Booker stars as Clairton fends off gritty Trojans
ALVERTON – Clairton has several explosive weapons capable of impacting a football game.
Friday night against California, that player was Jaece Booker.
The senior scored two long touchdowns, including a back-breaking 75-yard kickoff return to start the second half, and added a pair of interceptions as the third-seeded Bears fended off the gritty sixth-seeded Trojans, 28-8, in their WPIAL Class A quarterfinal playoff game at Southmoreland High School’s Russ Grimm Field.
Clairton (10-2) advances to next Friday’s semifinals where it will play No. 2 Shenango at Beaver Area High School. The Wildcats knocked off No. 10 Monessen, 31-6.
California ends its season with a 9-3 record.
The feisty Trojans didn’t make it easy for the Bears, whom many thought should’ve been the No. 1 seed over a Washington team they defeated during the regular season.
California’s defense limited Clairton to 216 total yards and trailed only 8-0 late in the second quarter. The Trojans stopped the Bears on downs four times on the night and forced them to punt twice.
“I tell the kids every week, your best game is the next game as far as performance,” Trojans coach Ed Woods said. “Tonight, defensively, was the best game that those guys played all year long. We played good football tonight.”
Wood gave credit to his coaching staff for its game plan.
“I thought we had an excellent defensive plan and the kids executed it really well,” Woods said. “We gave up a few big plays here and there, which you kind of expect against a team with their skill players.
“But, overall, I’m really proud of what these guys did on defense.”
Clairton coach Wayne Wade was impressed with California.
“Tough football team,” Wade said. “Honestly, I thought both of their inside backers (Carter Frank and Colton Lowden) attacked the ball well.
“I told our kids this is a great game for us, a team that played us really, really tough. They ran a different style of offense that made us have to do some things differently on defense.
“Hopefully, this game will help prepare us for next week against Shenango.”
Clairton’s defense was even more impressive than the Trojans, limiting California to 132 total yards and coming up with three interceptions.
“Their defense was very tough,” Woods said. “They were aggressive, they were strong, they were fast.”
Clairton stuffed the Trojans’ ground game with top threat Alan Dennis being held to minus-4 yards on 13 carries.
“We’ve been playing that way for a long time here at Clairton so we expect nothing else but that on defense,” Wade said. “Our motto is if they can’t score, we can’t lose. We take it to heart.”
The Trojans did put up a fourth-quarter touchdown for the first points allowed by the Bears since Sept. 25 in its 8-7 win over the Prexies.
“I thought if we connect on a couple more throws, make a couple more blocks, we could’ve possibly scored one or two more,” Woods said.
Clairton seized the lead for good on its second possession against the Trojans.
Booker returned a punt 15 yards to the California 37, then scored two plays later on a 27-yard touchdown sprint around left end. Robert Scott III run in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.
Clairton wouldn’t score again until the final seconds of the first half.
The Bears moved to the Trojan 15 late in the first quarter but Chase Shemansky tackled Booker for a 5-yard loss after a 5-yard penalty and California held on downs.
The Trojans forced a three-and-out on Clairton’s next drive and then picked up three first downs, including two on passes by Brandon Meier to Brayden Crockett for gains of 8 and 22 yards.
The Bears’ defense stiffened and California punted the ball back with 2:38 left in the half.
Clairton moved 55 yards, sparked by a 23-yard run by Booker, for a touchdown, scoring on Keith Craven III’s 18-yard push pass to Rheyjon Williams with 35 seconds remaining.
The Trojans stuffed Scott on the two-point try, leaving the Bears up 14-0 at halftime.
“The touchdown right before the half was a killer,” Woods admitted. “I thought if we could’ve went in 8-0, you get them thinking maybe a little bit and who knows? Things could’ve been a little different.”
It didn’t take long for Clairton to add to its lead in the second half.
Booker took the third quarter kickoff, broke a couple tackles, got to the outside and raced down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown.
California stopped Scott short on the two-point conversion run but the Bears now had a commanding 20-0 advantage.
“That obviously was a huge play for them,” Woods said. “We did have a couple special teams breakdowns tonight.”
The Trojans’ defense did its best to keep California in the game, stopping the Bears on downs on consecutive four-play possessions.
Clairton held the Trojans without a first down on their first two drives of the third quarter as well and then Booker ended the third possession when he intercepted an errant pass by Shemansky at the California 43.
Craven connected with Jason Jarrett for a 43-yard touchdown on the next play and Ty’Rell Armstrong’s two-point conversion run made it 28-0 with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans responded with their lone scoring drive of the game, a 16-play, 68-yard march that culminated with Meier’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Weston Monticelli with 8:20 remaining in the game. Monticelli also ran in the two-point conversion to set the final score.
“Weston gave us a spark,” Woods said of Monticelli, who had three receptions for 17 yards and two carries for 10 yards, all in the second half. “He played his freshman year then sat out two years but came back out this year and we were happy to have him back on the team. He’s a good athlete.”
California again stopped the Bears on downs to get the ball back one last time.
Williams ended that drive with his team’s third interception, two plays after Meier had broken a 26-yard run into Clairton territory.
Meier completed 9 of 23 passes for 87 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and was his team’s leading rusher with 12 carries for 63 yards.
“Brandon played a good game at quarterback, especially as a sophomore against that defense,” Woods said. “He made good decisions and made plays passing and with his legs.”
Crockett had three receptions for 37 yards.
Scott led Clairton with 15 carries for 64 yards and Booker followed with five attempts for 50 yards.
Craven was efficient passing the ball, completing 10 of 13 throws for 103 yards. Williams had six catches for 41 yards and Jarrett snagged three passes for 59 yards.
Woods commended his team’s performance.
“I thought they played excellent tonight,” Woods said. “I can’t say how happy I am for the way they performed.
“After the game, I basically told them I was proud of them and loved each and every one of them for their effort and what they’ve contributed to this football program throughout the year.
“For the seniors (Shemansky, Lowden, Monticelli, Elijah Carpenter, Sydney Miklos, Kyle Marshall, Lorenzo Longo, and Alex Apolinar), I told them I thought they did a great job with the success they’ve had throughout the year. It’s something the younger kids could take a look at and, hopefully, grow and build on what these guys have left us.”