Penn Hills shows off its offense

What started out as a defensive struggle turned into an offensive showcase for the Penn Hills playmakers.

The Indians defeated the visiting Canon-McMillan Big Macs, 33-17, to remain unbeaten this season. Penn Hills quarterback Hollis Mathis threw for four touchdowns — three to Dante Cephas — as the Indians built a 30-point lead before the Big Macs added two scores late in the fourth quarter.

“It feels good, but I think we’re at where we should be right now,” Penn Hills coach Jon LeDonne said. “Next week [against PineRichland] is our measuring stick, so we’ll find out where we are from there.”

The teams battled through a scoreless first quarter with both refusing to give much ground beyond midfield.

Penn Hills wouldn’t stay dormant much longer, though, as the Indians put an end to the shutout and brought the crowd to life early in the second quarter.

On second down from their 37, Mathis heaved a long pass down the middle for Cephas, who had gained a step on his defender.

The pass seemed destined to go over Cephas’ head and fall harmlessly to the turf, but Cephas had other ideas.

The 6-foot-1 receiver reached out with one hand at the last possible second, secured the ball in stride and raced into the end zone for a 63-yard touchdown.

“[Cephas] practices that a lot in practice, and we scream at him all the time. I’m sure we’re going to scream at him on film on Saturday,” LeDonne said. “But we have a lot of talent at receiver.

“It’s amazing to see what they can do.”

The Indians couldn’t convert the extra point, but Cephas’ catchand-run shifted the momentum to their side.

Canon-McMillan answered on its next drive, though, with a 27-yard field goal from Joshua Byers. But the Indians led by only 6-3 at halftime.

Canon-McMillan received the second-half kickoff, but Penn Hills immediately took the ball back on an interception by Daequan Hardy.

The teams traded punts before Hardy made his presence felt on offense, hauling in a deep ball from Mathis for a 73-yard touchdown and a 13-3 lead.

After another defensive stop, Penn Hills running back Jaquay Sears broke for a 59-yard gain up the middle, setting up Mathis for his third touchdown pass of the game. This time, he found Cephas from 8 yards to make it a 20-3 Indians lead with about five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Canon-McMillan’s final chance at a comeback fizzled early in the fourth, as Dylan Bennett picked off a Trejahn Lewis pass and returned it for a touchdown to give Penn Hills a 27-3 lead.

To make matters worse for the Big Macs, Lewis fumbled on the ensuing possession, and the Indians recovered at CanonMcMillan’s 35.

On the first play after the fumble, Mathis again hooked up with Cephas, this time for a 35-yard score to put the game away.

The Big Macs scored a couple of touchdowns in the final five minutes, but it wasn’t enough.