No. 1 Warriors overcome key injuries
Resilient Penn-Trafford remains undefeated after win vs. rival Tigers
Two weeks ago, Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane ruptured his Achilles tendon on the sideline in the Warriors’ win against then-No. 1 Gateway.
Friday night against McKeesport, Ruane watched helplessly as two of Penn-Trafford’s most valuable players — senior leaders and two-way starters Caleb Lisbon and Sam Fanelli — suffered what appeared to be serious injuries.
The difference is, Ruane is still able to coach his team from the press box, while the Warriors had to make up for the loss of their top two running backs on the field.
Watching the second half unfold, though, it was almost impossible to tell Penn-Trafford was playing short-handed.
The Warriors (4-0, 3-0) dominated in every facet after the break, pulling away for a 29-12 victory in a heated rivalry game against the Tigers (2-2, 1-1).
Quarterback Gabe Dunlap took it upon himself to make up for the absence of Lisbon and Fanelli, rushing for 177 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries while passing for 86 yards and an additional score.
“We’re just a family. Everyone’s playing for each other,” Dunlap said. “We lost two big pieces tonight, two of the best players on this team. Two-way starters. But the next guy stepped in and played to the best of his ability, and his ability was right up there with the rest of us.”
That next man up was third-string running back Brad Ford, who took over for Lisbon and Fanelli and ran for 78 yards on nine carries, including a 23yard scoring scamper late in the fourth quarter — the first touchdown of his high school career — to put the game away.
“Coach [Ruane] talked about it all week — next man up,” Ford said. “We were going to face adversity this game. They’re a great team, and we came out and we handled it.”
Although Penn-Trafford’s suffocating defense took control in the second half, it appeared early on that McKeesport’s flexbone offense led by speedy quarterback Devari Robinson would give the Warriors fits.
The Tigers took more than seven minutes off the clock on the opening drive with Robinson capping off a 13-play march with a 22-yard touchdown pass to 6-foot-6 wide receiver Deamontae Diggs, who skied over Ford to bring down a contested catch in the end zone on a fade route.
“I’ve never had [to guard] somebody 66,” Ford said. “Usually [they’re] like my height or a little bit smaller. It’s crazy. He just went over the top and grabbed it over me.”
Dunlap drove the Warriors down the field on their first possession to give them a 7-6 lead, punctuating the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to regain the lead, though, as Robinson kept it himself on the first play of the ensuing possession and outraced the entire Penn-Trafford defense 91 yards for a touchdown.
Robinson’s run gave McKeesport a 127 lead in the second quarter, but the Warriors’ defense had had enough. The Tigers would not make another first down until the game was already in hand with less than a minute left.
Cole Defillippo caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Dunlap late in the first half to put Penn-Trafford back on top, then Dunlap started to take over with his legs.
He picked up 143 yards on the ground in the second half alone — none of the yardage more impressive than the 44 yards he gained while bouncing off several would-be tacklers on his way to the 1. He scored on the next play to give the Warriors a 21-12 lead.
After Penn-Trafford’s defense forced yet another three-and-out, Dunlap and Ford put the game on ice with an 11-play, 68-yard drive that ended in Ford’s first career score.
“We’ve never had adversity like that, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Ruane said. “I was really proud to be their coach tonight, as I always am. To just watch them, see the adversity, and everybody take it to another level because of it, you couldn’t ask for more as a coach of your players than what they did tonight.”