South Fayette hands mistake-prone Belle Vernon rare loss at home

By: Friday, September 20, 2024 | 11:50 PM

It's not often that the Belle Vernon football team doesn't "defend The Beach."

But Friday was one of those nights.

South Fayette and quarterback Drew Welhorsky crashed the party and rolled to a 27-14 win over the Leopards, who added a late score inside the final minute.

"This atmosphere is exactly what you want from a high school football game. I love the field, I love there's no track and those fans are right on top of you," South Fayette coach Marty Spieler said. "We were focused on the details, and we did a great job defensively of taking away what they like to do. And Drew, he has a ways to go, but he's been better and better each week."

Welhorsky finished 12 of 16 passing for 175 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 126 yards on 17 carries and another touchdown.

"I look at this game, and the best way I can sum it up is we did a great job of playing bad football," BVA coach Matt Humbert said.

The South Fayette defense was dominant, especially in the first half when the Leopards never really moved the ball until their final drive of the opening 24 minutes.

"I'll tell you, our front seven really got after it this week, and we emphasize taking away their best player," Spieler said. "That's a good football team and No. 3 (Curty) Wade is a good player. Our defensive front made the commitment all week to stopping the inside run and they did a great job tonight."

The Leopards' opening drive set the bad tone for the first half. They went backward 22 yards before punting. The series included a 25-yard loss after a bobbled snap.

"It's just the sloppiness that's disappointing," Humbert said. "We weren't focused, and I think we bog ourselves down constantly being out there thinking. We just need to go out and play, stop thinking so much and play football."

The BVA defense forced a turnover on downs, but the ensuing drive ended with a Wade pass being tipped and intercepted by Noah Mathias.

The Lions (5-0) cashed in five plays later as Welhorsky faked the defense on a play-action pass and easily floated a pass to freshman Evan Earley for a 14-yard score. Luke Gillen's PAT was good to make it 7-0.

After another negative drive started the second quarter for the Leopards, they were able to get on the board thanks to the defense.

On a 4th-and-17 in the no-man's-land area of the field, Welhorsky was picked off by Kole Doppelheuer. The speedy safety weaved his way for an 89-yard touchdown return to tie the score.

"Thank goodness for that big play there," Humbert said. "It gave us life when we needed it."

It was another quick response for the Lions, though, as Welhorsky found H-back Tyson Wright for a 30-yard catch and run — again on play action — to put his team back in front.

The Lions defense forced another punt, and the offense scored again on a Welhorsky 7-yard run.

"Drew is one of the top lacrosse players in the state," Spieler said of his quarterback. "He's out there looking to compete, and he loves the contact. He's going to always work hard and take what the defense is giving him. He's making the smart decisions with the ball."

At the end of the half, the Leopards were able to move the ball down to the Lions 14-yard line with a nine-play drive. But with 3 seconds remaining on the clock on third down, there was confusion. Wade got the snap, and instead of spiking the ball and stopping the clock, he took a knee. The Leopards had no timeouts left, and the half expired.

"I just don't know. It was unexplainable," an exasperated Humbert said. "That's what I'm talking about though, just mentally we weren't there."

Coming out of the locker room trailing 21-7, the Leopards forced a Lions punt and got some momentum with a long 13-play, 64-yard drive down to the South Fayette 14. Unfortunately, they came away with no points as Preston Rathway's 32-yard field goal was no good.

The Lions (5-0) answerded with a 67-yard drive that ended with a Gillen 30-yard field goal as the fourth quarter began.

The Leopards were methodical again with another long drive into South Fayette territory, but they turned it over on downs after two incompletions, one intended for Anthony Crews in the end zone and a drop by Doppelheuer on a slant.

"Just simple things. This game is different. Curty battled back and threw the ball well. Both of those balls were right on the money, and we just couldn't make the plays," Humbert said.

The Lions chewed up over five minutes of the final six, and Gillen kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 27-7.

After the kickoff, Wade hit Doppelheuer for 36-yard gain down to the 20. The pair connected again on the next play for a touchdown with 44 seconds to go.

The Lions recovered the onside kick and kneeled out the clock.

"We challenged them at the half and came out better in the second half," Humbert said. "It still came down to missed opportunities.

"The pedigree and the tradition of this program has me confident that these kids will bounce back. We can put this half of the season behind us and now we're on to conference play."

The conference schedule starts off with a big one for the Leopards, though. They'll head to Thomas Jefferson Friday.