Final drive extends Indians’ banner year
4th-and-11 conversion fuels winning drive
The last thing Kam Kruze needed was a Woodland Hills defender in the pocket, but there he was.
Facing a fourth-and-11 situation trailing late in the fourth quarter, needing a conversion to have a realistic shot, West Allegheny’s quarterback looked past the oncoming rusher and saw Kyle Guilfoil between the hash marks.
“I was just looking to see where everyone was,” Kruze said.
Guilfoil made a diving catch. The drive continued. Kruze ended it with a 9-yard touchdown pass, giving West Allegheny a 14-13 victory against Woodland Hills in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals Friday night at North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium.
The Indians will face defending champion and undefeated Gateway — which beat Franklin Regional, 35-0 — in the semifinals.
“We’re going to have to play better than we played tonight,” Indians coach Bob Palko said. “It’s going to be a monumental task, but hey, we’re going to strap it up and put a game plan together and see what we can do.”
Trailing by six points with 6:10 to go, West Allegheny assembled a 13-play, 73-yard drive. Lining up at the 50, Kruze completed his dramatic attempt to Guilfoil to keep the drive alive.
“Happy for him,” Palko said of Kruze, “because he struggled all night.”
Four rushes put the Indians on the 9. Kruze rolled to his right and looked back left before lofting a pass to Isaac Longstreth in the back of the end zone.
Longstreth hung onto it and John McArdle’s extra point broke the tie.
West Allegheny beat Woodland Hills by the same score Sept. 28. That was the Wolverines’ fifth loss in six games. After that, Woodland Hills won four of its next five games, including a 14-0 shutout of Mars last week in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
West Allegheny did not convert a great opportunity in the first quarter. After the Indians recovered a William Clark fumble at the Woodland Hills 16, they took a sack, gained 8 yards on a lateral and then lost 7 yards before missing a 26-yard field goal.
Woodland Hills took a 3-0 lead into halftime. The points came late in the half, after West Allegheny went for it on fourth down with 20 to gain. The Wolverines broke up the pass in the end zone and took over with 53 seconds remaining.
Michael Coleman rushed for 11 yards; then, a twist — receiver Jay Smith completed a 26-yard pass to Davion Rochelle. Two Clark rushes brought Woodland Hills inside the 10 and Charles Hanchett scored the game’s first points with a 24-yard field goal.
The Woodland Hills defense held postseason opponents scoreless for six quarters. Nico Flati ended the streak, breaking a pivotal, 45-yard touchdown run with 7:17 remaining in the third quarter. Flati rushed for 100 yards.
The Wolverines answered immediately. Gavin Judson’s 28-yard pass to Coleman started a sevenplay, 59-yard drive. Clark did the heavy lifting in the red zone and punched it in from 1 yard to put Woodland Hills ahead, 10-7, with 3:56 left in the quarter. Clark rushed for 62 yards on 15 carries.
Woodland Hills forced a punt on West Allegheny’s following possession and took over at its 20. A 12-play drive culminated in a 28yard field goal that put the Wolverines ahead, 13-7. But Kruze wasn’t done.
“We always make good halftime adjustments,” Kruze said. “That’s all on our coaches. We give that all to our coaches. They just put us in the right spot to win.”