better than people think,” Humbert said. “This win, though, we're going to enjoy it. Sometimes we're caught up in being laser precise, but I'm damned proud of the coaches and the game plan we came up with and proud of these kids.

“This is one of the most gratifying feelings for us.”

This was BVA's first win over TJ since 2000 and snapped a 58-game home winning streak.

NOTES: Fine finished 6 of 10 for 110 yards passing. … Jon Muelbauer caught 5 passes for 101 yards and two TDs. … Zandier was 6 of 8 throwing for 125 yards while Julian Metro finished 3 of 13 for 41 yards after starting the game 2 of 4.

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