High school football notebook: Norwin defense braces for Jurkovec, No. 1 Pine-Richland

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 2, 2017 | 6:42 PM

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Norwin has faced some good quarterbacks this season.

Cam Laffoon of Penn-Trafford, Central Catholic's Troy Fisher and Justin Sliwoski of Hempfield are among them.

But the eighth-seeded Knights (5-5) will see the best one yet Friday night when they travel to play No. 1 Pine-Richland (10-0) in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs.

Senior Phil Jurkovec is as good as advertised. The Notre Dame recruit has completed 144 of 192 passes for 2,336 yards. He has 21 touchdowns and four interceptions and a glowing, 143.1 rating.

And don't forget his rushing numbers: 583 yards and 14 TDs.

“Phil is a special player,” Norwin coach Dave Brozeski said of the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Jurkovec. “Defending him requires discipline from the entire defensive unit.”

And that includes junior safety Jayvon Thrift, who has scholarship offers from Pitt and West Virginia. Thrift, second on the team with 69 tackles, knows he will be tested.

“I feel like it will be interesting but a lot of fun to go against a top-notch QB,” Thrift said. “I feel like he is going to try to test my discipline, but overall I feel like it will be a good challenge.”

Defense has been Norwin's strong suit. The Knights have seven interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries and would love to add to one or both of those totals.

Senior middle linebacker John Piekut had a game-sealing touchdown off an interception last week in a 24-14 win at Hempfield.

But Pine-Richland is not Hempfield. Norwin allows 15.4 points per game; Pine-Richland scores 49.7.

“They also have other very good players,” Brozeski said. “The duo of running backs (Jordan Crawford and Kenny White) are two of the strongest in all of 6A. They have quality receivers and probably most importantly, a very cohesive offensive line.”

Norwin's offense has been strong at times, but the Knights are averaging just 16.4 points.

Hawkins back?

Penn-Trafford senior lineman Logan Hawkins could return to the lineup Friday night after missing four games with a leg injury. The two-way senior and Akron recruit practiced this week, coach John Ruane said.

The Warriors (9-1), seeded No. 1 for the first time, might need the school's homecoming king against No. 8 Fox Chapel (6-4), a team predicated on line play and a strong running game.

“They're real good up front,” Ruane said. “This is an underrated team.”

Fox Chapel's top lineman is Bryant recruit Jesse Cohen (6-3, 250). The senior left tackle has helped to produce two 1,200-yard rushers in Nick Gizzo and Micah Morris.

Penn-Trafford senior John Gay is over 1,000 yards for the season — the ninth player in school history to do so — while sophomore Caleb Lisbon and senior quarterback Cam Laffoon both have more than 600 yards on the ground.

Shoaf top rusher

Three yards and a cloud of dust still means something. Just ask Yough's Dustin Shoaf.

When the dust settled, the junior running back won the WPIAL regular-season rushing title by three yards over Trinity senior Joey Koroly.

Shoaf finished with 1,808 yards on 280 carries and 16 touchdowns. Koroly has 1,805 yards on 220 attempts and 22 scores for Trinity (6-3) heading into the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.

Yough finished 2-8 and missed the Class 3A playoffs.

“With the season we had, it speaks volumes about how special of a player Dustin is,” Yough coach Scott Wood said. “We had two offensive linemen out for the last three games.”

Shoaf's total is the single-season record at Yough. He also broke the program's single-game rushing mark when he ran for 428 yards on 43 carries in a 49-38 win over Southmoreland on Oct. 20.

“It wasn't just myself,” Shoaf said. “It was my offensive line. They battle every week. I wouldn't trade them for anyone.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Shoaf is hoping for a big offseason in the recruiting game. He has some Division II interest.

“It's driving me nuts that he has no offers,” Wood said. “He is a good one.”

Bouncing back

Jeannette was as baffled as it was humbled after last week's 40-6 loss at Clairton.

The defeat wiped away Jeannette's No. 1 ranking and hurt its playoff seeding.

But the Jayhawks (9-1), seeded No. 3 in the WPIAL Class A bracket, will look for a big bounce-back game Friday in their first-round game against Monessen (3-7).

“We got beat mentally and physically by Clairton,” Jeannette senior quarterback Robert Kennedy said. “(Clairton) Coach (Wayne) Wade had a great game plan against us. To bounce back this week, we need to get back to what we've been doing, and that's playing physical football and getting our mental right to win this championship.”

Yesho takes the field

Latrobe gave senior lineman Zach Yesho one last play at Memorial Stadium last week in the regular-season finale against Connellsville.

The two-way tackle missed eight games with a broken left leg. The Wildcats (4-6) lined up in victory formation on their last play of a 49-7 win and Yesho stood deep the backfield — minus his crutches, of course — for the final snap.

“It felt good to be on the field again,” said Yesho (6-3, 260), who still hopes to play college football. He visited Seton Hill last Saturday.

D-fense

Local teams have some of the top defenses in the WPIAL.

Penn-Trafford allowed a 5A-low 9.3 points a game, while Franklin Regional was fifth (18.1).

• Belle Vernon had the second-best scoring defense in 4A (9 ppg).

• Derry was second in 3A (11.2).

• Norwin's 15.4 average was second in 6A.

• Jeannette was third in A (13.6).

Extra points

Franklin Regional has made the WPIAL playoffs 14 straight times. … Penn-Trafford has reached the postseason 14 of the last 15 years. … Jeannette has missed the playoffs twice since 1994.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Jeannette, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough