West Allegheny’s Vincent Staub carries teammate Nico Flati into the end zone for a touchdown during the Indians’ WPIAL Class 5A semifinal against Gateway.
West Allegheny scores last 21 points to cap upset against Gators
He has won 217 of these games and more WPIAL championships (eight) than any coach in league history. But, when Bob Palko resigns at the end of the season and looks back at his career as West Allegheny’s coach, this one will be somewhere near the top of his special wins.
West Allegheny pulled off the shocker of the WPIAL playoffs on a frigid Friday night at West Mifflin. The Indians took down the No. 1-ranked Class 5A team in the WPIAL and the state.
West Allegheny defeated Gateway, 4228, in a WPIAL semifinal.
For real.
“You can’t make this stuff up. It’s awesome,” Palko said.
The win put West Allegheny (10-2) into the title game next Friday night and also gave Palko a 217-72 record. He decided last winter that this would be his final year as the Indians coach. And Mr. November is going out with one last magical postseason run.
One statistic should tell you how unlikely West Allegheny’s win was against Gateway. The Gators had given up 50 points all season. And West Allegheny nearly reached that total in one game. Gateway finished with a 12-1 record.
“To watch our coaching staff work like a bunch of mad scientists who get together in a laboratory, just to come up with the game plan they did … those are special guys,” Palko said. “We’ve been together for a long time, and it’s so cool to see kids buy in — and that’s what happens come playoff time. It’s just a magical thing everyone believes in.”
The score was tied at halftime, 14-14. Gateway took a 28-21 lead on Derrick Davis’ 56-yard screen pass from Brendan Majocha in the third quarter, but West Allegheny scored three touchdowns the rest of the way while holding Gateway scoreless.
West Allegheny won with a no-frills, but effective offense. Play-calling was superb, and the Indians took the lead for good in the fourth quarter on a fourthdown pass play. Their execution was spot on, and they made few mistakes. Their defense was also excellent against the run.
GAME OF THE WEEK
And the Indians also made their own breaks. After Drevon Baldwin caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Kam Kruze to tie the score, 28-28, West Allegheny recovered an onside kick.
“When you play a team as good as them, you have to try and steal some possessions,” Palko said.
Six plays after the onside kick, West Allegheny was faced with a fourth-and-2 from the Gateway 27. The Indians called a timeout before running back Nico Flati snuck out of the backfield on the backside and caught a beauty of a pass from Kruze for a 27-yard touchdhown.
Flati, a sophomore, rushed for 136 yards on 21 carries and scored four touchdowns. Besides his touchdown reception, he also scored on runs of 5 yards in the first quarter, 4 in the third and 25 in the fourth. His final touchdown clinched the win.
Kruze had an efficient game, completing 6 of 10 passes for 141 yards and two scores. Besides his long one to Baldwin, he threw a 25-yard scoring pass to tight end Mateo Vandamia in the second quarter. Kruze also rushed for 57 yards on 12 attempts.
Majocha had a fine game for Gateway, completing 21 of 32 for 357 yards. But West Allegheny held standout sophomore running back Davis to 27 yards on seven carries.
“No one took their running back away this year,” Palko said.
West Allegheny did and also took away Gateway’s dream season.
“When Johnnys are better than the Joes, you have to come up with some things you believe in and the kids can execute,” Palko said.