Laurel season ends with setback
Laurel (0) vs. Clairton (33)
Written: Nov 21, 2009
By RON PONIEWASZ JR.
rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com
MONACA — The pain was visible on the faces of the Laurel High football players.
Sadness. Dejection. Misery.
Clairton’s defense dominated the Spartans en route to a 33-0 victory last night in the WPIAL Class A semifinals at Center High School.
“It’s hard to lose, especially at this point in the season,” Laurel coach Jerry Holzhauser said.
The third-seeded Bears (11-1) will meet top-seeded Rochester (12-0) on Friday at Heinz Field in the WPIAL Class A championship. The time will be determined by the WPIAL. Gene Matsook, a 1981 Shenango graduate, is the Rams’ head coach.
Rochester advanced to the title tilt with a 14-7 decision over North Catholic.
Laurel (10-2), seeded second, is ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL in Class A by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and No. 4 in the PIAA, while the Bears are ranked No. 3 in the WPIAL and No. 5 in the state.
The Bears’ win avenged Laurel’s 15-8 decision in the season opener.
Clairton coach Tom Nola said his team wasn’t necessarily out for revenge for Laurel’s 15-8 season-opening victory.
“We had to win to go to Heinz,” he said. “Laurel just happened to be in the way to get to Heinz.”
While the semifinal matchup was the most recent, Laurel lineman Bobby Hites said the opener will stick with the team for a long time.
“That was a huge win; I’ll remember it forever,” he said. “That game got us started off on the right foot.”
Clairton running back Deontae Howard rolled up 146 yards rushing on 19 carries with two touchdowns. Howard posted 85 of his yards along with the scores in the second half.
“He’s a great back,” Holzhauser said. “He’s strong, powerful and he has good speed.”
The teams battled to a scoreless duel through the first period. The Bears got the game’s first break when Eddie Ball snared a deflected Tyler Forbes pass for an interception. The pick set Clairton up at Laurel’s 24.
Seven plays later, Bears quarterback Joshua Page connected with Desimon Green from 9 yards out and a 6-0 lead with 10:38 left in the half. The two-point conversion aerial misfired.
The Spartans’ Dan Poremski was stripped on their next play from scrimmage. Green scooped up the loose ball and dashed 31 yards for a 12-0 buffer with 10:17 to go in the half. University of Pittsburgh recruit Kevin Weatherspoon hauled in Green’s two-point conversion to up the count to 14-0.
Laurel struggled on its next drive, going three-and-out, picking up just four yards. The Spartans had a great opportunity when the Bears muffed Jake Dando’s punt. However, Laurel was unable to pounce on the loose ball at the Clairton 26, and the Bears gained possession.
“You can always say, ‘What if?’” Forbes said. “There were so many things that could have turned the game around. We didn’t take charge when we had a chance to, but I don’t want to make excuses.”
The Spartans opened the second half with a purpose. They marched 52 yards in six plays before stalling when Weatherspoon broke up a pass intended for Dando. Dylan Jones churned out runs of 22 and 19 yards on the first two plays of the half.
“We made a few adjustments here and there at halftime,” Hites said. “No matter what happens, we take it upon ourselves to get the job done.
“We definitely came out in the second half with a burden on our shoulders. We knew what we had to do.”
Said Forbes, “Dylan was running hard the first drive of the second half. That first drive was awesome. We were moving the ball and moving guys around. After that first drive they started shutting us down.”
Clairton took over on its own 27 and drove 73 yards in 10 plays, culminating with a 1-yard scoring run by Howard with 2:18 to play in the third. The drive chewed up 6:25.
“I don’t think our kids are ever deflated,” Holzhauser said of the effects of the Clairton drive. “If you are, you’re not a good football player.”
The Bears put the game away on their next possession when Howard shook a tackle in the backfield and raced 67 yards for a touchdown and a 27-0 lead with 10:06 remaining.
“He’s been running like that all year and then all of a sudden he just breaks a big one,” Nola said. “He doesn’t get caught very often.”
Clairton’s defense limited Laurel to eight first downs and 198 yards of total offense.
“We weren’t able to do much,” Forbes said. “We gave our all; they were shutting down everything. We gave it our best.”
Weatherspoon locked down Dando and limited him to four receptions for 41 yards.
“That was our focus: to limit Dando,” Nola said. “Weatherspoon is a good receiver and a top-notch defensive back, too.”
Laurel will lose 12 players to graduation.
“We have a great group of seniors,” Holzhauser said. “They were just outstanding football players.
“As a coach, you can look back on how well a kid tackled or how well he ran. More important is the quality of kids they were. They were a joy to be around, and they never gave us any trouble. It was just a lot of fun and a lot of laughter.”
CLAIRTON LAUREL
13 First downs 8
221 Yards Rushing 172
14 Yards Lost 15
207 Net Rushing 157
16 Passes Attempted 12
5 Passes Completed 4
0 Passes Intercepted 2
97 Yards Passing 41
304 Total Yards 198
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
4-40.5 Punts-Average 5-31.8
6-70 Penalties-Yards 2-10
CLAIRTON 0 14 6 13 —33
LAUREL 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring plays
CLAIRTON — Joshua Page, 9-yard pass from Desimon Green (pass failed).
CLAIRTON — Green, 31-yard fumble return (Kevin Weatherspoon pass from Green).
CLAIRTON — Deontae Howard, 1-yard run (run failed).
CLAIRTON — Howard, 67-yard run (Trenton Coles kick).
CLAIRTON — Coles, 15-yard run (run failed).
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