Dec 4, 2014 4 min read

The saying goes that numbers never lie and that is the case with South Fayette’s football team during its 30-game winning streak.

The Lions accumulated almost 6,000 yards of offense this season and are averaging more than 40 points per game. Senior quarterback Brett Brumbaugh is only 105 yards away from becoming the PIAA’s all-time passing leader and junior running back Hunter Hayes is close to 1,600 rushing yards.

Though the offense’s numbers are eye-popping, the defense is equally impressive. During their state championship season last year, the Lions forced 30 turnovers in 16 games.

Through 14 games this season, South Fayette has forced 43 (22 interceptions & 21 fumbles recovered). Seniors Roman Denson and Jack Relihan lead the team with five interceptions each and several players have forced multiple fumbles.

The impact of takeaways was obvious last week against Karns City during the Gremlins’ first play from scrimmage of the second half.

With the Lions leading 22-0, a Karns City running back gained eight yards on a draw play up the middle, but Lions senior linebacker Logan Sharp took the football. Three plays later, Hayes’ touchdown put the game away.

South Fayette (14-0) will need big defensive plays Saturday when it faces Hickory (11-2) in the PIAA Class AA semifinals at Slippery Rock University’s Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

The Lions have been opportunistic during the playoffs, forcing timely turnovers and capitalizing by establishing the running game. With eight new starters on the defense, head coach Joe Rossi said it took a few weeks for the group to become acclimated.

“In high school, kids want to keep their eyes in the backfield,” Rossi said. “It’s taken a while for us, but lately, we have been playing pretty good defense. When you don’t read your keys, you get beat. We are playing good enough defense to win a championship.”

Hickory, the District 10 champion, has a short, yet memorable history with the Lions. The two met in the semifinals last season when South Fayette mounted a second-half comeback to punch its ticket to Hershey and the championship game.

The Hornets also have a stout defense, allowing eight points per game, and has one of the top prospects in the state in junior safety Andrew Pryts, who has scholarship offers from Northwestern, Penn State, Pitt, Virginia and West Virginia.

“This is the best defense we will have faced all season,” Rossi said.

South Fayette will need to play assignment-based football against the Hornets’ offense, which is averaging 32.4 points per game behind freshman quarterback Luke Brennan and sophomore running back Chuck Carr.

Brennan completed 57 percent of his passes for 938 yards and 10 touchdowns since taking over as the starter. Carr, who played against South Fayette last year, rushed for 20 touchdowns.

Pryts also has a team-high 47 receptions for 697 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Hickory head coach Bill Brest remembers walking off the field at Slippery Rock last December with one thought on his mind – how sound the Lions played defensively. South Fayette scored a safety in the second quarter and disrupted the Hornets’ rhythm offensively.

“Great football teams have a great defense, and that’s what I felt walking off the field last year. I was very impressed with their defense,” Brest said. “They get after it, great technicians, they run to the football, and they are very aggressive.”

The Lions’ defensive play during the postseason has them confident heading into the semifinals.

“We have been firing on all cylinders, knowing what we are doing, reading the right guys and making the plays we need to make,” Sharp said. “I feel really confident about this game because our defense has really stepped up these last few games.”