TJ  30 vs.  Trinity  6

Articles:

Thomas Jefferson topples Trinity, 30-6

Saturday, October 16, 2010

By Michael Sanserino, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Thomas Jefferson junior running back Ryan Ruffing said he was a little offended to start the season when many predicted the Jaguars would struggle.

So he did the one thing football players at Thomas Jefferson know how to do: win.

Ruffing rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns as the third-ranked Jaguars beat Trinity, 30-6, Friday night at Thomas Jefferson.

"When you go to TJ, there's a tradition," Ruffing said.

It was the Jaguars' 32nd consecutive regular-season victory against a WPIAL opponent; their last regular season WPIAL loss happened Oct. 21, 2005, against West Mifflin.

That loss against West Mifflin was the Jaguars' only conference loss in 11 years.

"One loss in 11 years in the league -- that's incredible," Trinity coach Ed Dalton said. "Does anybody realize how incredible that is? I don't think you guys understand. It's incredible. Eleven years, one loss in the league. ... There's no comparison."

The Jaguars sacked Trinity quarterback Brad Martin eight times, forced four fumbles and outgained the Hillers' offense, 307-233.

"I just think that our line pretty much dominated the line of scrimmage," Ruffing said. "We were able to run the ball with success the whole game."

Trinity (4-3, 3-2) let the game get out of hand in the second quarter when the Hillers lost three fumbles in six offensive plays. That allowed Thomas Jefferson's 3-0 advantage to erupt into a 17-0 lead. Each turnover gave Thomas Jefferson (6-1, 5-0) possession inside Trinity's 30-yard line.

"I think the defense gave us so many opportunities in the first half, and that was the pace of the game they set for us," Jaguars coach Bill Cherpak said.

Thomas Jefferson's lead could have been larger had the Jaguars capitalized on early chances. The Jaguars drove inside the Hillers' 10 on their first two possessions of the game but came away with only three points. Their first drive ended with a 22-yard field goal, and their second ended with an interception.

But Ruffing woke up Thomas Jefferson's offense, scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run to finish his team's third drive. Ruffing added his second touchdown of the game -- a 3-yard run -- two possessions later to give the Jaguars a 17-0 lead, which they took into halftime.

In addition to three turnovers, the Hillers' offense struggled in the first half. Trinity mustered only 64 yards total offense -- 3 yards passing -- before halftime, while they allowed 170 yards -- 122 passing.

Thomas Jefferson quarterback Dom Presto eclipsed the 100-yard passing mark after his second attempt of the game, finishing 5 of 7 for 122 yards and an interception.

The Jaguars attempted only one pass in the second half, in part because they had a large lead and in part because their running game was unstoppable.

Thomas Jefferson started the second half with a 13-play, 73-yard drive, capped by T.J. Matrascia's 25-yard touchdown run that gave Thomas Jefferson a 23-0 lead.

Martin got the Hillers on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when he connected with Eric Richards for a 24-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Jaguars' lead to 17 points. But Matrascia scored his second touchdown of the game -- a 28-yard run -- three plays later. Matrascia finished with two scores and 72 yards rushing.

The Jaguars have won their last six games by at least two touchdowns and look every bit the program that has won five of the past seven WPIAL Class AAA championships.

Cherpak said this year's team reminds him a lot of Thomas Jefferson's 2004 team, which won the WPIAL and PIAA championships.

"When we started out, we weren't highly ranked. We just kept getting better and better and better," he said.