Local roundup: Mickens leads way as Connellsville earns first win
Jayden Mickens ran for 184 yards and two touchdowns to help lift Connellsville to its first win of the season, 19-7, in a non-conference football clash against visiting Berlin Brothersvalley on Friday night.
The Falcons were coming off two heart-breaking losses to Meadville in four overtimes and at Fayette County rival Albert Gallatin in a game that went down to the final seconds.
Connellsville led 6-0 at halftime against Berlin Brothersvalley on Caden Matthews 36-yard touchdown pass to Christian Thomas in the second quarter.
Matthews completed five passes for 105 yards.
The Mountaineers (2-2) moved into the lead earlier in the third quarter on Seth Kimmel’s 1-yard run and the extra-point kick.
Connellsville (1-3) regained the lead for good in the third quarter on Mickens’ 7-yard touchdown run.
Mickens added an insurance score in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard TD dive.
Allderdice 21, Uniontown 15 – Tai-vaun Turner’s 65-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter broke a 15-15 tie and sent the Dragons to a non-conference win over the Red Raiders at Bill Power Stadium.
Nasir Scott ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries as Allderdice improved to 3-1.
Uniontown (2-2) scored the first nine points of the game on Notorious Groom’s 70-yard interception return and David Ranitu’s extra point with 1:11 left in the first quarter and a safety on a botched snap during a Dragons punting attempt early in the second.
Brandon Beachaum got Allderdice on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run with 3:55 left in the second quarter to pull the visitors within 9-7 at halftime.
Ranitu’s 3-yard touchdown run pushed the Red Raiders’ lead up to 13-6 with 5:53 left in the third quarter but the PAT failed.
The Dragons tied the game on Scott’s 9-yard touchdown run and Desmond Simm’s two-point conversion run with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter.
Tre Ford completed 9 of 19 passes for 122 yards for Allderdice. Luke Stead had two catches for 64 yards.
Grooms led Uniontown with 10 carries for 57 yards.
California 72, Bentworth 14 – The Trojans scored 30 points in the first quarter and the offense kept up the pressure for a Tri-County South Conference road victory.
California’s Lee Qualk had rushing touchdowns of 38, 24, 67, 14 and 36 yards in the first half. Malachi Peak had touchdown runs of three and 45 yards for California (1-0, 2-2). Landon Abercrombie added a 16-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The California defense also put up some points with two safeties and Chase Shemansky’s 80-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
Ben Hays scored both touchdowns for the Bearcats (0-1, 2-2). He had a one-yard plunge into the end zone and a 29-yard scoring reception from Ty Watson.
Blackhawk 45, Southmoreland 20 – The Scotties tied the game late in the first quarter, but visiting Blackhawk came back with 22 points in the second quarter for a non-conference road win.
Brayden McCarthy opened the game by returning the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. McCarthy returned to the end zone at 10:01 on a 53-yard scoring pass from Stephen Knallay.
Southmoreland (3-1) scored twice in the last 8陆 minutes of the quarter. Ethan Shawley caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Smith and Camren Phillips scored on a 15-yard run with a minute to go in the quarter.
Phillips ran for 171 yards on 17 carries. Smith completed 13-of-29 passes for 196 yards and three interceptions. Elliot Premus caught seven passes for 109 yards.
Knallay had a 14-yard touchdown run, Connor McGraw scored on a 8-yard run and McCarthy and Knallay combined on an 80-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Brown connected on a 35-yard field goal and Knallay hit Cody Woodward on a 26-yard pass for touchdown with a minute left in the third quarter.
Knallay threw for 238 yards. McCarthy caught three passes for 140 yards and Woodward had four catches for 60 yards.
Ethan Shawley powered into the end zone on a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
Northern Garrett (Md.) 31, Albert Gallatin 21 – Adam Pegg’s 61-yard touchdown run and Sam Evans’ kick spotted the Colonials the early lead, but Northern Garrett rallied for a non-conference home win.
Tee Guseman had touchdown runs of 1 and 14 yards for Albert Gallatin (2-2).
Northern Garrett’s Liam Stewart scored touchdowns on a 58-yard run and 1-yard dive in the fourth quarter. Luke Ross scored on a 14-yard run and Evan Graham had a 21-yard scoring run in the first quarter.
Wally Brands was perfect on all four extra points and connected on a 21-yard field goal in the win.
McKeesport 28, Belle Vernon 7 – The Tigers are not used to being winless after three contests and took it out on the Leopards (1-1) in a non-conference triumph at McKeesport.
The Tigers (1-3) opened the scoring on Anthony Cromerdie’s eight-yard run to cap an 83-yard drive and McKeesport took a 7-0 lead after Ian Shiffler made the first of four PATs.
