Electric 18
Rockets remain unbeaten, but challenged in win over Bulldogs
JEFFERSON — Jefferson-Morgan pushed its regular-season winning streak to 18, but there wasn’t much celebrating after a 37-19 victory over Beth-Center on Friday in Class A Tri-County South Conference play at Parker Field.
The Rockets improved to 4-0 in the conference and 7-0 overall, and after winning their last game of the 2023 season and going 10-0 last year, Jefferson-Morgan will be looking for No. 19 next Friday against Bentworth at Ellsworth Athletic Field.
While he will take the win, Rockets head coach Shane Ziats and his staff will examine the miscues that were made in preparation for the run-heavy Bearcats, who feature the WPIAL rushing leader Ben Hays.
“Beth-Center is a good, physical football team,” Ziats said. “We have Bentworth, Avella and California remaining on the schedule, and we have to be ready for all three of them. We were not up to par tonight. We have a lot of things to correct.”
Jefferson-Morgan senior running back/linebacker John Woodward was injured in the first quarter, and while he played on defense, Woodward only had one carry. Teammate Alek Palko, who also plays running back and linebacker, is also out with an injury, but Ziats believes in the next-man-up mentality.
“Injuries are part of the game, and you have to adjust to them when they occur,” Ziats said. “We have to look at ourselves and see who we really are. I hope this game is a wake-up call for us.”
The Rockets were dealing with some adversity Friday night, as Bulldog sophomore Enzo Brown rushed for 209 yards on 27 carries, and teammate Teagan Veatch added 84 yards on 12 attempts, but all-everything senior Deakyn DeHoet made up for any deficiencies following a three-touchdown performance after pulling in six receptions for 202 yards and rushing for 30 yards on five carries. DeHoet also threw for 10 yards when starting quarterback Triton Farabee had to sit out several plays after taking a hard hit on his shoulder. DeHoet kicked off, punted, started at defensive back and added a two-point conversion run to cap off a night that has become the norm for the Jefferson-Morgan senior.
Not surprisingly, DeHoet opened the scoring when he took a pass from Farabee 65 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 9:50 left in the first quarter after Logan Yeck made the first of three PATs.
Farabee was 9 of 16 for 226 yards. All three of his touchdown passes went to DeHoet.
Hunter Bobbs connected on a 31-yard field goal for Beth-Center (1-3, 1-6) to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 5:42 remaining in the first period.
DeHoet’s second touchdown, a 29 yarder, came with 4:04 left before halftime. He took a short pass, made a few moves, and used his speed that earned him a fifth-place PIAA finish in the 100-meter dash this past spring for the touchdown. DeHoet made a similar play on an 80-yard catch for a score in the fourth quarter.
“That’s what he does,” said Ziats in reference to DeHoet turning short passes into long touchdowns. “He had two little hitch routes for six yards that he turned into big plays. It has gotten to the point where we almost expect him to make those kinds of plays.”
The Rockets had some fortune go their way with 7:47 left in the third quarter when Farabee was fighting for extra yards on a sneak when the ball came loose, but teammate Jeremiah Robertson picked up the ball off the grass at Parker Field and raced 27 yards into the end zone. DeHoet’s two-point run after a bobbled snap put the home team in front, 22-3.
Farabee scored on a one-yard run at 2:16 of the third before DeHoet’s final touchdown provided Jefferson-Morgan with a 35-3 advantage with 10:44 remaining.
The Bulldogs responded with a touchdown drive of their own that was capped off by Brown’s five-yard run and Veatch ran in the two-point conversion and the Rockets had a 35-11 lead with 7:27 left.
Jefferson-Morgan had a ball go into the end zone that gave Beth-Center a safety before Veatch scored on a counter run to cut the home team’s advantage to 35-19 with 3:06 remaining.
“These kids have heart,” Beth-Center coach Tim Trump said. “We lost two starting linemen in the first and second quarter, and we had backups in there, and they are all young. We are a young team, and we are only going to get better.
“It sort of stinks because we are losing Cyncere Cruse and Teagan Veatch, who are our two seniors, and they work so hard, but these kids play with a lot of heart, and they practice hard for me every day.”
The Rockets closed the scoring with a safety at 1:21 of the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs’ Nicholas Miller had an interception, and teammate Blake Stopko recovered a fumble.
“We are changing the culture,” Trump said. “I am bringing back the Beth-Center tradition of how we used to do things. I am that old-school type of guy in that way, but I also want to get the new stuff in.”
Jefferson-Morgan’s Grayson Marmie recovered a fumble. The Rockets’ Liam Rogers had an interception.