Belle Vernon football turns attention toward WPIAL repeat

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, November 18, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Friday was the first official practice date for WPIAL basketball season, but Quinton Martin and some of his teammates are not ready to take the court yet — if at all.

Martin, who currently doesn’t plan to play basketball this year, was busy Friday night rushing for 152 yards and scoring two touchdowns as the top-seeded Belle Vernon football team ran past East Allegheny, 49-8, in a WPIAL 3A semifinal at Norwin.

The Leopards (10-1) will play in their third straight title game when they face No. 2 Avonworth (12-0) for the championship at 5 p.m. next Friday at Acrisure Stadium.

“We want to be the best in the state at what we do,” said Martin, a running back and defensive back. “When you get your team’s name out there and teams see you, you want them to fear you.”

Belle Vernon looks primed to claim back-to-back titles. The Leopards rushed for 450 yards Friday, with Jake Gedekoh racking up 129 and a touchdown and Kole Doppelheuer adding 70 and two scores — with two kick return scores called back by penalties.

Quarterback Braden Laux also ran and threw for a score.

Belle Vernon beat Avonworth, 24-7, at Acrisure Stadium last year for the title.

Martin answered a number of questions about his visits to Penn State and the recruiting world Friday after the game, but it was clear he was transfixed on winning more championships.

“It would be amazing to win another title,” Martin said, his face framed in a smile. “To win another state championship. Oh, man.”

Not since Jeannette in 2006-07 has a football team from Westmoreland County won back-to-back WPIAL titles. The Jayhawks were led by frontman Terrelle Pryor, the last local recruit with such national college attention like Martin.

Pryor was the No. 1 recruit in the country in 2007-08. Martin is the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania, No. 51 overall according to Rivals.com.

Jeannette and Burrell (1967-68) are the only Westmoreland teams to repeat as champions.

Belle Vernon believes it can defend its title with stiff line play and more outbursts from its running game.

“Since the beginning of the year, you could see how these guys push each other,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said. “We try to make practice as hard as possible. This group encapsulates that. It’s a unique group of kids, and they all get along.”

Martin, a five-star recruit who has committed to Penn State, isn’t completely ruling out an appearance on the hardwood.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “I might talk to coach (Salvino) and see if I can play a couple games. I know I am close to 1,000 points.”

Martin, a former TribLive Westmoreland Basketball Player of the Year, has 956 career points.

He also has 916 yards rushing this season and will look to reach 1,000 on the Steelers’ home sod.

Avonworth will try to stop him from doing so.

The Antelopes average 37 points a game and dispatched Elizabeth Forward, 21-10, in the semis.

“They’re good,” Humbert said. “They feel this is their year. They are diversified in the way they play.

“We have to be big students this week and study up on them.”

The semifinal win came a day after the death of former Belle Vernon superintendent Steve Russell. An avid Belle Vernon sports fan and originator of the school’s hall of fame, Russell died Thursday at 74.

“He would’ve been excited to watch the Leps,” Humbert said. “But equally excited to get some good photos. He loved his photos.”

Winning in the semifinals means the Leopards will continue a recent tradition of practicing on Thanksgiving.

“That’s a good thing,” Humbert said. “We’ll be out there at 8 a.m. We have a long week ahead of us.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon