Belle Vernon players, coaches recall ‘The Stand’ ahead of return to PIAA championship game

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | 3:12 PM

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He teared up before it happened in person, and he tears up when he watches it again on video.

“I still get chills when I think about it,” Belle Vernon senior defensive back Adam LaCarte said. “I had tears in my eyes just as we were about to line up because I knew our season could have ended right there. It was unbelievable.”

“The Stand” might be an apocalyptic Stephen King novel and miniseries. But to Belle Vernon football, it could be the name of the greatest and most meaningful defensive series of the 2022 season — maybe in team history.

A goal-line stand inside the final two minutes allowed the Leopards to secure an epic, 9-8 victory over Neumann-Goretti for their first PIAA championship.

The sequence hangs above the mantle in the program’s living room. It was that impressive and that emotional for the Leopards.

Neumann-Goretti tried every door as it attempted to overtake the Leopards in the 3A final in Mechanicsburg, but they all were locked.

FUMBLE

An ending for the ages as Belle Vernon makes three stands at the goal line and recover a fumble@MVI_sports pic.twitter.com/pjiCB2U4pU

— Liam Belan (@lbelanMVI) December 10, 2022

As Belle Vernon (12-1) prepares to face Northwestern Lehigh (15-0) in the PIAA championship at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Cumberland Valley with a state repeat on the line, “The Stand” is worth another look.

It was first-and-goal from the 2.

The Saints lined up in a power-I. There was a 1-yard gain on first down, then a controversial non-fumble on second down where running back Kyreese Bradley coughed up the football and Belle Vernon’s Braden Laux appeared to recover.

Instead, “joint possession” was the call, and the Saints kept the ball.

On third down, the Leopards made sure another fumble counted.

Quarterback Mekhi Wharton kept the ball and tried to push forward but was met head-on by LaCarte, the Leopards’ junior safety who soared into frame like Troy Polamalu in his prime.

In a scrum of humanity where 21 bodies formed a pile, Anthony Crews also chimed in with contact, and the ball popped loose.

It came to a waiting Aiden Johnson, who recovered, and the Leopards ran out the clock to take the title and head home for a “Beach party.”

Belle Vernon allowed 50 yards on the final drive, including a key fourth-down conversion. But it didn’t bend when the Saints tried to gain three feet.

“There was an eerie calmness with myself and everyone,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said. “We were confident. Even if they did score, we felt like we could get the ball back with a little time left and maybe make something happen.”

Quinton Martin, Laux and LaCarte had interceptions in the win.

Defensive coordinator Brett Barish said the game-clinching play that caused the final turnover was called “Black Stallion.”

Simply, everyone blitzed in the tightest of quarters, forming a wall of momentum that the Saints could not penetrate.

“Coach Humbert is a big advocate for that call,” Barish said. “He was jumping up and down like a 3-year-old, screaming for us to call it. He says I don’t have the guts to call it.

“We began the season with a goal-line stand against Laurel Highlands and we ended it with one in the state championship. I don’t get too high or low (emotionally), but I was very proud of those guys. They are winners. It’s a birthright to be Leopard.”

Belle Vernon hopes this year’s state final comes with less stress, but just as much juice from the defense.

“It will be tough to one-up that,” LaCarte said.

Said senior linebacker Tanner Moody: “One way to top it is to shut them out.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon