Laurel upends state’s No. 1 Class A team
Laurel (15) vs. Clairton (8)
Written: Sep 05, 2009
 By DAN IRWIN
d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com
Two decades ago, Steven Spielberg put together a TV anthology series called “Amazing Stories.”
If he ever wants to do a revival, he could start with Laurel High’s 15-8 nonleague opener last night over Clairton. There certainly was no shortage of tales to fit the genre.
Start with the Bears, the state’s top-ranked Class A team, who lacked as much in discipline as they did in scoring punch. Clairton outgained the Class A Spartans in total yards, 316-113, but squandered that advantage by committing 19 penalties for 169 yards. That included five personal fouls and two unsportsmanlike conduct calls.
Or how about Laurel senior Jake Dando, who had to move from wide receiver to quarterback when Tyler Forbes was injured on a punt return? Dando took over with his offense just six yards from its own goal line, but wound up scoring the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds remaining.
And, of course, there’s the victory itself, notched by a team that was only 3-6 during a 2008 season that included a 41-0 loss to eventual WPIAL champ and state runner-up Clairton.
Senior center Bobby Hites didn’t play in that contest because of an injury, but neither had he forgotten it.
“It definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” he said. “We definitely rallied from that.”
The result, Dando added, was “the greatest thing I ever felt in my life.”
QUICK START
The Spartans stunned Clairton from the start, when sophomore Dylan Jones returned the opening kickoff 67 yards to the Bears’ 23. Seven plays later, senior Caleb Weisenstein’s 1-yard run helped put Laurel up 7-0.
“I thought we did great in the kicking game,” Laurel head coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “Our kicking game set up our first touchdown, and our defense held, they only gave up one score.”
That came 30 seconds prior to halftime, when Clairton quarterback Desimon Green connected with Eddie Ball on a 5-yard TD strike. A conversion pass form Deontae Howard to Joshua Page put the Bears up by a point at intermission.
In the third quarter, an interception by Forbes put an end to a subsequent Clairton threat. The two teams then exchanged punts, with Forbes fielding a bouncing kick at his own 6-yard line with just under seven minutes to go.
Almost instantly after Forbes nabbed the ball, though, Clairton’s Deon Ellis delivered a devastating hit that left the Spartans senior flat on his back and ultimately forced him out of the game.
That sent Dando under center, and the Spartans’ emotions to boiling.
“I think that was a rallying thing for the team,” Holzhauser said. “I think that bothered them, what they saw there.”
Hites agreed.
“On that last drive,” he said, “we definitely wanted to pound them, physically and mentally.”
HEROICS
Dando pointed out that although he had had quarterback experience as a sophomore and junior, “I was kind of nervous (lining up under center last night). I didn’t take any snaps in summer camp or anything. It was just throw me in there.”
Nonetheless, Dando led the Spartans on an 11-play, 94 yard scoring drive capped when he faked a handoff to running back Dan Poremski and sprinted 10 yards around left end for a score. Weisenstein then added a two-point conversion run.
“I was listening in the locker room and they said the one end was closing real hard,” Dando said of his touchdown run, “so I knew I could get him if we just fake the option. I just ran around the end, it was there.”
Holzhauser wasn’t at all concerned about having to send Dando in cold.
“He’s always been a quarterback, and you know what kind of athlete Jake Dando is,” he noted. “He just loves the ball in his hands. He just did a fantastic job.”
Dando credited his offensive line and running backs with digging down deep to fuel the decisive drive, but Laurel’s march to paydirt also was aided by three personal foul calls against Clairton and one offside violation.
As crippling as that was, the Bears found even more feet in which to shoot themselves. They took 35 of the remaining 37 seconds to reach Laurel’s 30-yard line, then scrambled to get one final play off with two seconds on the clock.
That play appeared to be a 30-yard scoring pass form Green to Page. However, a procedure call nullified the pass, and instead of getting one final shot from five yards further upfield, the Bears were moved back 35 yards after a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct calls.
With no time remaining, Green completed a short pass to Kevin Weatherspoon, and the Bears lateraled the ball at least twice while trying to weave their way downfield, but Weatherspoon eventually was shoved out of bounds at the Laurel 43, ending the game.
ATTITUDE
“Our behavior was embarrassing during the game and after the game,” Clairton coach Tom Nola said. “We took stupid personal fouls and then at the end of the game we acted very embarrassing.
“(The cause of the penalties) wasn’t just the first game. It was all the personal fouls. We need to change our attitude. I hope this wakes us up, both playing-wise and attitude-wise.”
The Spartans, Dando said, believed they could take advantage of what they perceived as a haughty attitude on the part of the Bears.
“We knew they talk alot,” he said. “We just had to keep our cool out there and let them get the penalties. I think they underestimated us a little bit.”
Now, Holzhauser said, his team needs to hang on to that same level-headness that last night produced a win that “For me, on our home field, (was) as big as any game.”
“We stayed low key, and let our game plan and our kids do the talking for us,” Holzhauser said. “But as big a victory as it was, it was just the first game. We’ve got a lot of tough games down the road — North Catholic next week, South Side Beaver, Rochester. They’re going to see great football teams ahead of them.”
CLAIRTON LAUREL
11 First downs 9
132 Yards Rushing 112
11 Yards Lost 22
121 Net Rushing 90
20 Passes Attempted 2
11 Passes Completed 1
1 Passes Intercepted 0
195 Yards Passing 23
316 Total Yards 113
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
2-26.5 Punts-Average 3-36
19-169 Penalties-Yards 5-40
CLAIRTON 0 8 0 0 — 8
LAUREL 7 0 0 8 — 15
Scoring plays
LAUREL — Caleb Weisenstein 1-yard run (Jonathan Johnson kick).
CLAIRTON — Eddie Ball 5-yard pass from Desimon Green (Joshua Page pass from Deontae Howard).
LAUREL — Jake Dando 10-yard run (Weisenstein run).
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