Hempfield gives No. 5 Penn Hills scare before losing

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 13, 2017 | 10:57 PM

Hollis Mathis completed 14 of 20 passes for 261 yards and five touchdowns as No. 5 6A Penn Hills overcame a sluggish first half to defeat Hempfield, 42-27, in a nonconference game Friday at Hempfield's Spartan Stadium.

After Penn Hills rushed to a 12-0 lead after one quarter, Hempfield (1-7, 0-5) answered with three second-quarter touchdowns to take a 20-12 lead at halftime.

“Despite our record (coming into the game), our kids have been great,” Hempfield coach Rich Bowen said. “We didn't have to say a lot this week. Our kids understand what's at stake, and they have been working hard in practice and they battled all night. Penn Hills has quite a few players with big-play capabilities, and they proved that in the fourth quarter.”

After Penn Hills (6-2, 3-2) scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns on Mathis passes to Dante Cephas (9 yards) and Darrell Mason (27 yards), Sliwoski completed 12 of 23 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns, including two to DiAndreth, with the second going for 27 yards in the third quarter. In Hempfield's second-quarter spurt, the Spartans took advantage of a Penn Hills mishandled snap on a punt and fumble deep in Indians' territory to take the 20-12 lead.

“We may have been looking ahead somewhat to our last two games (Mt. Lebanon and Central Catholic),” Penn Hills coach Jon LeDonne said, “and that may have accounted for our sluggish first half. But we regrouped at halftime. Despite their record, Hempfield has some quality players and they are a far better team than their record.”

Penn Hills and Hempfield traded third-quarter touchdowns, with the Spartans taking a 27-18 lead going into the fourth. Penn Hills' Tank Smith scored on a 27-yard run before DiAndreth caught his second touchdown pass.

But in the fourth quarter, Mathis was 5 of 6 for 99 yards and three touchdowns, two to Cephas (21 and 25 yards) and one to Daequan Hardy for 39.

LeDonne pointed to Penn Hills' dominance of the line of scrimmage for the comeback.

“We regrouped at halftime and went back to basics,” LeDonne said.

Said Bowen, whose team has lost seven in a row: “Give them credit. They came back strong in the final period. But I'm proud of how our guys played tonight. They have battled through a tough season and some tough losses. Their attitude has been great, and we'll pull together for our last two games.”

Despite the win, LeDonne pointed to two crucial areas where the Indians need work as the postseason nears.

“We have to avoid the penalties,” he said, referring to 13 penalties for 120 yards and a nonexistent kicking game.

Penn Hills failed to convert on any extra-point attempts until Mathis connected on three 2-point passes in the final quarter.

“We devote so much time for everything else — offense, defense, special teams — but sometimes it's difficult to simulate that point after kicking game in practice.”

Les Harvath is a freelance writer.

Tags: Hempfield Area, Penn Hills