McKeesport runs wild over Penn Hills
Devari Robinson has five touchdown runs
It was a complete ground assault by McKeesport on Friday Night.
And Devari Robinson was the Tigers’ weapon of choice.
Robinson scored all five touchdowns as McKeesport knocked off defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Penn Hills, 35-20, in a Class 5A quarterfinal round contest at Hempfield’s Spartan Stadium.
A 5-foot-11 senior, Robinson finished with 197 rushing yards on 23 carries. He scored on runs of 2, 35, 12, 34 and 44 yards. Deamontae Diggs chipped in with 94 rushing yards on 17 carries.
McKeesport (9-3), a No. 6 seed, attempted zero passes and gathered 297 yards of total offensive compared to the 388 yards of offensive compiled by No. 3seeded Penn Hills (10-2).
The teams remained scoreless after the first quarter before the Tigers built a 21-0 lead at the half. Penn Hills scored in the third quarter and came as close as trailing McKeesport, 28-14, early in the fourth quarter.
Eddie McKissick paced the Indians by completing 19 of 31 passes for 253 yards. He also rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Dontae Pollard caught nine passes for 123 yards.
More Class 5A
Gateway 17, Bethel Park 13: It was a bit of a nail-bitter at Norwin High School. The Gators (10-2) scored with 38 seconds remaining in the game to sneak past the Black Hawks (7-4) and ensure their fourth consecutive trip to the semifinals. Patrick Body, a sophomore receiver, caught the game-clinching 28-yard touchdown reception from Bryson Vananzio. The game remained scoreless at halftime before each team scored 10 points in the third quarter. Bethel Park took a 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a 25-yard field goal by John Gummo. Vananzio paced the Gators’ offense with 206 passing yards and two touchdowns. He completed 16 of 28 passes. His first touchdown was a 69-yard pass to Chamor Price during the third quarter. Bethel Park quarterback Anthony Chiccitt, who scored the Black Hawks’ lone touchdown on a 1-yard run, completed 11 of 17 passes for 125 yards. Penn-Trafford 31, Upper St. Clair 7: After leading 3-0 at halftime, the top-seeded Warriors (11-1) scored 28 points in the second half to beat the Panthers (7-5) and earn their fifth trip to the semifinals in the past seven years. Gabe Dunlap played a huge role in the second half, rushing for a pair of touchdowns as well as throwing for a score. A senior quarterback, Dunlap completed 7 of 9 passes for 72 yards, including an 18yard touchdown pass to Ethan Carr. Dunlap led all rushers with 176 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Upper St. Clair briefly led Penn-Trafford, 7-3, for a mere 13 seconds in the third quarter when Ethen Dahlem scored on a 1-yard run. On the ensuing kickoff, however, Carr ran the ball back 88 yards to give the Warriors the lead. Dahlem led the Panthers with 171 yards of offense. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 67 yards as well as ran for 104 yards on 25 carries. Penn-Trafford outgained Upper St. Clair in total offensive yards, 323-194.
Class 6A
Central Catholic 31, Mt. Lebanon 14: In a rematch from two weeks ago, not much changed as the Vikings (10-1) rolled past the Blue Devils (7-5) at Fox Chapel’s James M. Burke Stadium. The victory, which wasn’t too far off from the 45-7 rout posted by Central Catholic on Oct. 25, also put the Vikings back in the title game for the seventh time under coach Terry Totten. Central Catholic jumped to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and entered halftime with a 24-7 advantage. Eddy Tillman, a junior, rushed for three touchdowns and scored on runs of 13, 34 and 16 yards. Mt. Lebanon’s Evan Jones had a hand in each of the Blue Devils’ scores. He completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaSota in the second quarter and then caught a 13-yard pass from Joey Daniels in the fourth quarter.
Class 4A
Thomas Jefferson 49, Blackhawk 0:
Daniel Deabner and Shane Stump were catalysts in helping the Jaguars (12-0) rout the Cougars (7-5) and put Thomas Jefferson back in the championship for the 11th time under coach Bill Cherpak. Deabner caught three touchdown passes from Stump as well as returned a punt 49 yards for a score. A senior, Deabner finished with five receptions for 116 yards. Stump, a senior, completed 10 of 15 passes for 166 yards and three scores. Dylan Mallozzi also chipped in with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Defensively, the Jaguars held the Cougars to just 81 yards of total offense to help post their sixth shutout and fourth in their past five games. Thomas Jefferson’s defensive unit has surrendered a total of just 40 points all year, which is the fewest by any team in the WPIAL this year.