Change at QB ignites Jeannette offense with Clairton looming

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, November 12, 2017 | 6:54 PM

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There was a time during Friday's WPIAL Class A quarterfinal when things looked bleak for Jeannette.

Rochester was in control with its running game, and the Jeannette offense was stuck in neutral.

But over the final 17 minutes, Jeannette, which trailed by 11 points, found its offense on a frigid night.

Quarterback Robert Kennedy, who went to wide receiver in the final quarter, ripped off a 30-yard run to set up Imani Sanders' second touchdown of the game, and the Jayhawks, behind junior Seth Howard, rallied for a dramatic 30-26 victory.

Kennedy finished with 105 rushing yards.

Rochester coach Gene Matsook felt his team dominated the 2016 semifinal game, which Jeannette won, 30-20. The Rams pointed to this game as revenge but failed to finish, and Matsook again felt his team dominated, especially the second half.

Matsook was mistaken according to Jeannette coach Roy Hall. He saw a different game.

Jeannette's offense started shredding Rochester's defense, especially during the final 7:35 when Howard led two touchdown drives.

Howard, who rushed for a touchdown, hit Isaiah Winters on fourth-and-10 with a 29-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds left. Winters made a great adjustment to cut under Rochester defensive back Elijah Goosby near the goal line to make the grab, a catch Matsook didn't think would be made.

Howard rushed for 40 yards and passed for 65 yards. He also intercepted a pass.

Hall felt his team showed a lot of heart.

“People didn't realize we were down to one starting offensive linemen in the fourth quarter,” Hall said. “We really showed some heart, and the offense found a rhythm. We need to keep that going, and we had some players step up who normally don't.”

Jeannette ran two trick plays with tackle Ian Smith catching a backward lateral that resulted in two gains of 11 yards.

“Ian is as fast as some of our running backs,” Hall said. “We put that in special for this game.”

No. 3 Jeannette (11-1) can celebrate only a short time because its focus must go toward preparing for No. 2 Clairton (9-2), which handed the Jayhawks a 40-6 defeat in Week 9, in the semifinals Friday at Elizabeth Forward. Jeannette hasn't beaten Clairton in six meetings since the teams were put in the same conference four years ago.

In the first meeting this season, Clairton running back Tre'sean Howard scored three touchdowns, rushed for 194 yards, caught three passes for 92 yards and was a factor in the return game.

Sophomore quarterback Brendan Parsons completed 6 of 7 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

But what really won that game was Clairton's defense.

Kennedy completed 1 of 14 passes for a minus-1 yard. He also had two passes intercepted. Jeannette finished with 76 yards.

But moving Howard to quarterback gives Jeannette a look Clairton must prepare for. It also got more players involved in the passing game against Rochester. Kennedy, Marcus Barnes, Tre Cunningham and Winters caught passes from Howard.

The first meeting between Jeannette and Clairton turned late in the first half when Jeannette drove to the Clairton 2 and ended up settling for a 29-yard field goal, which was blocked and returned for a score.

Clairton went unbalanced right on its first two possessions of the second half, and Tre'sean Howard ripped off two long touchdown runs.

But Jeannette can't worry about the past. It needs to build off Friday's comeback against Rochester.

If the Jayhawks do that, the second matchup with Clairton could be a lot closer.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Jeannette