Oct 19, 2018 3 min read

JEFFERSON – No Ben Jackson, no problem.

West Greene’s standout running back did not play a snap against Jefferson-Morgan Friday night after sustaining an injury last week against Clairton, but that didn’t stop the Pioneers’ running game from accumulating 280 yards and six touchdowns Friday night.

Led by junior Kolin Walker, who rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, the Pioneers utilized a balanced rushing attack to upend Jefferson-Morgan, 50-7.

With the win, West Greene (6-3, 6-1) clinches at least a share of the Tri-County South Conference title for the first time since 1993.

“(Sharing the title is) big for our program, most definitely,” said West Greene head coach Rod Huffman. “We were down a couple of big starters tonight without (Andrew) Litton and Jackson. Our boys really sucked it up and played well. In their absence, we didn’t miss a stroke- which says a lot about our depth.”

The Pioneers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard following a 60-yard kick return to the Jefferson-Morgan (2-7, 2-4) 25-yard line by Walker. Six plays later, the Pioneers took an 8-0 lead as Nathan Brudnock found the end zone from two yards out and Brock Bedilion pounded in the two-point conversion.

After consecutive three-and-outs by the Rockets, West Greene extended its lead to 14-0 on a Walker three-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.

Jefferson-Morgan fumbled on its ensuing drive, giving West Greene the ball back on the Rockets’ 39-yard line. Four plays later, Bedilion extended the Pioneers’ lead to 22-0 on a four-yard rush with Brudnock rushing for the two-point conversion.

The Rockets finally cracked the scoreboard with 2:12 left in the first half as quarterback Jacob Broadwater avoided multiple tackles before connecting with Austin Foreman for a 36-yard touchdown.

Trailing 22-7, Broadwater intercepted West Greene quarterback Gavin Scott with 1:07 to go in the half, but Jefferson-Morgan did not capitalize on the turnover.

“I felt like we gave them a couple of short fields in the first half,” said Rockets’ head coach Aaron Giorgi. “They got the long run on the kickoff – we gave them that short field and they scored a touchdown (after) that. They also scored a touchdown on the fumble we had in the second quarter. That hurt momentum too. I felt like we were still in the game at that point because we had given them two touchdowns by short fields.”

West Greene came out with a vengeance in the second half, however, accumulating 22 points in the third quarter before adding its final touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Pioneers scored a touchdown on all four of their possessions across the final two quarters.

Brudnock scored three touchdowns on the night – two rushing and one receiving. Bedilion added 68 yards and a score for West Greene, and Scott threw and ran for a score.

“You can never match what Jackson brings,” Huffman said. “But we felt with kind of a grind-type deal that we could really work on their defensive line. That’s been our strength all year – our line has been big for us. Eventually, we just took over the line of scrimmage.”