Sep 25, 2020 6 min read

Thomas Jefferson scored 21 unanaswered points in the second half Friday night and defeated visiting Belle Vernon 42-21 in a Class 4A Big Eight Conference showdown between previously undefeated teams.

In a rematch of last year’s WPIAL championship game, Thomas Jefferson (3-0, 3-0) pulled away from a 21-21 halftime tie. Jake Pugh scored the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter on a one-yard run, then connected with Preston Zandier on a 21-yard scoring pass.

Pugh capped the scoring with a one-yard TD plunge in the fourth quarter.

Pugh ran for three touchdowns and passed for three more. He had a 34-yard TD toss to Ian Hansen in the first quarter and a 12-yarder to Ross Miller in the second quarter that gave TJ a 21-14 lead.

Pugh completed 13 of 20 passes for 188 yards.

Belle Vernon (2-1, 2-1) tallied two first-quarter TDs on a one-yard run by Devin Whitlock and a 60-yard pass from Whitlock to Quintin Martin.

Whitlock passed for a nine-yard TD to Tanner Steeber that tied the score at 21-21 in the second quarter.

Whitlock rushed for 128 yards on 19 carries.

McKeesport 10, Trinity 7

McKeesport scored all its points in the third quarter to stop Trinity 10-7 in a Big Eight Conference game.

Trinity took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 13-yard run by Micah Finley.

It stayed that way until the third quarter when Devontae Hampton caught a tipped ball and scored on a 46-yard pass from Terrence Glenn.

Milt Campos then kicked a 21-yard field in the final minutes of the third quarter.

Charleroi 7, Waynesburg 6

Each team scored a touchdown late in the third quarter but Charleroi converted its extra point and that proved to be the difference as the Cougars edged Waynesburg 7-6 in a Century Conference game.

After a scoreless first half, Waynesburg (0-3, 0-3) took a 6-0 lead with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter when Breydon Woods broke off an 87-yard touchdown jaunt. Woods finished with 111 rushing yards.

Waynesburg, however, missed the extra point and that proved pivotal to the outcome.

On the enuing possession, Charleroi (1-2, 1-2) drove for the game-winning touchdown. Nikko Pelligrini scored on a 10-yard run with 39 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Sam Icavangelo booted the extra point, which proved to be the difference.

Charleroi had an interception return for a touchdown negated by a penalty late in the fourth quarter. The Cougars had almost 100 yards in penalties. Charleroi also had two first-half drives end inside the Waynesburg 10-yard line.

Waynesburg lost a costly fumble on a Charleroi punt in the fourth quarter.

California 49, Mapletown 18

Jordan Zuzak rushed for 234 yards on 14 carries and scored five touchdowns as California remained undefeated with a 49-18 victory over Mapletown in a Class A Tri-County South Conference game.

California (2-0, 2-0) broke the game open by scoring 30 points in the final 7:40 of the first half to take a 42-6 lead.

Zuzak scored on runs of four, 15, 43 and 22 yards in the first half, the latter with 31 seconds remaining before halftime. He added his fifth touchdown, covering 39 yards, midway through the third quarter.

Mapletown (0-3, 0-3) led 6-0 late in the first quarter after Landan Stevenson caught an 85-yard touchdown pass from Max Vanata. Stevenson added a pair of second-half TD runs, covering 19 and 39 yards. He finished with 137 rushing yards on 17 carries. Vanata was 4-for-5 for 119 yards.

California received an 11-yard touchdown run from Damani Stafford that tied the score at 6-6 in the first quarter, and a one-yard TD plunge from Addison Panepinto in the second quarter.

California had 337 rushing yards.

Jefferson-Morgan 22, Monessen 14

Jonathan Wolfe ran for two touchdowns and scored 16 first-half points, and Jefferson-Morgan held on for its first victory of the season, 22-14 over Monessen in a Class A Tri-County South Conference game played at Waynesburg University’s John F. Wiley Stadium.

Jefferson-Morgan (1-2, 1-2) led 16-0 at halftime on TD runs of four and nine yards by Wolfe and his two conversion runs.

Monessen (0-3, 0-3) closed to within 16-8 when Jemere Majors recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and the Greyhounds added a two-point conversion.

J-M, however, clinched the win when Colt Fowler crossed the goal line on a one-yard plunge to make it 22-8.

Rochester 29, Burgettstown 7

Rashawn Reid ran for a pair of third-quarter touchdowns and undefeated Rochester scored 29 unanaswered points to defeat Burgettstown 29-7 in a Class A Big Seven Conference game at Hill Memorial Stadium.

Burgettstown (1-2, 1-2) led late in the first half but Rochester (3-0, 3-0) dominated the final 25 minutes of the game.

The Blue Devils took a 7-0 lead when they put together an impressive 15-play, 78-yard drive that was capped by a three-yard Shane Kemper touchdown run with 5:04 left in the first half. The scoring drive lasted more than 10 minutes.

Rochester, however, pulled to within 7-6 by scoring in the final minute of the opening half on a 21-yard screen pass from Parker Lyons to Denny Robinson.

Reid had his two scoring runs in the third quarter and the Rams converted a pair of two-point conversions to forge a 22-7 lead.

Rochester closed the scoring after recovering a Burgettstown fumble in the fourth quarter. Robinson scored on a 29-yard run.

Ringgold 48, Uniontown 6

John Polefko ran for 159 yards on only nine carries and scored three touchdown as Ringgold won its first game of the season and in impressive fashion, 48-6, over Uniontown in a non-conference game at Joe Montana Stadium.

Landon Oslowski scored 2 touchdowns for Ringgold (1-2) and Brayden Fine added a touchdown.

Ringgold took control early, forging a 28-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Rams led 35-6 at halftime.

Ringgol’d ground game dominated as the Rams rolled up 357 rushing yards.

It was the first game of the season for Uniontown, which had originally opted out of the season.

In other games

Elizabeth Forward was a 42-6 winner at Beth-Center in a nonconference game. The Bulldogs’ record falls to 1-2. No game details were made available to the Observer-Reporter by press time.