Da’sjon Craggette runs for school-record 335 yards as Southmoreland routs Mt. Pleasant

By: Dave Mackall
Friday, October 27, 2023 | 11:18 PM

A handout at Viking Stadium in Mt. Pleasant Township promoted the neighboring high school football rivalry between Mt. Pleasant and Southmoreland as “The Real Backyard Brawl.”

The results suggest otherwise: Mt. Pleasant leads the all-time series 36-8.

And that includes Southmoreland’s dominating 40-3 Interstate Conference victory Friday night.

“They’ve dominated the series over the years, but since we got here, it’s 3-3,” Southmoreland coach Tim Bukowski said moments after senior Da’sjon Craggette set a Southmoreland single-game rushing record with 335 yards while scoring four touchdowns.

A near-capacity crowd buzzed before the opening kickoff, and fans from Mt. Pleasant hissed as Southmoreland’s players took the field.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of rivalries, but this one seems a little nasty,” Bukowski said. “It just seems like it’s a little nastier than most, a little chippy. And that’s fine.”

Both schools, separated by just 4 miles, entered the game already having qualified for the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. Both finished the regular season with records of 6-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

But their latest confrontation showed two teams appearing headed in opposite directions. Mt. Pleasant lost for the third time in four games.

“For us, it was complete dominance on both sides of the football,” Bukowski said. “I think now we have a real rivalry.”

Craggette, a transfer from Greensburg Central Catholic, attends Geibel Catholic but plays football at Southmoreland through a cooperate program because Geibel does not sponsor the sport. He scored on runs of 80, 92, 14 and 22 yards.

The victory ended a three-game winning streak for Mt. Pleasant in the series.

“I didn’t think it was going to be like this,” Mt. Pleasant coach Jason Fazekas said. “It was a tough one. That’s a big deal when you’ve got a kid like that who can run it. The front was blocking and did a good job getting him started.”

Bukowski agreed.

“Our defense prepared all week,” he said. “Our linebackers were unbelievable.”

One of them, junior Ethan Shawley, was ruled ineligible by the WPIAL to participate in the playoffs because of his transfer from Geibel. But until then, Shawley has performed admirably.

“He’s my guy,” Craggette said. “I just really wanted to win this one, especially for Ethan. He’s an amazing player. This is my last game with him. I’ve been with him since my sophomore year.”

Both played two seasons together at Greensburg Central Catholic.

“We’re best friends along with (junior lineman) Jarell Braxton,” Shawley said. “We lift together, we’re at my house constantly, it’s us 24/7. We all want to get to the playoffs and get a win. I think this is the team to do it.”

The teams traded field goals — Southmoreland’s Jake Kaylor connected from 22 yards and Mt. Pleasant countered with Jarett Garn’s 32-yarder — before Mt. Pleasant was hit with an ineligible man downfield penalty that nullified Cole Chatfield’s 72-yard touchdown pass to Brody Hutter.

Craggette and Southmoreland then took over in the second quarter.

“That sort of thing can really hurt you because you need plays like that,” Fazekas said. “But you have to give them credit. They played a good game. We did not. We weren’t sharp, and that all comes back to me. We weren’t ready to go, and then, it kind of gets out of hand, like that.”

Craggette raced 80 yards for a touchdown to put Southmoreland ahead for good 10-3, then followed up with a 92-yarder.

Kaylor’s 25-yard field goal at the end of the first half gave Southmoreland a 20-3 lead.

Southmoreland scored three second-half touchdowns on Craggette’s runs of 14 and 22 yards and on Kadin Keefer’s 21-yard pass to Ty Keffer to turn the game into a rout.

Craggette, who carried 20 times, broke the previous Southmoreland record set by Jake Pisula, who gained 305 yards in a 2014 victory against Burgettstown.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Craggette said. “I still can’t believe it. I just love these guys. That’s it. I never had a team like this. This team is real special and I just want to help give them their first playoff win. They’ve never had one.”

The WPIAL playoffs begin Friday.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland