Big night for the big guys as Derry linemen spark playoff-clinching win over Yough

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, October 24, 2025 | 11:01 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Derry lineman Levi Haase hadn’t played since the third game of the season with a knee injury, but, as recovery time and luck would have it, he suited up for senior night.

He never thought he’d provide such a spark in a playoff-clinching victory.

The 6-foot-4, 290-pound senior intercepted a pass on Yough’s opening drive and Derry turned it into points, adding several more scores while showcasing its bulky linemen, on the way to a 47-20 victory in the Interstate Conference finale on Friday night at Trojan Stadium.

“The ball came to me,” said Haase, whose knee brace wouldn’t allow him to run full speed after the pick. “I watch the big guys in the NFL and they drop the ball a lot. I just held on as hard as I could.

“We were 0-10 as freshmen, and I haven’t played again until this year. It’s so great to go to the playoffs.”

Derry (6-4, 3-2) clinches third place and heads to the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs while Yough (2-8, 0-5) ends the season on an eight-game skid.

Yough, which got to within 13-6 early, beat the Trojans last year, 55-14. The teams traded one rout for another.

Derry controlled the line of scrimmage and pressured Yough’s passing game to the tune of three interceptions.

Derry played backups after the break.

“Their size is hard to overcome,” Yough coach Ben Hoffer said. “They are big and they wore us down.

“Mike (Arone) is a class act. I appreciate what he did in the second half like that.”

The mercy rule took effect in the second half after Derry built a 41-6 lead.

“You love to see a big-man pick,” Derry coach Mike Arone. “It’s awesome for him. That got us going.”

Max Doherty ran for 142 yards on just six carries, including a 60-yard touchdown on his first attempt, and Anthony Sacco threw TD passes to Justin Papuga (6-1, 235) and Ricky Daniels.

Papuga set up Daniels’ score with a crowd-pleasing stiff-arm on a 31-yard rush.

“This is a great group of guys, and they rally around each other,” Arone said. “Their confidence has grown the last three weeks.”

Max Doperak added a 20-yard scoring run — the points off the Haase interception — and had an interception of his own, while Kaden Weiers and backup quarterback Parker Petrosky also scored for the Trojans.

Don’t forget the big-man touchdown that was a thing of beauty to the Trojans in the second quarter.

Derry, which has started fast in three straight games, allowed another hulking lineman, 6-foot-7, 273-pounder Dylan Pitzer, to get in on the action.

Derry turned into Picklesburgh in the final game of the regular season.

“Pickle” Pitzer — fans held inflatable pickles and the concession stand sold pickles on this night — scored on a 1-yard rush, “Refrigerator” Perry style. By then, Derry stretched the lead to 33-6.

A massive full-house backfield swung at Yough like a wrecking ball on first and goal from the 1. Blocking for Pitzer were Papuga and 6-4, 300-pound Aiden Piper.

“How do you stop that?” Hoffer said.

Pitzer, who opened the quarter with a sack and another big hit, barreled in for the score.

“That was so great to see,” Haase said. “I love to see that from the big fellows.”

Arone saw a good time to go big.

“We called it ‘Caveman’,” Arone said of the play. “If we got the opportunity, we wanted to run it. That’s 1,000 pounds in the backfield.”

Yough’s points came on a touchdown pass from Aiden Shaffer to Joey Bibby, a run by John Gergely, who spent much of the night in the wildcat, and a late run by Ryan Sarver.

Gergely ran for 58 yards on 15 carries, and Shaffer passed for 84 yards.

Sacco completed 6 of 9 passes for 58 yards.

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

Tags: Derry Area, Yough