Pine-Richland crushes Norwin, 44-7
Sophomore QB Spencer posts big numbers in victory vs. Knights
By any measure, Pine-Richland quarterback Cole Spencer’s stat line against Norwin was impressive.
The sophomore quarterback had 187 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 120 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to lead Pine-Richland (4-1, 3-0) to a 44-7 victory.
“For him being a sophomore, he’s an extremely mature quarterback,” Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “He has a great surrounding cast, which helps as well. He has a great offensive line and great skill guys around him. He did a great job of running the show tonight.”
His performance becomes even more impressive when you consider he did it all in the first half of the game.
“We jumped out on them a little bit, and it started clicking for him,” Kasperowicz said. “He’s really running the system. He’s not trying to do it all himself. he’s taking what the defense gives him and when he’s got the opportunity to make a play or make a throw, he’s doing that. I’m proud of how we played tonight.”
Kasperowicz said that Pine-Richland dominated Norwin (2-3, 1-2) in all three phases of the game. Pine-Richland scored all of its points in the first half and held Norwin to one second-half touchdown.
Running back Jack Salopek scored Norwin’s lone touchdown, a 22-yard score, in the third quarter. Wide receiver Luke Miller added five receptions, 111 receiving yards and a touchdown for Pine-Richland.
“I thought the defense played extremely well,” Kasperowicz said. “But I thought this game was won tonight, it was a total team effort. It was the best game we’ve played to date in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams.
“Our kicker was incredible, he did what we asked him to do. Our coverage teams played great, defense was lights out. And offense, obviously, played incredible as well. Good team win.”
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Pieto finished with 70 passing yards, completing 4 of 12 attempts. Kicker John Gummo made two field goals for Bethel Park.
North Allegheny 34, Mount Lebanon 3: North Allegheny shut out Mount Lebanon in the first half. Running back Alfonso Cantu got things started with a 42-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and a pair of third quarter touchdowns -— a 32-yard catch by Ben Petsche and a 62-yard run by Ben Maenza — sealed the victory.
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Canon-McMillan 20, Hempfield 14: Wide receiver Drew Engel finished with five catches, 103 yards and two second-quarter touchdowns to help Canon-McMillan pull away with a win.
Running back Josh O’Hare added 191 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. Hempfield running back Nathan Roby led his team with 137 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Seneca Valley 37, Butler 0: Quarterback Gabe Lawson led Seneca Valley in passing yards and rushing yards with 90 and 80, respectively. He also tallied two passing touchdowns, including a 41-yard strike to Josh Mclean in the first quarter to get Seneca Valley on the board. Matt Stanger added two rushing touchdowns.