Jeannette rolls past Brownsville
REPUBLIC – The game started with a bang, but quickly dissipated into a Jeannette rout as the Jayhawks handily dispatched Brownsville, 55-19, to remain tied with McGuffey atop the Interstate Conference standings. The crowd had barely settled into its seats when Jeannette’s Daunte Shannon received the opening kickoff at his 12-yard line, broke to the right sideline and sprinted 88 yards to the end zone for the opening score.
A staggered line on the extra point caught the Falcons off guard, resulting in a 2-point pass to Terrell Pryor from Greg Parker for an 8-0 lead just 13 seconds into the game.
The fans were still buzzing when Brownsville’s Joe Feick returned the favor, racing with the ensuing kickoff 92 yards 15 seconds later. Marc Mammarella was successful on the kick for an 8-7 game.
The Jayhawks extended their lead to 15-7 with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter on an inside reverse to Robert James for a 7-yard scoring run.
Jeannette pulled away in the second quarter with touchdowns on successive possessions to go along with a defensive score.
The Jayhawks kept it on the ground with TJ Burns capping the 5-play, 45-yard drive with an 18-yard scoring dash after the sophomore wide receiver broke several tackles.
The Jeannette defense forced a fumble on Brownsville’s possession, and the offense didn’t waste any time as Pryor found Nathan Roadman open and the senior tight end did the rest for a 44-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Jeannette led 28-7 after Anthony Petrulak missed the extra point.
The defense did it all on the Falcons’ next drive when Mike Matt snatched an errant Phillip Shaw pass in the flat and scampered 76 yards for a touchdown.
Pryor kept up the pressure, but a 43-yard touchdown run was called back on an illegal block. The penalty was costly because not only did it take six points off the board, but the Falcons’ Trenton Grooms read the next play perfectly to intercept Pryor for a 44-yard touchdown return.
“We played sloppy. We had a lot of penalties,” said Jeannette head coach Ray Reitz.
A great catch by Jerry Harris, stealing an interception away from a Brownsville defender, set up the final score of the first half. With Petrulak setting up for a field goal with eight seconds left in the quarter, Reitz pulled a fake with Robert James taking the pitch for an 8-yard score with one second left.
“They have good athletes and are well coached,” said Brownsville head coach Andy Assad. “We had chances. We didn’t take advantage of them. (Jeannette) played harder.”
Matt’s 13-yard scoring run at 8:44 of the third quarter invoked the 35-point mercy rule.
Dimetrius Williams gave the home fans something to cheer about when he broke tackles at the line and sprinted through the Jeannette secondary for a 37-yard touchdown. Roadman capped the scoring with a one-yard dive late in the quarter after he set up the play with a powerful 34-yard run.
“We hit them well, but we didn’t wrap them up. We have to tackle better,” said Assad. “We’ll work on that this week at practice.”
Reitz was pleased with the win, but wasn’t convinced his Jayhawks had their best performance while he praised the Falcons’ effort.
“Brownsville has a tough football team,” said Reitz. “We still have room for improvement. We had too many penalties.”
Jeannette (4-0, 6-0) hosts McGuffey (4-0, 4-2) next Friday with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the Interstate Conference. Brownsville (1-3, 3-3) hopes to keep its playoff hopes alive when the Falcons host Southmoreland (0-4, 0-6).
Pryor threw for 95 yards while Jerry Harris’ 58 yards led the Jeannette ground game. The touchdown run helped Williams lead all Brownsville rushers with 68 yards.