Pioneers defeat Mikes, take control of Tri-County South
West Greene’s Nathan Orndoff sprints past Carmichaels’ Tyler Richmond on his way to the end zone with a 27 yard pass reception for the Pioneers’ first score in Friday night’s game at Kennedy Field. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Mark Marietta
Mark Marietta
West Greene’s Colin Brady breaks into the Carmichaels secondary for a big gain during the third quarter of Friday night’s game at Kennedy Field.
Carmichaels’ Michael Stewart leaps to haul in a pass against West Greene during a game at Kennedy Field on Oct. 1. Stewart scored two touchdowns and kicked five extra points in the Mikes’ 63-22 victory over Avella on Friday night. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Mark Marietta
Mark Marietta
West Greene quarterback Wesley Whipkey leans across the goal line for the Pioneers’ second touchdown against Carmichaels at Kennedy Field on Friday night.
Carmichaels’ Tyler Richmond makes a last-ditch lunge as West Greene’s Dalton Lucey falls into the end zone for a touchdown on a 36-yard pass from Wesley Whipkey during a game at Kennedy Field on Oct. 1. Both the Pioneers and Mikes lost in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs last Friday night. West Greene fell at home to Springdale, 28-0. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Mark Marietta
Carmichaels’ Cody McCoy (21, behind) and Trenton Carter (2) try to bring down West Greene’s Colin Brady during a game at Kennedy Field on Oct. 1. All three players were named to the Tri-County South All-Conference Team.
ROGERSVILLE — When Carmichaels traveled to West Greene last Friday night for a matchup of teams tied for first place in the Tri-County South Conference, something had to give. The Pioneers, behind a raucous crowd at Kennedy Field, were able to prevail, 41-20.
West Greene entered on a three-game winning streak and was averaging just north of 44 points in those contests. Pioneers coach Brian Hanson could see the confidence of his team growing.
“Every time you can build on your resume, every time you get the taste of victory,” Hanson said, “it starts to build confidence.”
The win combined with Monessen’s loss at Mapletown leaves the Pioneers alone in first place.
It was Carmichaels that jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Zachary Kerik caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Trenton Carter. Unfortunately for the Mikes, it was all West Greene from there. The Pioneers scored 34 unanswered points to take control of the game.
“It was nice to see. We had to lean on some guys tonight and move some guys around due to injuries,” Hanson said. “It was great to see us contain their star players and play as a team.”
While the statistics sheet and box score might make this one look like an easy win, it was anything but for the Pioneers. At one point in the third quarter senior wide receiver Nathan Orndoff, senior running back Corey Wise and sophomore running back Colin Brady were all on the bench with injuries.
“That’s when you have to lean on that offensive line,” Hanson said. “It was good that we came out with the win, but we need to get those guys healthy because they’re three of the best guys in the conference.”
Orndoff got the scoring started for West Greene with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Wesley Whipkey. The Pioneers added two rushing touchdowns, one by Whipkey and another by Brady, to make the score 21-7 at the half.
“My linemen took a huge step up tonight,” Brady said. “I got the holes I needed and made the runs I needed.”
West Greene carried the momentum of the first half into the third quarter when Whipkey found senior wide receiver Dalton Lucey for a 36-yard touchdown.
“Whenever you can have the passing element of the game it really keeps the defense on their toes,” Whipkey said. “I always love to pass. We have receivers who love to catch, and I know Coach Hanson loves to pass, so it’s really a crucial part of our game.”
Whipkey ended the night with three completions for 106 yards and two touchdowns. The Pioneers ended their scoring with two touchdown runs by Brady, one for 45 yards and a late fourth-quarter backbreaker of 47 yards. Brady rushed for 184 yards on 17 carries with three scores.
Next week, the Pioneers (3-0, 4-2) will look to stay perfect in conference play when they host Bentworth for another Tri-County South showdown.
Carmichaels played well offensively but gave up several big plays on defense. Mikes head coach Ron Gallagher knew his team was in for a challenge trying to stop the dominant rushing attack of the Pioneers.
“They got two good running backs,” Gallagher said going into the game. “We’ve been practicing all week about being physical and be able to stop the run, but they can also throw the ball.”
Carmichaels (2-1, 4-2) will look to bounce back next week as it hosts Monessen.