Penn-Trafford dominates time of possession, defeats Latrobe
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Friday, October 25, 2024 | 11:07 PM
Penn-Trafford’s Tasso Whipple scores a touchdown against Latrobe on Friday.
Latrobe’s John Wetzel runs the ball against Penn-Trafford on Friday.
Latrobe’s John Wetzel looks for an opening as teammate Caleb Lehman blocks against Penn-Trafford on Friday.
Latrobe’s John Wetzel stretches the ball to just outside the goal line against Penn-Trafford on Friday.
Penn-Trafford’s Derek Carr runs under pressure from Latrobe’s Danny Noonan on Friday.
Latrobe’s John Wetzel runs the ball against Penn-Trafford on Friday.
Penn-Trafford’s Jamison Yurt (27) attempts to tackle Latrobe’s Brady Prohovic on Friday.
Penn-Trafford’s Jonny Lovre throws against Latrobe on Friday.
Penn-Trafford’s Tasso Whipple runs the ball against Latrobe on Friday.
Latrobe’s Brady Prohovic runs the ball against Penn-Trafford on Friday.
The Penn-Trafford football team played a game of keep-away Friday at Latrobe.
The Warriors were clinging to a four-point lead in the second half at Memorial Stadium, and coach John Ruane decided to put the ball into the hands of running back Tasso Whipple and quarterback Derek Carr. And the duo and their teammates did a great job keeping the Latrobe defense on the field.
Penn-Trafford ran 37 plays in the second half to Latrobe’s six and had possession of the ball for 20 minutes and 31 seconds to the Wildcats’ 3 minutes, 29 seconds.
Whipple ended up rushing for 160 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown, and Carr added 46 yards as the Warriors defeated Latrobe, 20-13, to finish second in the WPIAL Class 5A Big East Conference. It was the sixth straight win for the Warriors (8-2, 5-1).
The Wildcats finish 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the conference and will wait to hear if the WPIAL football committee feels they are worthy of a wild-card spot in the upcoming WPIAL playoffs. Brackets are released Saturday.
“I don’t know what the time of possession was, but we had the ball for quite a bit in the second half,” Ruane said. “We had the self-inflicted wound with the pick-6 and two massive killer penalties on a touchdown and another long run.
“But I was really proud of our kids. That’s a very difficult team that knows everything that we do and was well prepared. We just had to line up and be a better team than them when it counted, and I thought in the second half we did a great job and kept their offense off the field.”
Whipple had a 65-yard touchdown nullified by a holding penalty in the third quarter.
Penn-Trafford got out quickly. On its first possession, the Warriors drove 48 yards in eight plays with Whipple scoring on a 9-yard run for a 7-0 lead.
The lead went to 14-0 two plays later when a John Wetzel pass tipped off Whipple’s hand and into the hands of Carr, who raced 22 yards for a score.
“Tasso made a great play, and I was in the right place at the right time,” Carr said. “It landed in my hands. The defense has made big plays all season. Latrobe played us tough, and we knew it would be a fight because of Coach (Ron) Prady.”
Prady was an assistant with Ruane for 10 seasons before coming to Latrobe.
Latrobe settled down after that, and Wetzel and the Wildcats offense started to find their groove.
The Wildcats drove to the Warriors 23, but on fourth down, Penn-Trafford’s Jacob Briggs stopped Wetzel in the backfield on fourth down for a loss of 3.
“That was a big play by Jacob,” Ruane said. “He got off the ball quickly and made a big stop.”
Latrobe, however, wouldn’t be stopped the next time it had the ball. Wetzel scored from the 1 to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive to cut the lead to 14-7.
Penn-Trafford used a hurry-up offense and drove down to the Latrobe 7. A touchdown pass to Dom Smith was nullified by a holding ball, and freshman Jack Miller nailed a 34-yard field goal on the final play of the first half for a 17-7 lead.
Latrobe pulled within 17-13 early in the third quarter when Andy Tatsch returned an interception 52 yards for a score.
But Penn-Trafford’s offense pulled together a time-consuming drive to close out the game.
“It was a physical game,” Prady said. “Running the ball is what they do. They ate up the clock a ton. We just didn’t get the stops. We’d hit Whipple in the backfield, and he still would get 5 yards.
“Our kids fought their butts off. We’re going to miss this group of seniors, but this program has come a long way in three years. So hopefully we’re preparing for a playoff game on Saturday.”
Miller added a 27-yard field goal to make it 20-13 with 5:16 left.
Latrobe got a 52-yard kickoff return by Aaron Gaskey to the Penn-Trafford 35. But the Warriors allowed 1 yard and a punt.
And Whipple and his teammates made sure Latrobe would never touch the ball again.
“Tasso is unbelievable,” Ruane said. “It’s every single week, it’s every single carry. He’s an amazing football player. I thought the play of the night was the second-to-last run when he got stopped in the backfield and drove the guys for 6 yards to put us in third-and-1. He’s had a fantastic career.”
Whipple moved into fourth place all-time by passing Manny Simpson (3,152). Whipple now has 3,264 yards.
Penn-Trafford outgained Latrobe, 300-152.
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: Latrobe, Penn-Trafford
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