Overpowering: Leopards romp over Hickory, take aim at second straight PIAA title
WEXFORD 无毛视频� Quinton Martin is clearly the marquee name when it comes to Belle Vernon football and draws special attention from every defense he faces.
The Leopards are, in reality, a four-headed offensive monster, though, one that devoured Hickory in their PIAA Class AAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny on Friday night.
Martin and quarterback Braden Laux each scored two touchdowns and Jake Gedekoh and Kole Doppelheuer also had TDs as Belle Vernon romped to a 42-16 victory over the Hornets to advance to the PIAA championship game for the second year in a row.
The Leopards will play Northwestern Lehigh, a 33-24 winner over Wyomissing in the other semifinal, next Saturday at Cumberland Valley无毛视频檚 Chapman Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Belle Vernon has already succeeded in repeating as WPIAL champion and now will take aim at a second consecutive state title.
无毛视频淭he goal isn无毛视频檛 fully achieved,无毛视频� Leopards coach Matt Humbert said. 无毛视频淲e got there, we can take a deep breath and now we have to go after it.无毛视频�
The Leopards went after the Hornets right from the start, marching 65 yards to a touchdown on their opening drive to take control of the game and never relinquishing it.
Belle Vernon rang up 494 yards of offense, including 383 on the ground, while limiting Hickory to 160 total yards.
无毛视频淧roud of the offense just being able to be gritty,无毛视频� Humbert said. 无毛视频淲e weren无毛视频檛 trying to be sexy coming out here. We had a good game against Avonworth offensively and we wanted to come out and run straight at them.无毛视频�
Jake Gedekoh led the Leopards无毛视频� rushing attack with 114 yards on 10 carries even though he missed the second half due to an injury he suffered late in the second quarter. Laux accumulated 81 hard-earned rushing yards while also completing 8 of 12 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Doppelheuer ran 10 times for 77 yards and Martin added eight carries for 65 yards and four receptions for 67 yards for a combined 132 yards.
无毛视频淥bviously that无毛视频檚 your goal,无毛视频� Humbert said of his team无毛视频檚 balanced attack. 无毛视频淵ou strive for team efforts and team victories. Last week (a 26-0 win over Avonworth in the WPIAL final) and this week you saw out there what it looks like when everybody is clicking on all cylinders. The pistons are firing and the cogs in the machine are working.无毛视频�
Laux capped the first scoring march with a 3-yard touchdown run and the Leopards kicked into high gear in the second quarter.
After Hickory (11-3) pulled to within 7-3 on Lukas Jones无毛视频� 40-yard field goal, Belle Vernon (12-1) scored on its next three possessions to take a commanding 28-3 halftime lead.
The first drive covered 54 yards in just four plays, the last two being a 21-yard run by Doppelheuer and a 20-yard burst around left end by Martin who dove inside the pylon for the score. Preston Rathway无毛视频檚 extra-point kick after a bobbled snap hit the right upright, leaving the Leopards in front 13-3.
Hickory quarterback Zander Telesz was intercepted by Adam LaCarte at the BV 19 with 6:31 left in the half and this time it only took three plays for the Leopards to pounce into the end zone again. Martin carried for 16 yards and Gedekoh ran for 5 yards and then rambled down the right sideline for a 60-yard touchdown with Laux无毛视频檚 2-point conversion pass to Anthony Crews making it 21-3.
The Hornets无毛视频� next drive was foiled by a holding penalty and a sack of Telesz by Aiden Johnson, and a short punt gave Belle Vernon the ball at the Hickory 39. On the next play Laux connected with Martin on a pass near the right sideline and the Penn State recruit eluded one tackle and raced into the end zone to give his team a 28-3 advantage after Rathway无毛视频檚 extra point.
Belle Vernon came within a yard of scoring again right before halftime as Laux led the team from its own 38 to the Hickory 6 but he was stopped just short of the goal line on a quarterback draw as time expired.
The Leopards extended their lead to 35-3 by churning out a 10-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Laux无毛视频檚 1-yard plunge midway through the third quarter.
The Hornets finally made some noise after falling behind by 32.
Kelvin Morrison returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, although Telesz无毛视频檚 2-point pass was broken up, as Hickory pulled within 35-9. The Hornets then moved 65 yards in six plays with Telesz throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Parker Hillard to make it 35-16 one play after Telesz caught a 37-yard pass from wide receiver Will Acrie on a gadget play.
It looked like the Hornets would have an opportunity to cut further into the lead when two penalties left Belle Vernon facing a second-and-25 late in the third quarter. Laux got the Leopards moving again with a 16-yard completion to Alonzo Wade and then a 13-yard run to get the first down to kickstart what ended up being an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped by Doppelheuer无毛视频檚 10-yard touchdown run with 8:04 left in the fourth quarter to put Belle Vernon ahead 42-16.
Humbert lauded the performance of his offensive line.
无毛视频淚 told everyone from the jump, there was no secret to it, if we无毛视频檙e going to be able to win this game then we无毛视频檝e got to have strong line play up front,无毛视频� Humbert said. 无毛视频淚 think that无毛视频檚 the key. We无毛视频檝e been very hard and very critical of our offensive line because we无毛视频檝e got a repertoire of guys back there and we knew all year you无毛视频檝e just got to let those guys do what they can do because they无毛视频檙e pretty special, they无毛视频檙e pretty talented.
无毛视频淲e kept saying, even after last week, we无毛视频檙e waiting because that无毛视频檚 not the best game that our line无毛视频檚 played. That was the challenge going back into this week, and I think finally the line answered that challenge. I无毛视频檓 pretty proud of the line and how they无毛视频檝e endured the grit and the grind all season. I think they kind of punctuated this victory tonight.无毛视频�
Humbert also commended his hard-hitting defense which limited Hickory to one offensive touchdown.
无毛视频淧roud of the defense for being able to not let them get those big splash plays,无毛视频� said Humbert, who feels his team has benefited from last year无毛视频檚 playoff run.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just been an enjoyable process this season. The kids have made everything a little bit easier from how they practice and how they handle anything, and I think that goes back to some of the stuff from last year.无毛视频�
Tanner Moody and LaCarte led the Leopards with seven tackles each.
Telesz completed 7 of 15 passes for 69 yards and ran the ball 12 times for 54 yards while also making the one reception for 35 yards as he accounted for 158 yards.
Humbert is optimistic Gedekoh will be ready for Saturday无毛视频檚 game.
无毛视频淗e seems good. He was over there laughing,无毛视频� Humbert said. 无毛视频淚t was kind of a precautionary thing to get him out of there. We无毛视频檒l talk to the doctors and we无毛视频檒l get him evaluated in more of a comfortable setting tomorrow and hopefully everything is good with him.无毛视频�
Besides the injury, there were very few negatives in Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 performance, according to Humbert.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 gratifying when you have a game plan ratcheted up and the kids execute it to a tee,无毛视频� Humbert said. 无毛视频淚 thought they did a really good job.无毛视频