Rams claim berth in 6A championship
First-half turnovers are costly for Blue Devils
After a 20-point loss to North Allegheny in the 6A conference championship, defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Pine-Richland needed to get back on track.
It’s safe to say a 46-16 win Friday night against Mt. Lebanon with a running clock for most of the second half, did just that — the semifinal win puts the Rams into the WPIAL Class 6A championship next Saturday at Heinz Field, where they will face Seneca Valley.
For Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz, heading back to the title game shows the Rams aren’t fizzling out after last year’s “team of destiny” was 16-0.
“We obviously had a really good team last year with a really, really, really good quarterback,” Kasperowicz said, referring to Phil Jurkovec, who now plays for Notre Dame. “Arguably one of the best ever. And a good cast around him. To be able to get back there again, and kind of, not that anybody [said this], but ‘Oh, you just made it because of Phil.’ We’ve got a program here, we’re here to stay for a long time. It’s a credit to this senior class that didn’t let that die.”
The game started with a hiccup by Mt. Lebanon, with quarterback Seth Morgan fumbling on the Blue Devils’ first play from scrimmage and Pine-Richland offensive lineman Andrew Kristofic falling on the ball. The Rams got the ball on the Blue Devils 20, and two plays later junior running back Luke Meckler ran in a 14yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead.
Meckler led the Rams with 125 rushing yards on six carries.
“That’s kind of the identity of our team,” Kasperowicz said. “We want to start fast. We practice fast, we play fast, so to be able to come out there and jump on them. We were happy they chose to receive the ball so we can put our defense on the field to start, we got the turnover, and we put it in, I think, pretty soon after … To be able to get that kind of momentum going, and then you kind of force their hand, it was tremendous.”
Sophomore quarterback Cole Spencer, who was held to 12 passing yards against North Allegheny, opened up the second quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run.
He completed 12 of 16 passes for 105 yards.
“Just the first couple of passes kept going, and once they get going, I just kept on rolling,” Spencer said.
With 7:19 to play before halftime, Meckler broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run, and another Mt. Lebanon fumble later set up a 19-yard touchdown pass from Spencer to sophomore receiver Luke Miller. On Pine-Richland’s next possession, a 36-yard run by senior running back Anthony Cerminara got the Rams inside the Blue Devils red zone, with Spencer throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver D’Avay Johnson take a 33-0 lead.
Mistakes continued to hurt Mt. Lebanon, as junior linebacker Josh Rechenberg picked off backup quarterback Evan Jones and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown with two minutes to play before a halftime, the score ensuring a running clock in the second half.
Spencer’s 6-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Shane Cafardi with 14 seconds left in the second quarter made it 46-0.
With a running clock and most of Pine-Richland’s starters pulled, the third quarter was over in a blink, though Mt. Lebanon kicker Casey Sorsdal made a 30-yard field goal.
In the fourth quarter, Jones hit senior wide receiver Tim Walters for a 75-yard touchdown pass, which brought the score to 46-9 with a little under eight minutes to play. Jones also connected with Morgan on an 11-yard score.