Pioneers bounce back with 18-0 victory
JEFFERSON — After losing for the first time this season last week, West Greene bounced back Friday night with a stout defense effort for an 18-0 victory over Jefferson-Morgan in Tri-County South Conference action at Parker Field.
The Pioneers (4-1, 3-1) were reeling from a heartbreaking 36-30 loss to Carmichaels last week and also from the loss of their senior quarterback Zach Pettit due to injury.
West Greene’s Coach Rodney Huffman said he liked the resolve of his team in the win.
“It was definitely a difficult week for us,” Huffman said. “To tell you the truth, we didn’t practice well the whole week. I was very concern about tonight. Sometimes you practice good during the week and you have a terrible game, but sometimes you practice bad and you can pull out a win. It was a gutsy win and for us, we take the ugly win.”
The shutout was the Pioneers’ first since 2012 when they defeated Vincentian Academy, 30-0.
“My hat off to the defense and the defensive coaches,” Huffman said. “We not only lose Pettit on offense, but he is one of our key players in the secondary. We put it on the defense and told them they had to play good in order for us to win.”
After winning their season-opener against Chartiers-Houston, the Rockets (1-4, 0-2) have dropped four straight games, including two games in the conference.
“Inconsistencies and missed opportunities killed us on offense,” J-M coach Aaron Giorgi said. “We couldn’t finish drives off. We basically had the ball the whole entire third quarter and couldn’t punch it in. We had too many costly penalties.”
On their second drive of the night, West Greene made it 6-0 when sophomore quarterback Gavin Scott threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Isaac Courtwright at the 5:59 mark of the opening quarter.
After J-M went three-and-out, the Pioneers doubled their lead to 12-0 after a 4-yard scoring run by sophomore tailback Ben Jackson with 1:50 left in the first period.
Jackson was a key catalyst for West Greene, as he rushed for 147 yards on 25 carries.
“Ben is a tough runner,” Huffman said. “Ben is going to go for you any week and he carried us on offense tonight. It wasn’t a flashy 200-plus yard performance like he is capable of, but he got us those tough yards and was able to move the sticks tonight.”
West Greene’s defense created a pair of turnovers on the home team’s next two drives, as sophomore defensive back Jason Geho and sophomore linebacker Andrew Litton had interceptions. The Pioneers carried a 12-0 lead into halftime.
The Rockets possessed the ball the majority of the third quarter, including a 6-minute drive, but the visitors held their ground on defense and an interception by Scott at the 10-yard line ended any scoring threat for J-M.
West Greene extended its lead to 18-0 in the early stages of the fourth quarter after a 3-yard touchdown run by Nathan Brudnock with 9:06 remaining in regulation. Jackson had 54 yards on the ground on six rushes on the scoring drive.
J-M’s senior running back Colten Davidson was the primary ball carrier on the final two drives, but once again the Pioneers’ defense was stiff in the red zone and held the Rockets without any points on their final two drives.
Davidson finished with 72 yards on 32 carries for the Rockets.
“I liked our effort on defense tonight,” Giorgi said. “We were able to contain Jackson for the most part and limit his explosive plays. We knew they were going to run the ball, so our line had to win in the trenches. We rallied to the ball and tackled well in space.”
Both teams will be back in TCS action next Friday, as J-M travels to Avella and West Greene ventures out to Fort Cherry.
“We are hoping healthier next week,” Huffman said. “We are looking to be more consistent on both sides of the ball. We have to stick together. For us it’s a family affair, they play like brothers and they fight every week for each other.”
Tri-County South Conference
West Greene 12-0-0-6 — 18
Jefferson-Morgan 0-0-0-0 — 0
First Quarter
WG: Isaac Courtwright 20 pass from Gavin Scott (kick failed), 5:58 (6-0)
WG: Ben Jackson 4 run (run failed), 1:50 (12-0)
Fourth Quarter
WG: Nathan Brudnock 3 run (pass failed), 9:06 (18-0)
Records: West Greene (4-1, 3-1), Jefferson-Morgan (1-4, 0-2)