Back again: Defending champ Belle Vernon routs EA, returns to WPIAL final
IRWIN 无毛视频� The Leopards are back again.
Belle Vernon rolled up 431 yards on the ground, including 149 by Quinton Martin on just 12 carries, in romping over East Allegheny, 49-8, Friday night to earn a return trip to Acrisure Stadium for a chance to repeat as WPIAL Class AAA champion.
Martin and Kole Doppelheuer each scored two touchdowns and Jake Gedekoh rushed for 119 yards and a score as the top-seeded Leopards improved to 10-1 with the district semifinal victory on a rainy night at Norwin Knights Stadium.
Belle Vernon will meet unbeaten second-seeded Avonworth (12-0), which defeated Elizabeth Forwrard, 21-10, this Friday at 5 p.m. in a rematch of last year无毛视频檚 WPIAL final won by the Leopards, 24-7.
Belle Vernon stuck to a fundamental ground game against East Allegheny.
无毛视频淛ust based on what we saw from film, we thought we无毛视频檇 be able to run vertically at them, and we were able to do that,无毛视频� Leopards coach Matt Humbert said. 无毛视频淲ith the weather being the way it was, we wanted to just focus on a solid ground game with our different backs where we didn无毛视频檛 run the quarterback at all. We were able to establish and do that.
无毛视频淭he past two weeks we无毛视频檝e been kind of balanced in terms of our run and our pass so we just wanted one of those old-school football games where we just kind of ran straight at them and for the most part that worked out.无毛视频�
The Leopards scored on their first two possessions against East Allegheny and never looked back.
The game had an electrifying start when Doppelheuer returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. However, the Leopards were flagged for holding on the return to nullify the score.
Belle Vernon, undaunted, then went on an 11-play, 80-yard TD drive capped by Martin无毛视频檚 4-yard run. Preston Rathway made the first of his five extra points for a 7-0 lead.
The fourth-seeded Wild Cats (9-3) drove deep into Belle Vernon territory on their opening possession but the Leopards无毛视频� defense forced a turnover on downs at the 12-yard line.
The Leopards then drove 88 yards for another touchdown, this one coming on a 16-yard run by Doppelheuer. The extra-point kick failed, leaving BV up 13-0 after one quarter.
Belle Vernon increased its lead to 20-0 when quarterback Braden Laux powered into the end zone from a yard out in the second quarter.
East Allegheny无毛视频檚 attempt at a fake punt failed near midfield and the Leopards followed with another touchdown drive that ended with Gedekoh无毛视频檚 12-yard run. Gedekoh also had a 43-yard run in the march, which gave Belle Vernon a 27-0 halftime lead.
The Leopards tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter on Laux无毛视频檚 22-yard pass to Martin, who also ran in the 2-point conversion for a 35-0 lead to invoke the Mercy Rule, and Doppelheuer无毛视频檚 13-yard run to make it 42-0.
The Wild Cats averted a shutout when Michael Cahill threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Brennen Rutledge in the fourth quarter. Cahill added a 2-point conversion pass to Raemar Sims.
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 final TD came on Deaubre Lightfoot无毛视频檚 16-yard run in the closing minutes.
Five different Leopards ran for touchdowns against East Allegheny.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e deep when it comes to our backfield,无毛视频� Humbert said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 very fortunate to have the kids that I have. You无毛视频檙e relying on those five-six guys up front to be able to do their job as well. East Allegheny is pretty athletic everywhere, especially at the linebacking position. I thought our line played well. I thought they were able to get some push when we needed it.无毛视频�
Doppelheuer, who had a second kickoff return for touchdowns called back due to penalty, rushed for 87 yards on only seven carries and tied Tanner Moody for the team lead in tackles with six. Laux threw for 58 yards.
Cahill completed 10 of 26 passes for 133 yards and was intercepted once by Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 Chase Mertz. Rutledge had seven receptions for 112 yards.
Humbert commended his defense.
无毛视频淓ast Allegheny was tricky to prepare for because they无毛视频檙e kind of slippery in what they do,无毛视频� Humbert said. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e very good at making busted plays into something. They无毛视频檙e biggest weapon is their quarterback being flushed left or right and him pumping the ball downfield to try and find an open guy.
无毛视频淪o all week we stressed to not get caught in the scrambling drill, stay with your man for the entire duration of the play. That can be a challenge at times when you have a quarterback that active in the backfield. The defense was able to perform well in that aspect and that was gratifying.无毛视频�
Belle Vernon will be making its seventh straight appearance in the district semifinals and its third consecutive appearance in the WPIAL championship game. The Leopards lost to Aliquippa in the 2021 final before winning the program无毛视频檚 second district title in 2022.