South Fayette holds off late Montour charge
McDONALD – For two quarters, it looked like South Fayette was going to run away with an easy win against Montour.
South Fayette dominated on both sides of the ball in the first half, allowing the Spartans only 33 total yards while accumulating 216 yards of its own. The Lions’ defense forced Montour three-and-outs on each of the first five drives the Spartans had.
Offensively, the Lions put up 24 points in the first half as Naman Alemada sliced through the Spartans’ defense, throwing three touchdown passes and completing 19-of-28 passes for 218 yards. Charley Rossi was almost uncoverable, catching 10 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Then Montour flipped the switch, starting with a 64-yard pick-six by Gannon Kadlecik on South Fayette’s opening drive of the third quarter.
The Spartans continued to dominate the second half, scoring 24 points as a part of a furious comeback attempt, but South Fayette managed to score one more time in the third quarter and fend off Montour just long enough to keep its Northwest Eight Conference record unblemished with a 31-24 win Friday night.
“We knew it was going to be a battle, so we were happy with our first half. We came out in the second half and got a good kickoff return and we didn’t capitalize with (Montour’s) pick-six,” said South Fayette head coach Joe Rossi. “They made plays and they’re a great football team. We got back in the game and we were lucky to hang on there at the end.”
The biggest change for Montour (4-3, 5-5) came following the interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter. On its next offensive possession, starting quarterback Luke Persinger exited with an injury, which forced Montour head coach Lou Cerro to go to the wildcat offense with Dominic Magliocco directing things.
“We were a little more successful throwing the ball in the second half,” said Cerro. “We go down the field and our quarterback gets hurt again, so we go to our wildcat and our wildcat package seemed to work a little better.”
Once the wildcat was in effect, Montour cut the deficit to 24-10 with a 24-yard field goal with 5:16 left in the third quarter. South Fayette (6-0, 9-1) responded on the ensuing drive with Alemada finding Ryan McGuire, who made an 18-yard one-handed touchdown grab to bump the lead back to 31-10.
Two plays later, Magliocco hit Anthony Guidone for a 65-yard touchdown to bring the score to 31-17. The Montour defense continued to prevent South Fayette from moving the ball before the Spartans’ offense orchestrated a 14-play drive, ending in a Magliocco one-yard run with 53 seconds left on the clock.
Montour attempted an onside kick, but South Fayette recovered and breathed a sigh of relief as the Lions kneeled twice to bring the game to its final.
“Our kids played with a lot of confidence in the second half,” said Cerro. “The interception return for a touchdown was huge and got our kids engaged a little bit and our kids fought to the end there.”
Magliocco found success as a passer and runner for Montour, competing five of six for 145 yards and a touchdown, all in the second half, and carrying the ball 16 times for 50 yards and another score.
Alemada completed his night 27 of 40 for 274 yards and four touchdowns, and Rossi ended with 14 catches for 163 yards and two scores. South Fayette running back Andrew Franklin managed 102 yards on 20 rushes.
Both South Fayette and Montour will start their respective playoff paths to a potential WPIAL title next weekend.
“It’s all about survival and your health right now,” said Rossi. “You just have to try and stay as healthy as you can 10 games into the season and the scrimmage and now is just about resting the kids and just trying to stay healthy throughout the playoffs.”