Oct 30, 2020 2 min read

Eli Jochem caught three touchdown passes from Cole Spencer and returned an interception for another score as top-seeded Pine-Richland defeated South Fayette 47-7 in a Class 5A first-round playoff game Friday night.

Spencer completed 14 of 18 passes in the first half, accounting for 170 yards and three scores. He added a five-yard rushing touchdown, helping Pine-Richland (7-0) build a 41-0 halftime advantage.

The Spencer-to-Jochem combination connected on scoring passes covering nine, two and 28 yards. Jochem returned an interception 51 yards for a score.

The lone touchdown by South Fayette (4-4) came on a 31-yard pass to Ryan McGuire from Naman Alemada in the third quarter.

Jeannette 62, Avella 14

Freshman quarterback Brad Birch passed for four touchdowns and ran for another score – all in the first half – and Jeannette scored twice on returns as the Jayhawks rolled to a 62-14 victory over Avella in a Class A first-round playoff game.

Jeannette (7-1), the No. 3 seed, led 28-0 after the first quarter and scored 34 second-quarter points for a 62-7 halftime lead.

Birch, who led the WPIAL in touchdown passes in the regular season with 22, threw scoring passes of 10 and 23 yards to his brother, Brett Birch, two yards to Kaelan Piscar and 10 yards to Toby Cline. Brad Birch also scampered 40 yards for a second-quarter score that gave the Jayhawks a 49-7 lead.

Brad Birch completed seven of 10 passes for 88 yards.

James Sanders had a 34-yard TD run and returned a kickoff 61 yards for a score. Ryan Kimmel returned an Avella fumble 14 yards for a second-quarter TD.

Avella (5-3), which defeated Carmichaels in the regular-season finale to ean a playoff berth, scored in the second quarter on a five-yard run by quarterback K.J. Rush. The score was set up by a 42-yard pass to Noah Markle down to the Jeannette 10-yard line.

The only scoring in the second half was an 11-yard TD pass from Avella’s Cole Jaworoski to Tanner Terensky in the fourth quarter.