McKeesport prevails
toughness of his team and the pride that he has for his players. It was almost as if he knew this was probably his last game. His wife, Sally, stood nearby. As Palko walked off the field to the locker room about 20 minutes after the game, he strolled through a line of fans, some who simply yelled, “Palk.” Maybe they knew this could be it for a man who became a veritable legend, a coach with a record of 207-70.
“I’m retiring from working in the education field. That much I know,” Palko said. “I’ll have to think about what I will do with coaching. But no matter what I do doesn’t mean I’m retiring from life.”
On the other side, Miller is in the semifinals for the second time in his two years as coach. And the Tigers (8-2) beat West Allegheny in typical McKeesport fashion — running and with big plays. McKeesport completed only 1 of 3 passes, but running backs Layton Jordan, Carlinos Acie and quarterback John Harper each had between 83 and 103 yards rushing and combined for an 8.5 yards-per-carry average.
Harper finished with 103 yards on 13 carries, Acie 93 on 6 attempts and Jordan 83 on 14. Harper scored on a 51-yard run, Acie on a 36-yarder and Jordan on a 9-yarder.
McKeesport led at halftime, 14-7, but West Allegheny’s Will Weber scored on an 80-yard run on the second play of the third quarter and Noah Ledford ran for the 2-point conversion to put the Indians ahead, 15-14. Weber had a terrific game taking direct snaps in the wildcat formation and rushing for 165 yards on 28 attempts.
But after Weber’s score, Jordan capped a 72-ayrd drive with a 9-yard touchdown run and Jordan also ran for the 2-point conversion that turned out to be the difference in the game with 7:27 left in the third quarter. It was “the sheet” that made Miller go for 2.
“We have a little sheet that says go for 2 when you’re up five,” Miller said. “I had a coach tell me that before we started that drive. I don’t know who made the sheet, but it’s like the bible everywhere. It sits in the bottom of a desk and we pull it out when the season starts. It worked.”
Weber, who also had a 1-yard touchdown run earlier in the game, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Mateo Vandamia with 9:16 remaining to make it 22-21. Palko wasn’t ready to go for 2 yet, but Kolbe Stout missed the extrapoint kick. He also missed a 25-yard field goal earlier in the game.
“We’re undersized up front on defense,” Miller said. “We had difficulty stopping their ball control. Luckily, we were able to tighten it up a couple times near the end zone.”