’Cats fall victim to big plays by Clairton
Shenango (7) vs. Clairton (68)
Written: Nov 08, 2014
  By Joe Sager
New Castle News
HOUSTON, Pa. — Shenango High football coach Mike Commesso struggled to come up with words to describe Clairton’s big-play capability last night.
This season, he’s not alone — 10 others teams before the Wildcats were left awestruck as well.
Shenango became Clairton’s latest victim as the Bears cruised to a 68-7 triumph in a WPIAL Class A quarterfinal at Chartiers-Houston High School’s Buccaneer Stadium.
Clairton (11-0) racked up 537 yards of total offense. The team had 19 plays of 10 or more yards en route to its usual gaudy scoreboard production. The Bears entered the game averaging 67.2 points per game.
“They have so many weapons and they can score so quickly,” Commesso said. “I don’t have words to explain it. It’s very tough to compete with that kind of team speed.”
Sophomore running back Lamont Wade was the biggest culprit. He had 152 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 11 carries. He hauled in two passes for 101 yards and another score.
“He’s only a sophomore and he has a ton of speed. Every game we’ve played, he’s been the fastest guy on the field,” said Clairton coach Wayne Wade, who is Lamont’s cousin.
He wasn’t alone, though. Senior quarterback Ryan Williams completed 7 of 16 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Senior receiver James Hines had three catches for 142 yards and two scores.
“We have a ton of skill. We’ve been saying that all year,” Wayne Wade said. “If you try to shut down one guy, there’s another guy there to step up. We just have a lot of skilled guys.”
Clairton moves on to face Neshannock, a 46-32 winner over Jeannette, in Friday’s semifinals at a time and site to be announced.
“That’s what it’s about. Once you get into the playoffs, it’s all about advancing,” Wayne Wade said. “We’ll now focus on Neshannock.”
The Bears scored on their first drive. A fumble by Shenango (7-4) set up another Clairton score. The Bears, who won 66 straight games and four PIAA Class AA titles between 2009-13, went up 22-0 on a trick play. Williams fired a lateral to receiver Aaron Mathews, who lofted a 65-yard TD strike to Hines.
Clairton held a 38-0 lead before the ’Cats were able to break the shutout. Shenango put together a strong drive late in the second quarter. Commesso’s crew moved the ball 74 yards and capped the drive on Evan Kendall’s 5-yard shovel pass to Hunter Waskin. It was a small victory for the ’Cats as the Bears have allowed only 43 points this season.
Clairton got the ball back with 22 seconds left in the half, though, and took exception to the TD. The squad needed one play to convert for one of its own as Wade took a screen pass 72 yards to the house. It gave the Bears a 46-7 halftime advantage.
“We go out every game to try to get a goose egg. The guys were a little upset we let them in, but that’s part of the game, too. Shenango is a good team. My hat is off to them,” Wayne Wade said. “They’re in a tough conference and they lost to some good teams.”
The 35-point, running clock mercy rule was in effect for the entire second half.
“The touchdown was against their first team, so that was nice,” Commesso said. “The second half, we had to come out with a lot of reserves because we had a lot of injuries in the first half. So the second half got a little messy. I didn’t think our kids quit. It doesn’t overshadow what the kids did this season.
Shenango rebounded from a 2-7 campaign in 2013 to produce its first playoff victory since 2002.
“I told our seniors that they helped accomplish a lot this year, including getting a taste of playoff football,” Commesso said. “They’ve helped lay the foundation to go deeper in years to come.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
SHENANGO CLAIRTON
9 First downs 21
105 Yards Rushing 264
3 Yards Lost 13
102 Net Rushing 251
10 Passes Attempted 17
3 Passes Completed 8
0 Passes Intercepted 0
14 Yards Passing 286
116 Total Yards 537
3-2 Fumbles-Lost 1-0
4-29.3 Punts-Average 0-0
2-10 Penalties-Yards 10-88
SHENANGO 0 7 0 0 — 7
CLAIRTON 22 24 16 6 — 68
Scoring plays
CLAIRTON — Aaron Mathews, 10-yard run (Lamont Wade run)
CLAIRTON — Noah Hamlin, 18-yard pass from Ryan Williams (pass failed)
CLAIRTON — James Hines, 65-yard pass from Mathews (Wade run)
CLAIRTON — Harrison Dreher, 3-yard run (Wade run)
CLAIRTON — Wade, 2-yard run (Williams run)
SHENANGO — Hunter Waskin, 5-yard pass from Evan Kendall (Dylan Kleckner kick)
CLAIRTON — Wade, 62-yard pass from Williams (Hines pass from Williams)
CLAIRTON — Hines, 13-yard run (Wade run)
CLAIRTON — Wade, 9-yard run (Dreher run)
CLAIRTON — Dreher, 35-yard run (run failed)
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