Nov 1, 2018 2 min read

Monessen at Jeannette

Records: Monessen is 7-2, Jeannette is 10-0

Class: A

Winner plays: Either West Greene or Rochester in the semifinals.

Who to watch: The dangerous trio of Seth Howard, Marcus Barnes and Imani Saunders leads top-seeded Jeannette. Howard, the Jayhawks’ quarterback, has completed 72 of 137 passes for 1,222 yards and 13 touchdowns. Barnes, a wide receiver, has 27 catches for 521 yards. Sanders, the team’s leading rusher, has 571 yards on 91 carries. Vaughn Taylor is the biggest offensive threat for Monessen.

Noteworthy: Undoubtedly the best Class A team in the regular season, Jeannette went through a difficult schedule unscathed. The Jayhawks, who are defending PIAA champions, are 5-0 against teams that qualified for the postseason. Their smallest margin of victory is 15 points and have allowed the fewest points per game in the classification (6.4). … Jeannette has not lost to team other than Clairton since a 46-32 loss to Neshannock in the 2014 WPIAL quarterfinals. … Monessen went from tied for the Tri-County South title to the eighth and final seed in the playoffs. … Both teams have had issues with penalties. … The game will be played at Hempfield High School because of poor field conditions at Jeannette’s McKee Stadium.