Uniontown held a slim 19-14 lead at the end of three quarters, but the Red Raiders scored 21 points in the fourth to defeat Laurel Highlands, 40-22, in Keystone Conference play Friday at Bill Power Stadium, and earn a home playoff game Friday.

The win snaps Laurel Highlands' three-game win streak in the cross-town rivalry, and gives Uniontown (5-1, 6-3) a 21-14 advantage in the series.

"Laurel Highlands scared us a little in the first half," Uniontown coach John Fortugna said. "They never quit, and (Carmen) Congelio threw the ball well."

The Red Raiders' offense was led by its rushing attack in racking up 390 yards on 51 carries. All of Uniontown's touchdowns came on the ground.

"That's what happens when you control the line of scrimmage," Laurel Highlands coach Jack Buehner said. "We were able to do that the last three years, but they did it tonight.

"Uniontown did a good job. We had some tough penalties that were tough to overcome."

Down five, Laurel Highlands had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter after Bobby Downs picked off a Lucas Mosco pass. The Mustangs drove the ball to the Red Raiders' 26, but faced a fourth-and-five. Congelio went for the end zone, but Jake Forsythe got a hand on the ball, and Uniontown took over.

"We were moving the ball well," Buehner said. "We had some tough penalties that were tough to overcome, but give credit to Uniontown, they did a great job."

The Mustangs forced a three-and-out, and the Red Raiders punted. Aaron Prescott's kick traveled 48 yards, and Laurel Highlands took over at its own 17. Uniontown buckled down and held the Mustangs into a three-and-out. After the punt, the Red Raiders took over at their own 39-yard line.

"We made some adjustments in the first half to stop their defense," Fortugna said. "We knew we had to get to their quarterback. That was the plan going in. It was also important that we stopped the run."

On second-and-ten, Arnold Walker raced 61 yards to the end zone for a touchdown at 11:33 of the fourth and Uniontown held a 26-14 lead after Mosco's PAT. Walker ran for 211 yards on 25 carries, and scored two touchdowns.

"Arnold Walker is a special back," Fortugna said. "We tried to mix up the run a bit with him, Forsythe and Johnson."

Teammates Fred Johnson and Forsythe tacked on touchdown runs of 20 and 40 yards respectively in the fourth to put the game out of the Mustangs' reach. Forsythe had 154 yards rushing on 17 carries, and scored two touchdowns.

Jake Hoch pulled in a 42-yard pass from Congelio with 46 seconds remaining in the fourth, and caught a two-point conversion from Congelio.

Uniontown scored on its opening possession when it took the kickoff to the 48-yard line. Walker capped off a nine-play, 52-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run at 7:58 of the first quarter for a 7-0 lead after Mosco's PAT.

The Mustangs responded with a seven-play, 80-yard drive that was culminated with Clifford's three-yard run at 4:35 of the first. The big play on the drive came on a third-and-seven when Matt Shull hauled in a 58-yard pass from Congelio.

The Red Raiders grabbed a 13-7 lead on a one-yard run by Ronald Skinner with 11:55 remaining in the second. The PAT wasn't executed properly, and the lead was six.

Laurel Highlands (3-3, 3-6) used a nine-play, 59-yard drive to hold a 14-13 lead at halftime when Matt Shull pulled in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Congelio with :35.7 remaining in the second quarter. Shull pulled in two passes for 31 yards on the drive.

Congelio was 10 of 28 for 210 yards, and had two touchdown passes. Shull hauled in seven passes for 116 yards, and a touchdown.

"I am very proud of my seniors," Buehner said. "They did a fine job tonight, and have done a great job against teams from this area. This is their last conference game, and I am going to miss them next season."

Both teams will find out who awaits them in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Uniontown hasn't hosted a playoff game since 2001.

"It's always good to have home-field advantage," Fortugna said.