Belle Vernon eager to get to work in WPIAL playoffs

By: Jeremy Sellew
Thursday, November 10, 2022 | 6:01 AM

It’s been two long weeks, but it’s been a time to get back to basics and time to heal up for the Belle Vernon football team.

The top-seeded Leopards are ready to make their postseason debut tonight when they host No. 9 East Allegheny at a soggy “beach” at James Weir Stadium.

“The last couple weeks have been good for us. We stuck to our basic routine. It’s a time where you can get to things that kind of went by the wayside over the past few weeks,” BVA coach Matt Humbert said. “Just things like some conditioning, lifting and some individual stuff.

“But I know the mood has been we’re ready to get after it. I love the byes, I really do, but now we’re kind of getting a little redundant and just a little anxious.”

The Wildcats (8-3) are coming off a thrilling 42-39 win over No. 8 Mt. Pleasant last week. They were able to pull out the win without five starters and Amir Rollins, whom coach Dom Pecora called their “all-around best player.”

Rollins, a transfer running back from Penn Hills, was ruled ineligible for the postseason by the WPIAL.

With Rollins out, though, everything has flowed through quarterback Michael Cahill. So far, so good.

Cahill scored five touchdowns in the win over the Vikings and finished with 300 total yards. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 142 and ran for 158.

“From what I’ve seen, they have some splash-play ability,” Humbert said. “They’ve run some gadgety, trick stuff and it’s been successful for them and they’ve turned broken plays into big splash plays, especially with their running backs. They’re also good in the screen game with some throw-back screens, double passes … a good mix of diversified football plays.”

For the first time this season, the weather could play a big factor in the game with the remnants of Hurricane Nicole.

“I think that’s the key. You worry about the weather, bad snaps, fumbles. I think we’ve looked really sharp in practice. There hasn’t been a day I’ve left disgruntled,” Humbert said. “You worry about the controllable aspects, and I think we’re trending in the right direction. We didn’t go full bore in the off week, so you do worry about things like tackling and turnovers.”

The Leopards (7-2) come in led by top prospect Quinton Martin, who is averaging 10.1 yards per carry and has 786 yards this season. He ran for 182 yards on 13 carries in the team’s 48-14 win at Elizabeth Forward in the regular-season finale. He had three rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns.

His backfield mate Jake Gedekoh, who got banged up in the EF game, will be back and has run for 425 yards with a 9-yard per carry average.

Quarterback Braden Laux has completed 49 of 88 passes for just under 800 yards and eight touchdowns.

“I think the way he runs our offense is something Braden doesn’t get a lot of credit for,” Humbert said. “He’s keeping us balanced, in terms of who we’re distributing the ball to. He’s making great throws, he’s making the right reads, and he’s running the ball when he needs to run it.”

Don’t let Laux’s big frame fool you, the big guy has some wheels and has ripped off a few long touchdown runs this season.

“It starts with those guys in front of him,” Humbert said. “They’re very consistent with the job they’ve done protecting him and opening up running lanes.”

Defensively, the Wildcats will counter with various looks to confuse the Leopards’ offense.

“They’re very multiple, and it has the ability to cause some trouble,” Humbert said of the EA defense. “They can go from an odd stack to a 3-4. They can go seven or eight in the box and cover 3. They’re going to do whatever they can to keep us off balance. They like to blitz a lot out of those odd stacks, so we have to be ready.”

While the Leopards are putting up a bunch of points, 252 in their last five games, the defense has been on point. It shut down a potent Warriors’ unit in the finale and is allowing 9 points per game.

“We’re going to have to mix it up defensively,” Humbert said. “It’s all going to start with that defensive line. We’ve been good throughout our rotation and it needs to continue.

“I thought the one thing we didn’t do well against EF was keep the quarterback contained, and we allowed him to get some yards running the ball. We have to be better against (Cahill). It wasn’t an EA thing preparing for it, it was making corrections to something we didn’t do well last time out.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at James Weir Stadium. The winner of tonight’s game will play the winner of West Mifflin and Freeport next week in the Class 3A semifinals.

Tags: Belle Vernon, East Allegheny