Clairton routs Jeannette, brings to mind dominant Bears teams of past

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, September 26, 2025 | 11:09 PM

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“Bout Dat” might be making a comeback at Clairton.

Maybe it never left.

The saying made famous by the great Bears teams of the 2010s still shows up on fans’ orange-and-black T-shirts. They still remember that epic 66-game winning streak.

“You look at what we have, this is one of those teams,” Bears coach Wayne Wade said Friday night after Clairton brushed aside Jeannette, 57-0, in Class A Eastern Conference play. “You look at the Lamont Wades, the Tyler Boyds, the Titus Howards, those kind of guys (of the past). This team isn’t as big as those guys, but they’re really good, too. We’re getting there, but we’re not there yet.”

The Bears (4-1, 3-0), ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL and No. 5 in the state, held a team that averages 34.5 points in check from the start. Clairton won last year’s meeting, 43-0. Two years ago, the final score was 60-14.

Clairton continued to have Jeannette’s number, dominating on both sides of the ball for their sixth straight win over the Jayhawks (3-3, 1-2), who had a miserable night at McKee Stadium with three interceptions and a lost fumble.

Jeannette hasn’t beaten the Bears since the 2020 WPIAL championship game.

“It was 15-0 after the first quarter, and we felt pretty good after that,” Jeannette coach Tommy Paulone said. “They got that pick-six and that opened the floodgates. Plus-four in turnovers isn’t going to cut it. It comes down to that.

“The two pick-sixes were killers. (The Bears) are really good.”

And to think the Bears had three touchdowns called back because of penalties.

It didn’t matter.

Donte Wright scored three touchdowns three ways in the opening half — on a rush, a 60-yard interception return and a reception — and Jaece Booker, who is getting back into rhythm after an injury, added a 35-yard pick-six to cap the scoring in the third quarter.

In between, Jeff Thompson completed 6 of 9 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns, one to Wright and another to Taris Wooding, and Michael Ruffin, Deon Lovelace-Pomphey and Brandon Murphy all scored rushing touchdowns for the Bears, who have outscored conference opponents, 172-0.

With Clairton, you never know who is going to have a big game.

“It happens like that with us,” Wade said. “Sometimes it’s Donte, Woodring, Ruffin, Booker. You never know.”

The Bears were a force up front and made Jeannette one-dimensional, forcing Kymon’e Brown to make deep throws.

Jeannette rushed for 35 yards.

“They made us one-dimensional,” Paulone said. “They are five-dimensional. RPO game, pass game, running game —they have it all.”

The Bears have an exceptional passing attack but didn’t need it much as Lovelace-Pomphey ran for 59 yards and a score, and Wright added 64 yards, including a 54-yard burst to open the scoring.

“We’re seeing progression up front with our offensive and defensive lines,” Wade said. “If we can get balance on offense, we’re going to be tough to beat.”

Brown completed just 3 of 19 passes for 54 yards and two interceptions. His main target, big play wideout Jayce Powell, was held to two catches for 38 yards. He made another highlight grab along the near sideline for a 32-yard play – by far Jeannette’s largest gain of the night.

Powell did not play in the second half and walked along the sideline with an ice pack on his ankle. He left the game on crutches.

“We have at least seven guys on our defense who run a 4.5 (40-yard dash),” Wade said. “Where else do you find that? It makes a huge difference for us.”

After an interception by Ruffin, Jeannette forced the Bears, who scored on their first five drives — four- and five-play drives — to run 10 plays on their second series. Ruffin’s 1-yard score and Lovelace-Pomphey’s two-point run made it 15-0 with 2 minutes, 47 seconds left in the first quarter.

With Jeannette driving early in the second quarter, Wright stepped in front of a Brown pass and took it 60 yards to the end zone and the rout was on.

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

Tags: Clairton, Jeannette