Uniontown clinches playoff berth
When Uniontown’s Greg Leonard rumbled into the end zone with three seconds left in the first half Friday night at Bill Power Stadium, the Red Raiders’ playoff future went from foggy to almost certain. Leonard picked up a fumble and cut through the fog from nine yards out, and James May scored on an 88-yard kickoff return, as the Red Raiders held off Belle Vernon, 20-12, in Keystone Conference action and clinched a spot in the postseason.
Uniontown improves to 3-2 in section play with cross-town rival Laurel Highlands remaining on its regular-season schedule. The Red Raiders can finish no worse than tied with Belle Vernon for fourth place, and by virtue of Friday night’s victory, would win a tiebreaker over the Leopards.
“We knew what we had to do,” Red Raiders coach John Fortugna said. “We wanted to take care of business ourselves and not have to rely on other teams to win or lose.”
Leonard’s fumble return came on the next to last play of the first half and gave Uniontown a 20-6 lead.
A thick fog had rolled into Bill Power Stadium midway through the second period and made for some anxious moments, especially near the end of the second quarter.
Trailing 13-6, Belle Vernon had a first down at its own 41 with 57.7 seconds left in the first half. But Uniontown’s Leroy Ingram and Leonard sacked Leopards quarterback Trenton Scott on three consecutive plays, Leonard coming up with the last two, to bring up a fourth down and forever.
Belle Vernon punter Jared Naylor couldn’t handle a low snap, and trouble quickly followed.
“The ball hit his (Naylor) knee, and one of our guys dove on it, but when he flipped over the ball came loose and came right into my hands and I took off with it,” Leonard said.
Leonard also help set up Uniontown’s first score, catching a short pass from Ryan Guthrie and taking it 23 yards on a fourth-and-three play with the first quarter winding down.
Two plays later, Bill McLee scored on a three-yard run to make it 6-0.
“Greg’s a great football player,” Fortugna said. “He does everything. He’s a great blocker, he can catch the ball and he plays great defense.”
Mays’ kickoff return may have been an even bigger play, however, in the scheme of things. After McLee’s touchdown put the Red Raiders ahead, Belle Vernon wasted no time in answering. A short run and an incompletion brought up a third-down-and-9 play, before Scott found Naylor behind the Uniontown secondary for a 58-yard touchdown pass and a tie game.
But as quickly as Belle Vernon struck, the speedy Mays used some nifty footwork to give the Red Raiders not only the lead back, but also the momentum.
Mays fielded the kickoff on his own 12 and took off down the left sideline. He broke the run back toward the middle of the field around the 30, then started to angle toward the right sideline when he reached midfield.
From there it was a footrace, a footrace which Mays won easily.
“The kickoff return and the botched punt killed us,” said Belle Vernon coach Jesse Cramer. “Uniontown played a nice game. They’re well-coached and their record isn’t indicative of their talent level.”
Belle Vernon saw its Keystone record drop to 3-3, and now finds itself rooting for Uniontown to knock off Laurel Highlands. A Red Raiders victory creates a tie for fourth place between Belle Vernon and Laurel Highlands, with the Leopards owning the tiebreaker due to an overtime victory over the Mustangs earlier this season.
“It’s a hell of a thing to have other teams determine your playoff fate,” Cramer said. “But we didn’t do anything against Uniontown. We had one good drive and that was it.”
That drive, a 12-play 52-yard didn’t result in points, but it ended with Ingram picking off Scott at the Uniontown 9. Three plays later, Guthrie fumbled after he scrambled for a first down and Belle Vernon recovered at the Red Raiders’ 25.
Two runs by Nick Maise, the second covering 20 yards, closed the gap to 20-12, but Belle Vernon couldn’t advance past its own 43 on its final three possessions.
“Defensively, we did a great job,” Fortugna said. “Offensively, we moved the ball really well, but some penalties killed us. It seems to be happening to us every game, and we end up having to fight to either overcome them or to protect a lead.”
NOTES: Uniontown was penalized seven times for 90 yards … McLee finished with 79 yards on 21 carries. Maise led the Leopards with 55 yards on 16 attempts … Belle Vernon finished with 11 first downs, while Uniontown had nine.