Belle Vernon’s Kole Doppelheuer stopped the Tigers’ second drive with an interception that he took into the end zone but a block in the back penalty negated the score, and McKeesport’s defense forced a turnover on downs at its own 46.
Tiger sophomore and Penn State recruit Kemon Spell scored on a 17-yard run for a 14-0 advantage with 2:19 remaining in the second quarter.
Spell showed his speed with a 71-yard run with 7:30 left in the third quarter for a 21-0 lead. Spell scored his third touchdown on a 20-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Doppelheuer stopped the shutout on a six-yard run with 3:54 remaining and Preston Rathway converted on the PAT.
Jeannette 43, Frazier 24 – Kymone Brown threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns as the Jayhawks defeated the visiting Commodores in the Class A Eastern Conference opener for both teams.
Jayce Powell scored three touchdowns for Jeannette (1-0, 4-0) on a 32-yard pass from Brown, a 60-yard pass from Markus McGowan and a blocked punt return. Noah Sunder had four receptions for 96 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown in the first quarter to open the game’s scoring. Xavier Odoriso-Farrow had a 19-yard catch from Brown and the Jayhawks also got a 52-yard TD run from Nick Mendoza.
Brady Secrest passed for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Commodores (0-1, 1-3) and also scored on a 1-yard run. Noah Bachinski caught a 7-yard TD pass and Derek Diamond added a 2-yard touchdown run and a trio of two-point conversions.
West Greene 23, Avella 12 – Lane Allison threw two touchdown passes to propel the Pioneers past the visiting Eagles to their first win of the season in the Tri-County South opener for both teams.
West Greene led 10-0 at halftime on a 34-yard field goal by Hayden Hamilton in the first quarter and Allison’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Grimes on the final play of the first half.
Avella got on the board when Noah Kimberland scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 7:15 left in the third quarter but Allison answered with a 7-yard TD toss to Parker Burns with 2:08 remaining in the quarter to extend West Greene’s lead to 17-6.
The Pioneers made it 23-6 on Colin Whyte’s 1-yard TD plunge early in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles capped the scoring with 7:02 left in the game when Broden Hamm scored on a 3-yard run with 7:02 remaining but West Greene’s defense stopped the two-point attempt to keep it a two-score game and the Pioneers hung on from there.
Hamilton led a balanced West Greene rushing attack with 15 carries for 59 yards and Jacob Orndoff had 10 carries for 45 yards. Whyte added six attempts for 36 yards.
Ambridge 28, Mount Pleasant 10 – The Bridgers overcame an early 3-0 deficit to defeat the visiting Vikings in a non-conference game.
Mount Pleasant scored first on Jarett Garn’s 35-yard field goal in the first quarter but Ambridge answered later in the frame on AJ Gerace’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Adam Fernandez and Anthony Powell’s extra point made it 7-3.
The Bridgers (2-1) extended their lead to 21-3 on Gerace’s 8-yard TD toss to Jayce McCracken and DJ Cain’s 25-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
Mount Pleasant cut to gap to 21-10 when Garrett Eicher returned the kickoff after Cain’s score 85 yards for a touchdown with Garn adding the extra point.
The score remained that way until Fernandez scored on a 12-yard run with 9:19 left in the game.
The Vinings (2-2) were hurt by three turnovers on a pair of fumbles and an interception.
Bellaire, Ohio 41, Brownsville 0 – The Big Reds improved to 3-1 with a non-conference victory over the visiting Falcons.
Brownsville falls to 0-2.
Boys golf
Belle Vernon 193, Albert Gallatin 234 – The Leopards kept rolling through Section 2-AAA with a home win on Cedarbrook Golf Course’s Gold course.
Belle Vernon goes to 11-0 in the section and 13-0 overall. The Colonials (5-8) finished with a 4-8 section record.
The Leopards’ Seth Tomalski, who earned WCCA all-county honors Thursday, was the medalist after shooting 2-under 34. Jordan Mocello (37) and Donny Croftcheck (39) also broke 40. Landon Vaccaro finished with 41, and Jack Edwards and Trevor Kovatch both shot 42.
Caeden Williams was the low man for Albert Gallatin with 44. Trent Clemmer and Hayden Metts both shot 46. Tyler Felio and Paityn Stout both shot 49. James Williams’ 58 did not count.
Shady Side Academy 191, Frazier 207 – Shady Side Academy returned home from Linden Hall Golf Course with a Section 8-AA win.
Dylan Keilbach had scoring honors for the Commodores with 38. Aidan Hardy (41), Travis Smith (43), Eli Cernuska (40), and John Sinchar (45) closed out the scoring.
Shady Side Academy’s Jay Mohn was medalist with 37.