SF focused as PIAA postseason begins
South Fayette’s Jack Relihan (11) and Conner Beck (26) tackle Karns City’s Wyat Everetts in their PIAA Class AA quarterfinal playoff game last season.
South Fayette’s Jake Relihan leaps into the arms of Lions quarterback Brett Brumbaugh as Logan Sharp and Ray Eldridge rush to join the celebration after South Fayette won its second straight WPIAL Class AA championship over Aliquippa last Friday. The Lions now will face Karns City in the PIAA quarterfinals tonight at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium.
The bus ride home from a football game can be filled with the silence of losing or the glory of a big win.
But no trip was more gratifying for South Fayette’s players than the one from Hershey last December after the Lions won the PIAA Class AA title.
There have been many enjoyable bus rides during the team’s 29-game winning streak, but it’s the one to Hershey last year that mattered the most for South Fayette.
The Lions’ know that if they want to enjoy that moment again this year, everything has to be done correctly.
Slow starts in the state playoffs can be costly, something the Lions nearly learned the hard way against Karns City last year.
After winning the WPIAL championship, the Lions had eight days to prepare for a state quarterfinal game against the Gremlins.
During the first 12 minutes of that game at Clarion University, the Lions experienced the dreaded WPIAL hangover. They punted on their first two drives and trailed early in the second quarter after Gremlins’ defensive back Tristan Rhoades returned an interception for a touchdown.
South Fayette responded with touchdowns on five consecutive drives to pull away for the 53-21 victory and a trip to the semifinals.
The Lions (13-0) will face District 9 champion Karns City (11-1) once again in the PIAA quarterfinals at Clarion University tonight at 7 p.m.
“Starting fast is a key for us in every game, but especially this game because last year, I know I struggled a lot,” senior quarterback Brett Brumbaugh said. “I’ll put that on me for us starting slow, so I have to make sure I come out of the gate and do my job.”
South Fayette will face a new group of players for Karns City. While wide receiver Logan Moroney, fullback Christian Turner and Rhoades are back, the Gremlins have a new quarterback running their wing-T offense, senior Caleb King.
Rhoades has a lingering hamstring issue that might cause him to miss tonight’s game. That would leave junior Collin Dunmyre to carry the load for the Gremlins on his own. Dunmyre leads Karns City with 873 rushing yards.
Stopping Karns City’s offense requires discipline. The Gremlins rely on misdirection plays, and South Fayette head coach Joe Rossi does not want his players overcommitting to one player in the backfield.
“You can’t look in the backfield here or else you’ll be spinning in circles,” Rossi said. “You have to trust that the ball will find you. We tell the kids that all the time – you do your job and the ball will find you. It’s a hard offense to simulate in practice, but we’ll be ready.”
In last year’s game, South Fayette limited the Gremlins to 161 total yards and forced three turnovers to score 41 unanswered points.
“South Fayette is a great team,” Karns City head coach Ed Conto said. “They are picked to be No. 1. When you watch film on them, you don’t see any weaknesses, so I agree that they are the best team in the state right now. What stood out last year is how quickly they are able to turn a game around. They can score quickly.”
Despite his slow start, Brumbaugh, who is 304 passing yards away from the PIAA record, finished with 340 passing yards and five touchdowns against the Gremlins last year.
The receiving core for the Lions impressed Conto, but he was surprised by the play of South Fayette’s lines.
“Those guys were so quick,” said Conto. “They obviously had great receivers. Some people may overlook those linemen. They weren’t monsters or 300-pound guys, but they were athletic and strong. I’m expecting to see the same thing this time around.”
South Fayette won’t accept a slow start or an early exit in its bid to become the first Class AA team to repeat as PIAA champions. On the bus ride home from Heinz Field Friday night, the seniors discussed their eighth grade football season that ended with a 3-6 record.
Defeating Karns City and inching one step closer toward another trip to Hershey is their sole focus.
“In middle school, we knew we were talented, but we didn’t have our heads on right and we weren’t focused like we are now,” Brumbaugh said. “We’ve grown and developed. This senior year has been the best year of football I’ve played. We want to be the first team in AA to win back-to-back state titles. We’re looking forward to getting after it (tonight).”
The Lions have successfully defended the Century Conference and WPIAL titles. The next order of business is keeping the PIAA Class AA title in South Fayette.
“They know the experience we had on the bus and going to Hershey,” Rossi said. “They know how that feels so I think they want that feeling again. We have to defend that title now. We’ve been able to defend the first tow and now we have to get the third leg of the triple crown.”