Clairton too much for Leechburg in Eastern Conference 1st-place showdown

By: Michael Love
Friday, October 11, 2024 | 10:44 PM

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When Tim Andrasy scored a rushing touchdown for Leechburg with 11 minutes, 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Eastern Conference first-place clash with Clairton at Leechburg’s Veterans Stadium, it snapped the Bears’ 30-quarter streak of not allowing a point.

Even though that defensive run came to an end, Clairton’s dominance did not.

The Bears used speed, quickness, skill and physical play on both sides of the ball to build a four-touchdown lead at halftime en route to a 44-7 victory over the Blue Devils.

“This was a big game, and we approached it that way,” Clairton coach Wayne Wade said.

“Our defense is the staple of the team this year. We’re flying around. We’re having fun. My hat’s off to the defense tonight.”

With the win, Clairton improved to 8-0 overall, 5-0 in conference play, all but wrapped up the conference title and officially clinched a spot in the WPIAL Class A playoffs.

Leechburg, which came in averaging 43.2 points through seven games, fell to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

“We won seven, and we were able to celebrate, but then we refocused for the next game like we were 0-0,” Blue Devils coach Randy Walters said. “We have to do the same with this loss. We have to move on to the next opponent, and as of midnight on Saturday, we’re moving on to (Brentwood).”

Ahead by 28 at the break, Clairton wasted no time adding on and putting the mercy-rule running clock into effect.

Donte’ Wright scored for the second time in the game as he returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter 76 yards for a touchdown. A conversion run from Zaemear Correll made it 36-0 just 10 seconds into the second half.

Leechburg responded to the Bears’ score and went on a drive that ate up the rest of the third quarter and 51 seconds of the fourth. Andrasy carried the final 4 yards for the score.

Andrasy finished with six carries for a team-best 24 yards.

Drachir Jones capped the scoring for Clairton with a 41-yard run with less than a minute to play. He finished with 14 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

“This (win) means a lot,” Jones said. “Going into the week, we heard a lot of stuff, and we came out and proved them wrong.”

Clairton held Leechburg to 6 yards rushing in the first half, and Jones and Jaece Booker both intercepted Blue Devils quarterback Jayden Floyd to snuff out Leechburg scoring opportunities.

The Bears got on the board quickly as a completed pass from Floyd and a hit on the receiver popped the ball loose. Deon Pomphey was right there to pull it out of the air at the Bears 41 and race 59 yards to the end zone. The conversion was unsuccessful, and Clairton led 6-0 with just 2:23 gone in the opening quarter.

“That gave us momentum,” Wade said. “We thought coming in that (the Blue Devils) were really going to play hard physically and come at us. Why not? They were 7-0 and at home. To make a big play and kind of take some steam out of them, that was big for us.

“Then when we turn it around to the offense. We have so many weapons that we just kind of kill your spirit because you don’t know who to guard. If you play the pass, we’ll run the ball. If you load the box, we can put the ball in the air. And have fun guarding these guys one-on-one.”

The Clairton defense forced a punt on Leechburg’s next drive, and then the Bears offense needed just five plays to put more points on the board. Wright took a handoff from quarterback Jeff Thompson and scampered 38 yards. The conversion run failed, but Clairton was on its way.

Jones’ interception late in the first quarter halted what had been a nine play, 41-yard drive deep into Bears territory. Clairton set up at its own 24, and eight plays later, Jones finished off the drive with a 36-yard TD run. This time, the conversion was good as Thompson threw to Correll to make it 20-0 with 8:16 to play until halftime.

Booker’s interception on Leechburg’s next drive and his return to the Blue Devils 11 put Clairton in business. A holding penalty on a run by Jones pushed the Bears back to the 15, but Michael Ruffin took a handoff, motored around the left side, and scored untouched with 6:08 on the second-quarter clock.

The Thompson-to-Correll conversion made it 28-0.

“Clairton has so much speed,” Walters said.

“They just play with so much confidence and so much swagger. They don’t miss tackles on defense. When they come to hit you, there’s no hesitation. When one guy misses, there’s four more guys coming. That is a testament to coach Wade and his staff. He has those kids flying around.

“They have so many weapons on offense, but I felt we actually played pretty darn good defensively. Two of their long runs, we blitzed in but just missed the tackle. And kudos to them. They make you miss tackles. They make one little move, and they’re gone. We had things that were there, and we just didn’t do what we needed to do to make the play.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Clairton, Leechburg