Belle Vernon bounces back, shuts out Laurel Highlands

By: Jonathan Guth
Friday, October 2, 2020 | 10:12 PM

Previous Next

Belle Vernon responded in a big way following last week’s lost to mighty Thomas Jefferson in a 49-0 victory over Laurel Highlands on Friday night in Big Eight Conference play at the Mustang Corral.

Leopards coach Matt Humbert always enjoys coming back to the school he once starred at, but he was more focused on getting his team back on track after suffering a setback to the Jaguars.

“The kids needed to reset and refocus, and as much as it’s about tonight, it is about the week of preparation and the week of practice,” Humbert said. “It’s a victory that we checked all the boxes we needed to check. It is fun to give us our third set of doughnuts on the scoreboard. Those kids at LH fought hard, never backed down and never gave up.

“I love the opportunity to come home and stop and see my parents, and I just love it up here. The atmosphere, the mountains and the drive up here. And see Mr. (Mark) John walking around here. He is Mr. LH.”

Said Laurel Highlands coach Rich Kolesar: “I think definitely it was a mental approach. They are a very good football team. We want to be a very good football team, but we are not ready to be a very good football team.”

Devin Whitlock had a hand in five of Belle Vernon’s six first-half touchdowns, as the junior quarterback was 7 of 10 for 109 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 109 yards on four carries and scored twice. Whitlock capped his day with a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown. A 68-yard punt return for a score was called back because of offsetting penalties.

“I just want to come out and play every game like it’s my last,” Whitlock said. “I came into this game with a chip on my shoulder after the loss to TJ. That was a hard pill to swallow, but we have to put it behind.”

Said Humbert, “Devin did a lot of good things last week against TJ. The key with Devin is balance, and he showed that tonight. And how about Jackson Jewell? He comes in, and we don’t skip a beat.”

The Leopards (3-1, 3-1) scored on their opening possession as Whitlock sprinted into the end zone from 36 yards, and Tyler Kovatch added the first of his seven PATs at 9 minutes, 48 seconds of the first quarter.

Dane Anden pulled in a 35-yard pass from Whitlock for a 14-0 advantage at 6:09 of the first, and Whitlock found Tanner Steeber in the end zone on a 9-yard scoring strike with 28.6 seconds left in the first.

Whitlock displayed his athletic prowess on his interception return for a touchdown at 10:58 of the second for a 28-0 lead.

“I knew they were going to try and isolate me with trips and big No. 1 (Jayden Pratt), so I was just always ready,” Whitlock said. “Our coaches always do a good job to prepare us for whatever the opposing teams go through and run.”

When Quinton Martin took a handoff and burst into the end zone from 45 yards, the Leopards increased their advantage to 35-0 at 7:10 of the second.

The Mustangs (1-3, 1-2) were driving on the previous possession as they had the ball at Belle Vernon’s 25, but Anden stopped the drive on an interception at the Leopards’ 3-yard line.

Laurel Highlands’s next drive ended on a turnover as Ryan Hamer pounced on a fumble. Whitlock took advantage of the Mustangs’ mistake and scored on a 29-yard run with 5:24 remaining.

“We talked all week about playing mistake-free football,” Kolesar said. “You have to play mistake free against the top teams, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Hamer added a 1-yard touchdown run at 7:17 of the third.

Joe Klanchar had a fumble recovery for Belle Vernon.

Rodney Gallagher led the Mustangs in receiving as he pulled in three passes for 34 yards and threw one pass for 21 yards. Teammate Joe Chambers was 5 of 11 for 39 yards. The Mustangs’ ShiNeill Thomas ran for 33 yards on nine carries.

Joeseph Kmetz had a fumble recovery for Laurel Highlands in the fourth.

Listen to an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Laurel Highlands