Dec 9, 2025 By Rob Burchianti 7 min read

Deakyn DeHoet took the lead early in the season and kept his grip on the top spot the rest of the way to claim the 2025 Herald-Standard Touchdown Club title.

The Jefferson-Morgan senior rang up 176 points on 28 touchdowns and four two-point conversions although an injury prevented him from playing in the Rockets’ WPIAL playoff game, a 35-0 loss to Laurel.

While being named the area’s scoring champion would be a great honor for most players, that accomplishment barely touches the surface of everything DeHoet did for J-M.

DeHoet was a wide receiver/running back/quarterback on offense, a linebacker/cornerback on defense and a returner/punter on special teams for Jefferson-Morgan.

Former Steeler Kordell Stewart was tagged with the nickname “Slash” for his versatility but he had nothing on DeHoet.

“He did it all,” J-M coach Shane Ziats said. “He could play every skill position on offense and was successful at each one of them and did a lot for us on defense and special teams, too.

“Deakyn is just an all-around athlete.”

DeHoet had a combined 1,534 yards for J-M his senior year with 816 rushing and 748 receiving on 32 receptions. He averaged 23.4 yards per catch which led Class A and was second in the WPIAL overall.

Ziats marveled at DeHoet’s abilities.

“When he was at running back he was able to have the vision to find the hole or get outside,” Ziats said. “When we needed him to throw some at quarterback he was able to do that. Nobody could cover him one on one as a receiver, they had to always double and sometimes triple cover him. Just a tremendous offensive player.”

DeHoet feels he has evolved as a receiver and got some help from the J-M coaching staff as well.

“It was a combination of me having more experience and knowing how to get open, how to get separation and also the coaching, changing up routes and things like that to find more ways to get the ball in my hands,” he said.

DeHoet is notorious for his speed — he earned a fifth-place medal in the 100 at the PIAA Class A Track & Field Championships this past spring — but also would show off his power when needed.

“He was fast, obviously, but he was a tough kid to bring down, too,” Ziats said. “If he didn’t juke you out he could just run you over. He had that kind of ability.”

“Whenever I got the ball, running or receiving, I would look for an opening first that I could run through but if not I was fine lowering my shoulder and trying to run through somebody,” said DeHoet who was forced into the role of quarterback when Triton Farabee also suffered a concussion late in the season.

“Quarterback was kind of tough because I hadn’t gotten a lot of snaps back there but I got better at it,” DeHoet said. “I just wanted to do whatever I needed to do to help the team be successful.”

DeHoet was a key cog on the other side of the ball also.

“He was versatile on defense, too,” Ziats said. “We had him at a couple different positions. He played outside linebacker for most of the season but then he would move to corner when we needed him too. He had four interceptions.”

“If it was a run-heavy team I would play outside linebacker but if the team had a pretty good receiver I would go out to corner and take the assignment of covering him,” DeHoet said.

He was one of the most dangerous returners in the WPIAL last year, returning three kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns, but wasn’t given much opportunity to match that feat this season.

“He didn’t have a lot of return yards this year because teams just stopped kicking to him,” Ziats said. “That’s the biggest compliment to a player when they just refuse to even test you. They knew how dangerous he was and just figured better to just squib the ball on kickoffs or punt it out of bounds. That’s how afraid of him they were.”

DeHoet was an excellent punter also.

“I actually took pride in my punting,” DeHoet said. “I practiced at it a lot.”

DeHoet stepped into the starting lineup at Jefferson-Morgan partway through his freshman season and was there ever since. The Rockets had a 28-15 record in his time there — all under Ziats — including a combined 18-4 the past two seasons and they’ve made three consecutive playoff appearances. Jefferson-Morgan won the Tri-County South Conference championship and went a perfect 10-0 in the regular season last year.

DeHoet looks back on his career at J-M with pride.

“High school is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I was happy to bond with the guys on the team and help us reach the heights we did,” DeHoet said.

His one regret is missing his team’s final game due to the concussion.

“It kills me that my last game I couldn’t play because of an injury,” he said. “I think if we were completely healthy we could’ve made a run to the WPIAL championship game.”

DeHoet aims to continue his football career in college.

“(PennWest) California offered and I might be able to do track there, too, which I would like,” DeHoet said. “Pitt has shown interest, too. They said they might offer me but right now it’s only as a preferred walk-on.”

DeHoet, who placed second to California’s Lee Qualk in last year’s Touchdown Club with 132 points, finished in first place this year by 26 points over Adam Pegg of Albert Gallatin who wound up with 150.

Three other players reached the century mark in 2025 with the Colonials’ Tee Guesman (140) third, California’s Malachi Peak (126) fourth and Frazier’s Derek Diamond (118) fifth.

The touchdown leaders were the same five in the same order: DeHoet (28), Pegg (24), Guesman (22), Peak (20) and Diamond (18).

Rounding out the top 10 overall were the Rockets’ John Woodward (92 points), Southmoreland’s Jackson Mickens (78), Belle Vernon’s Chace Petrosky (72), West Greene’s Joel Rizor (68) and the Leopards’ Curtis Wade (66).

All are seniors except Mickens (sophomore), Petrosky (junior) and Rizor (freshman).

Another freshman, California’s Brandon Meier, led the area in two-point conversions with nine, three more than second-place Will Murray of Carmichaels who had six. The Trojans’ Landon Abercrombie and Diamond each had five and DeHoet, Guesman, the Mikes’ Cannon Bupka and California quarterback Logan Hartley had four apiece.

Southmoreland’s Liam Smith was tops among local kickers with seven field goals and 53 points (18th overall). Following Smith in kicker scoring were AG’s Sam Evans (42), Waynesburg Central’s Nate Ricciuti (36), Frazier’s Owen Searcy (35) and Belle Vernon’s Preston Rathway. Other kickers who made multiple field goals were Rathway (4), Beth-Center’s Hunter Bobbs (4) and Ricciuti (2). The longest field goal was a 46-yarder by Rathway.

Albert Gallatin’s Bobby Panos had the most kickoff returns for touchdowns with three, including one for 99 yards, while the Scotties’ Cam Lee, the Commodores’ Chase Fulmer and Woodward each had two. Pegg also returned a kickoff the distance, giving AG a team-leading four.

Connellsville’s Linkon Keller was the only local player to return a kickoff, punt and interception for TDs. The punt return (72 yards) and pick-six (55 yards) were also the longest of the season.

California’s Alan Dennis was the only other player to bring back both a kickoff and a punt all the way.

Others with multiple returns for scores were Woodward, Pegg (both kickoff and interception) and Mickens (blocked punt and interception).

The longest fumble return for a touchdown was 48 yards by AG’s Tremayne Spillman.

Southmoreland led the area in defensive touchdowns with five. The Scotties had one on a blocked punt (Mickens), two on interceptions (Makel Darnell and Mickens) and two on fumble returns (Jake Hull and Luke Stinnett).