Mt. Lebanon takes advantage of Hempfield’s missed opportunities, keeps playoff hopes alive

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, October 18, 2024 | 10:59 PM

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Missed opportunities and a costly turnover were too much for the Hempfield football team overcome Friday in a critical WPIAL Class 6A Conference battle against Mt. Lebanon.

The Blue Devils (2-7, 2-3) won their second game of the season, 42-20, and can clinch a berth in the WPIAL playoffs by defeating Norwin at home next Friday.

Junior quarterback Patrick Smith led the Blue Devils. He rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes.

The loss damaged Hempfield’s chances of making the playoffs. The Spartans fell to 2-7 overall and 2-4 in the conference with only a nonconference game at Gateway left.

Mt. Lebanon leads the all-time series, 7-1, which included an 18-14 victory in the 1966 WPIAL Class 2A Championship game. The Spartans’ win was in 2016, 41-38, when the late Rich Bowen was the coach.

Bowen passed away a week ago from a battle with cancer. Hempfield Area School District had a moment of silence in his honor before the game..

Hempfield started out OK. The Spartans took a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter thanks to Sawyer Leuthold field goals of 22 and 32 yards.

But it was Mt. Lebanon’s two defensive stands to force field goals that turned the game into its favor.

Smith shook off some early rust to lead a touchdown drive and give the Blue Devils a 7-6 lead.

“Patrick had some sort of bug prior to the game, and that rattled his nerves a little bit because he missed a couple balls early that he normally completes,” Mt. Lebanon coach Greg Perry said. “Those defensive stands did give us a lift. Emotionally, we were in trouble, and we were sputtering in the first half. We just couldn’t get things together.”

Hempfield quarterback Dom Detruf, who completed 13 of 25 passes for 178 yards, then threw an ill-advised interception that gave the Blue Devils the ball at the Hempfield 10.

Two plays later, Smith hit his favorite target, Noah Schaerli, for a 9-yard score and a 14-6 lead at halftime.

“We made some adjustments at halftime, and Patrick sort of took over,” Perry said. “The interception seemed to take the wind out of them.”

Hempfield coach Nick Keefer said he was disappointed for the seniors, but he acknowledged the missed opportunities were costly and that Mt. Lebanon is much better that a one-win team.

“I don’t care what their record said coming in; you watch them on film and see how good they are,” Keefer said. “We didn’t take them lightly. They’ve been in every game and they’re a good football team.

“I’m proud of our kids, they fought to the end. Mt. Lebanon just made more plays than us.”

Smith took over in the third quarter. He directed a third scoring drive with some punishing runs and then capped the drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Joe Malone.

Hempfield put together a long drive that ended on downs at the Mt. Lebanon 16. During that drive, Detruf just missed connecting on a couple of passes that might have resulted in scores.

“To win these types of games, you have to take advantage of their miscues,” Keefer said. “Unfortunately, we were able to come away with field goals, but they came away with touchdowns.”

Smith scored his second touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and Sam McAuley scored twice: a 2-yard run and an 88-yard kickoff return.

Detruf and Jack Kopas connected on a 23-yard score, and senior Jacob Zerbini added a 2-point conversion as the Hempfield offensive line opened a big hole.

“That was a special moment for Jacob to score,” Keefer said. “I want to thank coach Perry and the Mt. Lebanon team for making it special. I’m sure it was a special senior night for Jacob.”

Hempfield’s Carden Lippman and Owen Buchholz connected on an 8-yard touchdown to end the game.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield, Mt. lebanon